Cutting Glass for Flag Case?

[Russ Filtz]

I bought some regular frame glass and need to cut it for my flag case. I priced getting it cut and they wanted $35! That's more than I paid for the wood.

Anyway I thought I remembered there might be some tricks to getting a clean cut. I'm using a hand cutter and the head part rotates and has several small cutting wheels with different letters on each. Does anyone know what the letter stand for? Are they some standard profile for thickness of glass or something? I've long lost the instructions that came with this tool.

Also do you just make the cuts (scores really I guess) dry, or is there a way to "lubricate" the glass with mineral spirits or something?

[Perry Holbrook]

I cut a fair amount of glass each week, ( I cut 3 -15" round disks out of 1/4" glass today using a new method that was really cool), anyway, sounds like you may have a cutter that has several different angle wheels. For thicker glass the angle can make a difference, but for single strength glass it shouldn't matter.

A few tips. Clean the glass before cutting. Spread a light film of oil, kerosene, etc along the cut line. Make the score using a fairly light and UNIFORM pressure. Resist the temptation to press too hard. Start the score at one edge and run off the other edge. Be careful not to chip the edge with the tool. With the glass laying flat on the table and hanging off the edge, hold the glass with both hands with thumbs on either side of the score. Break with a twist of the wrist while pulling the break apart.

You might want to practice on a scrap piece first but once you get the feel it's really easy.

[Chris Rosenberger]

I use mineral spirits as a lubricant. I dip the cutter in the mineral spirits & use a small brush to apply some on the cut line. I am not famliar with the cutter you have. All the cutters I have used only have 1 cutter wheel.

[Jerry Clark]

Make sure that the cutter is good condition-- rusted or dull wheel will be PITA! And bad edge!:cool:

[Russ Filtz]

Thanks all. Do you bother dressing the cut edges so they're not so sharp, or don't bother? Now just have to work up the nerve to try it out! My last encounter with glass was when my full height shower door shattered as I was cleaning it. Guess I put a little too much pressure scrubbing it as I used warm water to rinse, BAAMM!! the whole thing popped at once and fell, Lucky I wasn't cut. Even though it was tempered safety type glass it still had sharp edges.

[Chris Rosenberger]

If the edges are covered I do not bother to dress them. I have had customers that had there shower doors explode while no one was in the bathroom. Anyway that was what they told me.

[Randy Meijer]

I do a lot of stained glass work and the comments made previously should be of help. Cutting glass is actually a lot easier than most people make it out to be. See if you can get some scrap pieces from your local hardware store and make a few practice cuts before cutting the final piece.

I assume when you say flag case that you are talking about a triangular box for a folded flag. If so, cutting the triangle of glass will be just a bit sensative. The two sharply acute angled corners will be a somewhat delicate. To reiterate an earlier comment, ease up on the pressure when finishing the cut at the edge of the glass so you don't chip the edge.

And a final thought.....$35 seems a bit excessive for a piece of cut glass......exactly how big is this case you are building?? You should be able to go to a hardware shop and get piece precut for less than $10. On the other hand, if you are talking about a bigger piece of special glass.....like non-glare.....it might be worth the money to have "them" do it?? If you break it, too bad. If they break it, they just cut another piece.

[Dan Forman]

Make sure you have a good straightedge to use as a guide, and that there is some sort of non-slip pad on the back to keep it from canting in the middle of a cut. I have a fairly thick aluminum 48" ruler to the back of which a rubber strip has been secured to prevent it from moving during the cut.

Also, do not score the glass more than once on any one cut. Try to break along the score line within 30 seconds or so, Strange as it may seem, it becomes more difficult to break as time goes by after the score.

If you have any old piece of glass around, try practicing on it, just to get the feel.

Dan

[Perry Holbrook]

Forgot to mention that I cut all my glass on a piece of thin carpet laying on the table. If you need to dress the edges, sandpaper will do the job.

Perry

[Karl Laustrup]

Wow, $35 for just cutting the glass is a bit steep.

I used non-glare glass from a local glass shop and they cut it to my dimensions for about $15 each. I did 4 flag cases altogether. The non-glare glass gives the piece a nicer look IMHO.

[Jack Wood]

I'm not a glass expert by any means but that means I have screwed up cutting it more so I know a thing or two about what you MUST do.
#1 WEAR EYE PROTECTION! It's amazing how far a small sliver of glass can go. :eek:

#2 WEAR GLOVES at least until you get the process down, I don't now, but it kept me from getting cut a few times at first.

#3 SMOOTH THOSE EDGES even if they aren't going to show. A razor dosen't have much over a fresh cut piece of glass.

#4 Don't press hard on that score line. If you see little pieces of glass or dust like stuff your pressing to hard. It's counter intuitive but a lighter score works better.

Good Luck!