Hello, I've got a greenhouse to repair. I've got some old sheets of horticultural glass but I'll need to cut it to shape. I've never had much success on the few occasions I've tried cutting glass, so I'd thought I'd splash out on a new glass cutter. Any suggestions on which is the best design for a cheapish cutter? Or good tips and tricks for cutting glass?
TIA
C.
Only that if it's old glass (10's of years) expect it to break anywhere.
Or good tips and tricks for
Yes. Don't. Especially when its old. Horticultural glass is cheap as chips in standard 60cm x 60cm sheets which almost all greenhouse designs are based around.
Any local glazing company will be able to supply standard sheets, cut them smaller or supply bigger sizes.
It really isn't worth the aggro of DIY IME.
In message , Chade writes
How old is the glass ?
In message , Chade writes
what's the problem?
I think the cheap glass cutters are probably all much of a much ness. The one I bought recently when I couldn't find my other one was a few quid from a local hardware store, metal handle, wheel, cuts fine.
Tips for cutting?
The most important, is to press firmly and steadily on the cutter, and try to score in one smooth line. Stopping or gaps is where the glass will fail to break cleanly.
Tap gently along the score line, put over an edge such a length of timber, bench etc, press gently and should break cleanly.
But you may well have problems with old glass, as it tends to be more problematical to cut.
If I had problems cutting it and seeing as horti glass is so cheap I'd probably just go and get some from a glass merchants. Take measurements and they will cut it to size for you (if not a standard size)
got some old sheets of
Apparently it's at least thirty years old. I say apparently as that makes it older than me.
Breaking with a spur rather than a clean break.
As well as the wheel pencil type cutters I've seen cheap diamond glass cutters on ebay they seem to have a wedged shaped head rather than a wheel.
As well as oblong shapes I need a large irregular trapizoid shape more than a meter across. I was going to make a pattern from selotaped sheets of newspaper and then draw around it on the sheet with a glass marker pencil and try to cut to the lines. Do you think a glass shop would work from such a pattern? I suppose I could try to measure the lengths of the sides and the angles at the corners instead if a glass shop would work to that?
HI Chade
First off - 'old' glass can be an absolute pa> >> In message
Likely caused by an imperfect 'score' (the line that you've scratched in the surface with the glass cutter). Maybe from not keeping the pressure constant along the whole line, maybe from hitting some dust or dirt and actually skipping a section of score. Maybe a flaw in the glass.... (less likely - but possible). Clean along the score line before you use the glass cutter. Soap&water is fine, or a light oil / meths / whatever
It's probably less to do with the cutter and more to do with technique / experience. Cutting glass is one of those things that gets easier the more often you do it. The cutters I use in stained glass are all in the UKP 20 - 30 price-range - but they'll happily produce rotten results in inexperienced hands
Not seen those - except for tiles & acrylic. The one with the wheel is the way to go..
Right. Make sure you have the glass well-supported on a table / bench that's at least as large as the glass. Use a couple of layers of newspaper of even a carpet offcut under the glass. Sacrifice one piece of glass to practice on - listen for the 'scritch' sound as you score - that indicates that you have the pressure corret. Too light a score and the glass will be very hard to break, too hard (glass chips on top of the score) and the break will be uncontrollable.
If you make a mess of a score don't try and go back over it - it won;t help and it will wreck the glass cutter. Instead, turn the sheet of glass over and score the other side...
Best to avoid tapping on straight cuts, can be more trouble than it's worth. After you've scored the glass, either break the sheet by hand (hold the sheet as if you were breaking a bar of chocolate, index fingers together under the score and gently apply pressure with the thumbs to 'pull' the sheet apart. Alternatively, find a thin lath (timber ruler thickness) and position it under the score line. Apply pressure with both palms to the glass either side of the ruler, and the sheet should break along the score. Wear eye protection!
Another way is to rest the sheet so that the score line is along the (sharp) edge of a bench / piece of ply, and simply lean on the 'free' side.
Think what's going to happen when the glass breaks - how are you going to catch it ? The freshly cut edge will be very sharp!
Yes - any common glass more than about 10 - 15 years old is probably going to be more trouble than it's worth.
Amen !
Template / pattern's the best bet. Scrounge some large cardboard boxes and open then out flat. You may be able to get a friend to hold the card in position (maybe outside the greenhouse) while you mark it with a fat felt-tip. Then work out how much larger the glass has to be to fit into the recess in the frame. Watch out for any obstructions like bolt-heads, rivets etc that protrude from the frame.
Cut the cardboard to size (stanley knife), allowing a few mm all round - and then make sure by 'fitting' the cardboard template into the frame.
Then take the cardboard pattern to your friendly local glass supplier and say 'make me one like that!'
If there's a choice of suppliers in your area, ring round and find the best combination of co-operation and price! Make sure that you tell them it's horticultural glass - it's cheaper than standard 'glazing' glass..
Be aware that some folks get very 'health & safety' about the use of glass in greenhouses - falling into / through greenhouse glass can be fatal....
Hope this helps Adrian
Is this a typical aluminium extrusion framed greenhouse?
Standard sheets are 24" square, 24x18, 24x12 (600/400/300 in metric equivalent).
"Long" sections are made by slightly overlapping joints using "overlap clips"/"z clips"/"lap clips" (readily available from greenhouse spares suppliers). Generally use as few large sections as possible, then make up the difference with one small one. Your large trapezoid (is this on the end wall?) becomes much more of a triangle. If you are buying the glass from a local glazer then they'll cut those "triangles" for you to your dimensions.
On occasion, panels will just not quite fit and you will want a panel that is slightly shorter because it won't quite fit in the z-clip (you can try rotating the "square" ones as they may be slightly oblong). Don't panic about trying to trim 5mm of a pane (it won't work). For this you can get soft aluminium z-clips that you can fold exactly where you need them to take up the slack.
You may find that you need some W clips to hold the glass in too. Also available from greenhouse spares companies (and probably local garden centres).
If you have a section to fill that is more than 24x24 then it is not your average greenhouse.
It's a wooden greenhouse. My parents had it before I was born and it was secondhand then. It's just starting to get a touch of rot. I painted it with wood treatment then Wilko greenhouse paint last year but it soon washed off. :(
As the wooden frame provides a groove that is only one pane of glass wide I can't overlap using clips. I note the green house has a H shaped joiner so I was going to use something similar to replace the bottom half of a large pane.
You don't overlap on width, only length.
I note the green house has a H
H section would possibly work, but green house rely on overlaps.
The narrow groove in the wooden frame that holds each 'window' on three sides isn't spacious enough to accommodate the double thickness of an overlap of two sheets of glass. So I don't see how any kind of overlap is possible.
I suppose I could seal it if I thought there was a draft. It is an unheated greenhouse.
In message , Chade writes
Older wooden greenhouses often have but joints like you describe in the glass, as opposed to the overlapping jpints typical of an aluminium greenhouse. We had an old Victorian conservatory that had butt joints in the glass on the end of it.
The glass fits pretty tightly together, you may not find there is any problem with it being drafty. Unless you are heating it, a little draft isn't really a problem anyway. We put some of that clear repair tape over a couple of the joints that leaked a little (in a GH it wouldn't really matter)
Positively benficial - stops it getting too damp and mouldy.
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