Glass for coffee table

[F.H.]

I've been given a nice oak coffee table that needs two glass inserts 11" X 16" X 3/16 deep. Is there a special kind of glass for this or is it just window glass?

TIA Frank

[Joseph Meehan]

No, not window glass, that would break too easy. Go to a glass shop with the exact size information and they will fix you up with what you need.

[Joseph Meehan]

BTW that "glass shop" is not the glass counter at HQ or Lowes. It is a real glass stop that does nothing else and makes glass for table tops etc.

[RB]

Glass is primarily silicon dioxide (sort of like melted beach sand) however the impurities give it some coloration. This is why when you look at the edge of a piece of conventional window glass it is green. Purer materials yield a clearer glass, more like a very light blue glass which is what I prefer for tables particularly if it will be thicker than a window lite.

One place I found with a quick web search is the following who offer what they call "opti-white." It costs a bit more but looks much better when the thick edges are exposed.

There are also some places that advertise in Fine Home Building that have clear glass.

Be careful that you have a good glass cutter fabricate for you so that the edges are uniformly contoured. Some of the hacks I've seen recently just try to free hand grind the edges and it looks like it.

RB

F.H. wrote:

[Jim Yanik]

"F.H." wrote in news: [e-mail]:

You want tempered glass,with polished edges.

[Larry Bud]

I think you should be using tempered glass. Tempered glass is a specially treated (I believe heat treated) so that if it breaks, it breaks into little tiny pieces that aren't nearly as dangerous as regular glass. I would also recommend getting beveled glass, as it would look much nicer.

I just typed in "beveled tempered glass" in google and found the following

I'm sure there are many other companies that sell what you need.

[Nehmo Sergheyev]

- F.H. -

- Larry Bud -

- Nehmo - That's right, tempered glass. It's heated *after* it's cut, so you have to order it a day in advance. Over here in Kansas City, at Gate City Glass, it's $4.50 a square foot for ¼". (That's probably what OP wants.) Sanded edges are no extra charge. Beveled edges are a bit more. Tempered glass is remarkably strong, BTW. When you use it on a project, you feel a lot better about the result. When you use regular glass, you have this fragile feeling. When you use tempered, you have a feeling of strength. If I have time, I use it in windows.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Use tempered glass. Any glass company should be able to help you. Window glass is too thin and breaks in sharp shards if broken. Tempered will shatter. Ed

[Stephen Kurzban]

Frank,

If you have small children (or grandchildren, nephews, etc.), you may also wish to consider plastic (Plexiglas) or wood panel inlays. If that is not a present or future issue, the glass does not HAVE to be tempered, though it would be safer. You can also have a glass company make the replacements tinted and/or with edge beveling - it isn't all that expensive if the table is worth it...

SBK

"F.H." wrote:

[TexasFireGuy]

It costs a bit more, but I always use Lexan. It is tough and, if it should break, it doesn't shatter and make a mess.