"Charles Spitzer" wrote in message
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"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
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Charles Spitzer wrote:
"Jon Dogin" wrote in message
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Hi,

I'm hoping that someone can give me some suggestions for cutting
scrap double strength glass. I picked up a few pieces from the
local junkyard. They look to be pieces from a stereo cabinet - about
48"x12" and almost a quarter of an inch thick. I'm trying to cut
the pieces to size so that I can use them as tops for some fish
tanks. Mainly I need to do long cuts to
split them in half. I was hoping to get this done at the local
hardware store, but was told that the glass that I have is double
strength and that I'd have to go to a glass shop. The glass shops
are charging about $6/cut -
that's more than I paid for the individual pieces of glass. I had one
person reccomend that I use a tile cutter for this job. Anyone have
experience using a tile cutter to cut double strength glass or have a
better/cheaper method? Thanks in advance for any help.

J.

double strength glass is 1/8". single strength is about 2/3s that.

you have 1/4". it's harder to cut than double strength.

you might try a stained glass store or anyone you know who does that.
they'd probably do it for free but not guarantee that it won't break
badly.
if you want to try it yourself, it's always easier to cut something
in half than a sliver off a piece. if you're attempting to do the
latter, then i'd suggest having someone else do it.

use a $2 carbide wheel glass cutter from the hardware store. score it
in a straight line, don't go back and rescore skips, don't retrace
the line. you should hear a skritch when scoring correctly. get some
window glass and practice first.

Additional note here. Make sure the wheel is lubricated and turns
freely and make sure the glass where you are going to cut it has been
carefully cleaned. Don't delay between the time you make the scratch
and
when you break it. The longer you weight the less chance you will have
to
have it work. Glass heals itself so after a few minutes the scratch is
not as weak as it first was.

no, it doesn't have to be lubricated. i haven't used any oil for years in
my
cutters. you don't see any cutters in home depot lubricated, and all the
glass shops i've been in don't use any lubrication.

a real glazier will lube almost every cut, unless he is using a self-lubing
cutter or is if he is only making one or two quick cuts. it's important to
keep the wheel and the cut cool to ensure a good clean break, one thing you
don't want is a hot cut.

mike.........




glass doesn't heal. old wive's tale.

Additional additional note: old glass is much more difficult to cut
than new glass. Remember that glass in not really solid, but rather
sort
of a hard liquid.

old glass isn't harder to cut then new glass. it probably isn't possible
that a stereo cabinet have plate glass, which would be different to cut,
than regular float glass.

typically you want about 5-6 lbs of hand pressure to cut glass, no matter
it's type or age.

glass is an amorphous solid.


put a pencil or dowel down under the
scored line. press down from both sides firmly. it will break, but
take a good deal of pressure. if you're lucky it will break on the
line. wear gloves and eye protection.
there are tools to do this safer and easier, but they're more
expensive than what you've already been quoted.

a tile cutter won't do this wide a cut.

--
Joseph Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math