What is the proper way to drill plexiglass without cracking?

put a piece of masking tape on it. Drill a small pilot hole - let the drill do the work. place the plexi on top of a piece of 2'" dense foam- the blue stuff. I don't know anybody that uses a lubricant for this task.. I have driiled 2 ' holes using a hole saw without cracking it.

Drilling Plexiglass

1

Put masking tape on the spot where you want the hole(s). Start with a small drill bit and drill a pilot hole. If the hole is large, like 1" or more, try using a hole saw instead of a drill bit. Make sure your bits are sharp and don't push to hard. place the Plexiglas on a solid surface with the smallest opening possible under the area to be drilled. if you can, when you're most of the way through, flip the glass over and drill form the other side to finish the hole. Watch those shavings, they can be very sharp and the dust is very abusive too. Wear glasses and a dust mask.

Take your time.

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RE:

What is the proper way to drill plexiglass without cracking?

Use two pieces of wood, and clamp them on either side of the plexiglass to make a "sandwich".

If you need to locate the hole precisely:

Before clamping the wood in place, make a mark in the plexiglass at the hole location. Make a small pilot hole if you need to, maybe 1/16" or 3/32".

Drill a hole in one piece of wood. Make it 1/64" to 1/32" larger than your desired finish size.

Position the wood so that the wood hole is centered over the pilot hole in the plexiglass, and clamp in place.

Replace the oversized drill bit with the desired size bit. Drill until you are through the plexiglass, then remove the wood.

Smooth-off the edge of the hole if you need/wish to.

p.s. First do a test-run on a scrap piece, so that you get the hang of the procedure before doing it on your finished piece.

Start with a high speed drill and a harden and sharp drill bit. Put a piece of masking tape on the spot where you want to drill the hole. Lay the sheet of Plexiglas on a hard backing (a piece of wood or drywall that you no longer want). As there is not much heat generated, I see no value in using water.

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The best thing to use is a Dremel tool. If you dont have that, draw out your circles then follow the lines using a drill with a small bit at the highest speed. Just take your time and it will work fine.

use a small drill bit and wet the plexiglass with water. use saw horses to hold it. GOOD LUCK we have drilled it successfully but its a pain in the butt

I believe that you put a piece of tape on the spot that needs to be drilled and then drill through the tape.