how to cut old thick glass

Dragon0421 · Sep 17, 2008

I was wondering how you can cut through the old thick glass i have bought a tool from your regular glass cutting it will not put a dent into the old glass just leaves a cut mark in the glass any help would be appriciated.

JOETHECROW · Sep 17, 2008

Cory,....As a longtime glazier (glass worker/cutter) by trade, I can tell you that w/out alot of experience,...cutting old thick glass can be difficult and possibly dangerous to you. A standard issue glass cutter as sold by most hardware stores can do the job, but perferably in the hands of someone with experience...If you were to try at home, first you need to support the glass upon a level surface. the surface should have some padding such as carpet on it,....then you would clamp a straight edge along where your score (cut) would go....grasping the cutter you make ONE swipe, smoothly and w/ even pressure across surface of glass. (light oil such as kerosene helps cool and lubricate cut) this can be applied along score with any paintbrush....after making cut,...apply even pressure in upward direction by grasping glass on either side of cut along edge and lifting....sometimes glass pliers are used to start cut on heavy glass)...wear gloves to do this!...if all else fails, almost any glass shop should be able to do this. Sometimes heavy or old glass can be unpredictable and the cut can run off to the side. I reccomend taking it to a shop and paying by the cut. Joe

GuntherHess · Sep 17, 2008

A good desription.
A glass "cutter" doesnt really cut glass , it just scores the glass from which a fracture will run. Its important as Joe said to make ONE continuous score, dont lift the tool. If the glass isnt too thick you can use the back of the glass cutter to tap behind the score and run a crack. If you do it right the glass will just fall apart. Better glass cutters have an oil resevoir in them to lubricate the cutter. If you have a cheap one you can dip it in machine oil.
Make sure the glass isnt tempered, if it is you will end up with a pile of broken bits.

LC · Sep 18, 2008

You and Joe both described cutting the old glass pretty well in my opinion Matt . I love the old wavy glass when building a nice display cabinet , but it can be a real pain to cut at times . I found over the years that when cutting wavy glass , it is always best having a new glass cutter. I also find that the old glass always will break cleaner at the score line if you do not let it lay , make the break as soon as you make the score. Then too that old wavy glass sometimes has a mind of its own and will do just exactly what it wants to do regardless of how a Person scores it ! In my area the old glass is continually getting harder to find . I try and keep a sharp eye out for it , but I have not been able to come across any for some time now.

capsoda · Sep 18, 2008

Wow, you don't expect to run across many people who know anything about cutting glass. It has been a very long time since I worked as a glazier but I still have my old Stanley One Drop handle fill cutter.

Hey Cory, Do as Joe says and take it to a glass shop. They will be able to give you a perfect cut and you don't have to worry about damaging your glass or getting injured.

GuntherHess · Sep 18, 2008

We have done stained glass work here so have cut a lot of different glass.
If you want old looking glass with bubbles in it you can buy it from stained glass places. I have used that in cabinets in my house which I wanted to look old.
Thats also a place to buy a good glass cutter. The ones you normally buy at the hardware store are pretty much junk.

LC · Sep 18, 2008

You are right about the local glass cutters being pretty much junk , that is why I said its good to have a new cutter when cutting old glass . You do not get many good scores from one . Thanks for the mention of the stained glass shops having the wavy glass , I will check them out if and when I come across them .

You are right about the tempered glass as well . I tried to cut a small piece of it once not realizing it was tempered . Upon trying to snap it , it disintegrated off into a thousand pieces . A friend of mine called one day a few years back and asked me to come up and cut a piece of glass for him , which I was more than glad to do for him . Upon my arrival , I found him standing at the tailgate of his truck wiping down a glass out of a patio door . I kind of laughed as I came up to him and told him I could not cut it because of it being tempered . He looked at me in disbelief , and said he was sure that if I scored it on both sides it would cut with no problem . He kept insisting , till I finally said okay ,,, its your yard . I scored it on both sides , and told him to try and snap it as I held the back side of the glass . The moment he did so , there was a loud noise , and we were then standing in a pool of about a million pieces of small shattered glass . I looked at him and said , well,,,, get out the shop vac , and went back to the house . I can still see the look on his face when that panel of glass exploded in our hands . UHMMM, come to think of it , he has never once ever asked me to cut another piece of glass for him for some reason ............[/align]

Dragon0421 · Sep 18, 2008

thanks for all the info on cutting the glass i have a local glass shop where i live i will see how much he will charge then i was afraid that it was going to be something like that i was hoping it could be done without having to go to a shop. Thank all of you all for the great info once again.

GuntherHess · Sep 18, 2008

You can normally tell if you tempered glass because it will be so hard the glass cutter will barely scratch it.

texasdigger · Sep 23, 2008

It surprises me how many of us glaziers are on this site. I grew up in a glass shop, and still run one today. The bit of onfo. I can add that has not been covered all ready is this. With old glass it is easier to snap the scored glass than to run it by hand or with pliers. Score the glass as stated above then pull the score up to the edge of the table running parrallel with the table edge. Pull the scored line to within an inch or so of coming off the table. Lift the entire sheet of glass then drop it down onto the table putting force on the score from the backside. Also do not try to cut off less than an inch of glass. If you are not skilled you will never get the score to run. Overtime glass becomes harder with sun exposure almost like a crude tempering. Also the old way of making sheets of glass was crude so the sheets themselves are not the same overall thinkness throughout the sheet. If the glass is antique as he said it is not tempered. That was not common place until recent history. Also most of the time tempered glass has an etched stamp stating the maker, and that it is tempered. There are exceptions to that rule, but for the most part it is marked.

I always thought it was funny that I worked with glass all week long, and then went out to dig up old glass on the weekends.

Brad

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