We have just had a 10 X 12 greenhousr gratis, most glas it there, about 80% and I have been given a pack of horti-glass to finish off.
What would be the best type of galss cutter, and any tips much appreciated, I take it its the same story as ceramics, score line, put two matches under the scored line and press gently on each side?
Not sure how thick the glass is - but my experience is that any old glasscutter is fine for a few dozen cuts. (I think mine was =A31.99 from Wickes). Pretty much the same as tiles - I tend to score the glass, pull about an inch over the edge of the table and twist upwards. Perfect cuts every time.
Mark.
You'll probably be OK with the cheapest glass cutter you can find for just a few cuts.
Might be worth making up a simple jig (like a t-square) to make sure that you get the cuts 'square'.
Make sure that glass is clean before you cut it (warm water & fairly liquid)
For long straight cuts - score the surface of the glass, then move it so that the score is ove the edge of a table / workbench. Apply sharp pressure to the piece that's hanging over the edge - should break along the score.
You will know if you're doing the scoring correctly by the sound - you're looking for a quiet, 'scratching' as you run the cutter along the glass. No sound at all - too light a pressure. Gravelly-crunching sound - too much pressure.
If you make a mess of a particular score - don't try to re-score it. Turn the glass over and score the other side instead.
Make sure that the score runs all the way from one edge of the glass to the other - but try not to run the wheel 'off' the edge of the glass (wrecks the wheel).
It may help to lubricate the cutter wheel with a tiny amount of parafin or other light oil (?cooking oil?).
Warm glass (as in room temperature) cuts better than cold glass.
A piece of old carpet makes a handy place to rest the glass while you score it - take care to hoover up the tiny splinters afterwards - and probably throw the carpet away!
Hope this helps Adrian
Darn ! - knew I'd forgotten to mention something
Adrian
Hmm. Are pacts with the devil like mortages? I mean can you have more than one?
Regards Richard
Well - in glasswork there's a scheme of multiple pacts
- the one that makes glass break along the line you scored
- the one that lets glass 'slump' into moulds and not stick to anything along the way
- the one that lets tiny stack of glass stay stacked when you approach fusing temperatures (about 800c!)
- and the most important one - that prevents you from pushing too hard with your thumbs on a freshly broken glass edge, while trying to grind the sharp bits off the other edge
Think I'll take up alchemy instead !
Adrian
A new one. Any new one. Ideally one with a good big handle you can get hold of.
(or else a Japanese twenty quid one with an oil reservoir. Forty quid if you want the one that doesn't leak in storage)
Use your cutter wet with paraffin, turps sub. or white spirit Dunk it in a tinful between cuts.
Scrub the glass clean before cutting it, using a bit of ammonia or vinegar in a bucket of hot water.
Find a good flat surface to work on and cover it with some old carpet. This makesa surface you can press on without breaking things.
Make _ONE_ good score across the glass, then break it cleanly in two. Or else don't. But if you faff around and "take it slowly", you certainly will break it. Be bold. With practice you'll also be bold and successful.
You can't break glass over matchsticks. They're too small, too soft. Whittle a couple of wedges of hard firewood instead. Split bamboo chopsticks split in half are good - nice hard wood.
If it's glass that has been stored outside for a while, expect to break more than for fresh glass. The surface starts to break down and cracks go off and do their own thing, rather than following your score.
Any old glass may be a problem. Glass is a supercooled fluid and it undergoes some crystal growth over the years. This makes clean breaks increasingly difficult. That's why it looks so easy on glass suppliers - their glass is brand new and easy to cut!
Absolutely. I dunno how long glass stays easily workable but I'd guess at weeks rather than years.
Urban legend. It's an amorphous solid. Is 3mm horticultural glass made by the float method? It seems to have a lot more flaws in it than regular 4mm or 6mm window glass. I don't know if that would make it harder to cut cleanly.
Having to cut some years old recently the hort stuff is very easy to cut wrong.. the thicker stuff is a doddle:)
Probably years rather then tens of years. I'm using some glass at the moment that was purchased back in the UK before we moved - so it's at least a couple of years old - not counting how long it was held in stock before I purchased it.
It's not unknown for caches of exotic antique art glass to surface from time to time (sadly, not in _my_ workshop !) - and a way round the workability issue is to re-anneal the glass before attempting to work it - provided you've got a kiln big enough
Odd stuff, glass.....
Adrian
Depends. Supposedly in the mid-90s when there was a building slump they did make it by float, just to keep the plant working. Otherwise it usually isn't.
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