How To Make A Coin Sorter 

Has room full of tools, uses palm strike to break plexiglass.... love it. Very cool project.

This style of sorter is very effective. In another life we used commercially made round stack sorters to sort coins in a bank. Large round trays probably 50cm (20inch) dia. sized for Australian Coins, 50c, 20c, 10c, 2c, 5c, 1c. This made sorting large volumes of change very quick and a lot easier than doing it by hand. Between being able to sort quickly and weighing rather than counting (put a $10 bag of silver on one side then load the other with sorted or unsorted silver to balance), made life as a teller much easier. The beauty of the Australian Currency is that $10 of 50c pieces weighs the same as $10 of 5c pieces. Then of course they ruined that system when they introduced our 1 and 2 dollar coins with the $1 being larger and heavier than the $2.

High density partial board. Also know as hard board would be a great alternative to the glass.

I know you're a hand tool guy but a friend with a laser might be handy for the plexi if anyone else is considering. Cool project man. 👍

For a "custom size" start out with a cheap set of spade bits, then file/grind/sand equal amounts from each side. Should work for this application.

Plexiglass between two pieces of thin plywood to drill?

I have a gallon jar almost full. This project is just in time. 👍👍Next we need a method of getting the coins into the paper tubes.❓❓ Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂

When working with plexiglass, a step drill bit is the way to go. It shaves the plastic on the side, so you don’t get the pull-through or shattering that twist bits and augers cause. And each step has a slightly different diameter, so you should be able to get the exact dimension.

Now you need a version with houndstooth dovetail joinery. Nice project and refreshing to see "less than perfect" on your channel since most others only film the perfect versions. I'll continue to enjoy your content as long as you continue to make it!

This is 1 of those projects that just screams for a drill press...

What a cool fun project. I can't wait to try something like this when I have the time. Hopefully in December.

Pretty interesting project, James! Looks great! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Thank you for a fun project.

Aaaww! You threw off my groove! Nice project! Also your paste wax smells amazing, but I’m sure you already knew that lol!

Nice one, James! I see the Bill Burr-thing, but you'd be the good natured version who doesn't make people angry all the time 😆🤣 Would it work better if the boxes were round?

In my limited experience, I've found Lexan to be easier ro work with than regular plexiglass. Also more expensive.

Great project

Cool project.

U can get a cleaner break if u score the break point about 1/3 of the thickness and also put tape or contact paper on it if the protective paper isn't on it anymore.

try using a Unibit on plexiglass I know it seems weird but it is actually the best bit to drill Plexiglas's

Forstner bits work great for plexiglass or they also make hole cutting bits for plastic that work great for it also.

Annealing the plexiglass (acrylic) after your drilling is a good idea, it will prevent cracks from forming around your drilled holes. That's just up to an hour or so in an oven at around 100-150°C (200 somethingF).

Coin sorters for life!

Fun project, kids would like playing with

How about drilling with a 18mm drill bit then using a slightly tapered wood dowel with thin strip of sand paper glued onto the dowel to widen out the hole to a mark on the dowel that is 18.5mm diameter. You could mount the dowel on a shaft to use with a power drill at low speed if you have several holes to enlarge.

That's pretty neat

How about a 4th tray without holes to catch the dimes at the bottom?

What modifications would you suggest to have it sort LEGO rather than coins?

Sandwich the plexiglass between two layers of MDF or plywood. You should be able to drill without blowout.

how about a bandsaw to cut the plexi?

What other material would you use if you didn't want to use plexiglass?

perhaps a rookie question, but where do you find hand tools out in town that's not a big box store? I like hitting up flea markets and second hand stores, but it can be hit or miss on what they have.

The same sort of thing for screws would be really useful. I bet someone has already done that. LOL.

"because I have it and because I can" nice flex lol

I would consider Kydex instead of Plexi. Very easy to work with, and less likely to fracture.

Because I have them and because I can.... Sounds good to me.

hey james try 45/64

Never ever try to cut pexiglass or whatever the generic name is for that stuff with a power miter saw. Everything is fine until the last half inch and then all hell breaks lose.

Cool

I get the fun in it, but..I've managed to save my change now for the past 10 years so there's just NO WAY I'm going to shake it all down to pennies, nickles, dimes and quarters.. I think I'll have to pass, but fun watching. Fun tip! If you're thinking of cutting plexi with a fine scroll saw blade on your scroll saw? It'll cut like butter, but the plexi melts right back together as the blade passes through it.. I only know this because I...uhhh.. tried cutting a big ol circle all the way around and it was still a square when I was done with a pretty circular pattern melted in place for posterity..

What did the dime say to the nickel? I'm your double!

Nice :)

Heat up the drill bit

Could you not have filed or reamed the holes to final diameter?

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Unfortunately, acrylic is a power tool product. It's just too brittle for hand tools.

Comment up above! /rebel

You don't look like Bill Burr 😂

Next time use a metal saw for cutting plexiglass...

sort your coins don’t snort them

People still use coins?

To prevent cracking, perhaps you should drill through with a backer board behind the hole.

Hey James, next time try to use hacksaw to cut plexiglass. Saw for wood is not a good idea. I tried to use jigsaw, but it also bad idea - blade heats up very quickly and melting PMMA. You can use sandpaper on Dremel to increase hole size from 18 mm to 18,5 mm if You can't buy it. I think the best option is to use drills for metal to drill holes in PMMA.

Stepped not works well, and leaves a nice chamfer

The thin stuff is usally acrylic, the thicker stuff is likely polycarbonate. WAY different materials and the "thickness" isn't the issue with how hard it is to deal with. Cool project.

So the boring was boring.

*annoyingly condescending voice begins* Well Actually.... blah blah blah... Plexy! ... Blah Blah Blah... should have... Blah Blah Blah... Wood instead!!

Hammering a tool -- I cringed ------ a lot. I'd need 3 drinks ahead of time and hope my Dad was not watching from above.

The fellows suggesting different style drills are dead on. The trick to drilling plastic is that the cutting edge needs to have a neutral or even slightly negative rake angle rather than the highly positive angle found on your augers and twist drills. And those cheap flat spade bits and the sheet metal cone Unibits have this neutral rake aspect. Or there's a trick to modifying twist drills for plastic (and brass) by grinding away the last little bit of the positive rake. One of the nicer videos on how to do this is this one by Clickspring. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pAngKHIZgyA.html For what you're doing if the unibits work then great. They center up and cut super nice round holes. Use very low speed and Windex for lubricant/coolant. They don't have the greatest OD relief so they are a draggy cut but the finish is really smooth. For spade bits I just tried one and found it tended to wander for the last part of the cut due to the center losing support. I tried again with a piece of wood clamped as a backer and it cut a wonderful smooth and very round hole. I sharpened it freshly for this test so it would scrape cut and it needed firm pressure and made a nice shaving. It wants to melt though so I kept it slightly wet with Windex as a coolant/lubricant which worked well. Nice clean entry and exit with very little burr. And a smooth hazy almost clear finish to the side of the hole.

Set course to Al Gore Rythm. Engage!

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