On Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:50:04 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 11 Sep 2013 08:17:46 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"Artemus" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
So I have this wild idea to make the rear window on my Scion xB
openable. It is of course made from tempered glass and so making
holes
in it won't work. I am pretty sure I have seen handles glued to
windows on cars but I'm not sure. The rear window is now just
glued
to
the rear hatch. I'm thinking that if it was removed a gasket
could
be
installed, and hinges, gas springs, and a latch installed. So can
this
be done? Anyone here done this? I'm pretty sure that making the
hinge
assembly, latches, and handle won't present any real challenges.
After
all, I do have a complete mahine shop and I am a machinist.
Eric

Think about the other end. Windshields are glued in with a
silicone
adhesive and the rear view mirrors are glued to the glass too.
Art

The latch, wiper, struts, brake light and hinges on my Honda's glass
upper hatch are attached with thru-hole fittings. The heater grid
contacts are bonded to the glass.

Art's point, though, is that "tempered" glass is very highly
stressed.
The surfaces are in compression and the core is in tension. If you
drill it, or even scratch it deeply, it *may* propagate a crack
through the glass and shatter it into chunks (not sharp shards).

That was purely a description, not a prescription. If you find an
instance of a high-stress glue attachment its repair procedure and
materials should be helpful.

Glass is not among the materials I study much, but I suspect that,
in
production, they either do their drilling while the glass is in the
annealed state, or they have a way of locally annealing it after
tempering.

As for gluing to it, there has been good advice in this thread. You
can get a very strong bond with the right materials and technique.

--
Ed Huntress

If the glue ages and fails, like my professionally installed mirror, a
sharp maneuver could fling the hatch glass into another car's
windshield.

jsw

I know that rear view mirrors are glued on, as well as windshields and
rear windows. They use different glues. Rear view mirror glue is not
good at taking shocks, it's brittle. OTOH, regular windshield glue is
too soft. A rear window coming off could lead to a disaster so if I
attempt this I need to make sure that can't happen. Last night I
realized the only safe and practical way to make the window openable
is to mount it in a frame exactly the way it is mounted now and mount
the hinges and latch to the frame. I just laid a straight edge on the
window and it is curved in both X and Y. Making a frame to match this
compound curve would probably take me a long time. I should probably
give up on this idea unless I can get one of those pimp my ride type
shows to do it for me. Hmm.....
Eric