Kinda OT...Cutting glass

Re: Kinda OT...Cutting glass

Paul in NJ

>You need a straight edge with a non-slip bottom and a nice flat work surface. I like to lay down five or six sheets of newspaper to cut the glass on. Your standard glass cutter is fine as long as the cutting wheel rotates freely. I like to put a drop of light oil on the cutter to make sure it doesn't bind. Mark your cut with a magic marker and when you line up your straight edge account for the offset of the cutter wheel. The main trick is to get one clean score from edge to edge, don't go over it twice. Apply firm pressure on your tool but not too much or you will crack the glass. You will get the idea after the first time. Over hang the score line off the edge of the work surface so that the larger half remains on the table. I then tap directly beneath the beginning of the score line (actually about a 1/4 inch back) with the ball end of a small ball pane hammer and apply 'slight' downward pressure. You can also use the other end of your cutter if it has a ball end but I find it too light. The glass should snap nicely in half. It helps to make sure the glass is clean as that helps get a nice score line. It might be a good idea to wear gloves and glasses. Good luck, just try it, it is really easy.

Paul Dzioba

Re: Kinda OT...Cutting glass

Ed Mulligan, Cape Cod

>Some links that helped me:

http://www.warmglass.com/glass_cutting_tips.htm

http://www.cradleofthesun.com/tipscutting.html

I've avoided trying to cut old glass because I've heard it doesn't break on the score line the way new glass does. Perhaps another poster can confirm or refute this.

I've been cutting a hundred +/- pieces of glass per year for the past 5 years. There is a knack to it. Some days I can't make a mistake and other days I have many rejects.

Ed

check the articles section

bill tindall

>I edited an article on this topic some time ago. I expect it is posted by now. It was nicely written.

Re: Kinda OT...Cutting glass

Bill Houghton, STILL raining, Sebastopol, CA

>You know when you're cutting properly because you can hear a continuous sound. I've heard it described like the sound of silk cloth ripping, but I've never had the money to test the idea; it is, at any rate, a cloth-ripping sound. You definitely want one continuous scribe line; this is another good exercise in tool zen: do it once and with confidence.

I actually oil the entire surface along the cutline with a light bit of WD-40 - maybe overkill, but it works. Caution: your straightedge is easy to push out of place, with or without the oil. You have to get a fine balance between holding it down firmly and holding it down so hard you hear the glass cracking under your hand.

I can confirm about the old glass being hard to break. Our place has some windows with glass that's probably 80 or more years old (it's possible that some of it is original, meaning 115 years old), and when I've had to replace one of those panes for cracks in the corners, I learned not to expect a lot of useful glass out of the pane removed. Still, the price is right, and, at worst, it'll be a useful lesson in cutting glass; and you need to do it anyhow to fit the glass in your trash can.

For wider pieces, once you've got your line, you can pick up the glass quickly, slip the rule under it right next to the line, and press down gently but firmly on both pieces of glass; or pick up the glass and, with one hand on each side holding it in thumb and forefinger, snap it. Takes a little practice, and the over-the-table-edge is probably the best way to start. I never had much luck with tapping under the scribe line - cracks would propagate off the line. Another point: don't waste time. Glass is structured like a liquid - no crystalline structure to speak of, and cracks will sort of self-repair surprisingly quickly, so you want to break it while the scribe line is fresh. We're not talking nanoseconds here; just don't scribe a line and walk over to the other bench to grab a swig of beer (not that you would be right now, Scott: maybe a swig of hot chocolate).

Thanks everyone!

Scott Burr still raining in Ben Lomond CA

>I'll try not to kill myself...