Wet tile saw to cut window glass?

[Jamie Buxton]

I'm considering making some glazed cabinet doors with curved muntins. That is, the lites will have some curved edges -- both convex and concave. My experience in making straight cuts in glass with a carbide-tipped scriber is not encouraging. It works sometimes, but not all the time. Curves seem much more difficult. Has anybody cut window glass with a tile saw -- the water-cooled kind with a diamond blade?

[Lee Schierer]

I purchased a pair of pliers made for glass cutting a number of years ago at a home improvement store. The seller was easily cutting complex curves in window glass to demonstrate the tool. He even let me try it and it work exceptionally well with minimal effort. The cost was $10-15. They looked like this.245022 They may be similar to the ones offered here (http://www.amazon.com/TBC-Glass-Tile-Cutter-Tungsten/dp/B004RZAECI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1352244069&sr=8-3&keywords=glass+cutting+pliers) Just be sure to use some light oil on the cutting wheel before making a score line.

You can also take a pattern to your local glass shop and they will cut the glass for you.

[Perry Holbrook]

You should not need a tile saw to make those cuts. Us glass workers use a wet tile saw to cut thick glass slabs, think 1" thick, into strips. There are also glass cutting band saws for curves. But cutting single strength glass is easily done by hand with a good glass scoring tool. The hardest cut is a small radius inside curve. Anyone with a stained glass hobby can do this for you, or a glass shop, if you would rather not give it a try.

Or you can do what I did. Buy a CaMaster cnc router, design and build a glass scoring head for it and use it for production glass cutting.

Perry

[Ryan Baker]

Yes, using light oil on the cutting wheel is the most important step. The wheel has to spin freely in order to make a good score. Making straight relief scores helps get you around the curve in smaller bites (like you would on a band saw). Get some extra glass and practice.

I haven't tried using a tile saw. It might work (probably better for small amounts of trimming), but it would be slow and difficult.

[ray hampton]

I not sure about a band saw for glass but they did make a wet saw with a round shaft [diamond-coated

[HANK METZ]

Here's a link for glass cutting videos: Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cutting+glass&oq=cutting+glass&gs_l=youtube.3..0l10.3957.8460.0.8696.13.8.0.5.5.0 .152.932.2j6.8.0...0.0...1ac.1.L1CqSGa51Bo)
Very offbeat ideas and techniques, if these guys can do it and survive, anybody can.

- Beachside Hank
Improvise, adapt, overcome; the essence of true craftsmanship.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Easier to have a glass company cut them then it's on them if they break. They do it all the time. I have a wet saw for tile & never tried glass. Window glass I don't think it would do to good on the saw. Have to make a zero clearance insert for it.

[Jim Rimmer]

Easier to have a glass company cut them then it's on them if they break. They do it all the time. I have a wet saw for tile & never tried glass. Window glass I don't think it would do to good on the saw. Have to make a zero clearance insert for it.

I would second the idea of having the glass company cut it for you. If you still want to do it yourself, find a stained glass center and see if they would give you a short lesson in cutting glass. I took a course in stained glass last year and learned to cut curves. It's not hard but you will need to practice. The glass place or the stained glass place should both have glass grinders to smooth the edge as well. The look like miniature spindle sanders and a lot of ww'ing technique is involved - cut nearly to the line using a series of straight cuts and then grind to the line.

[Ben Hatcher]

I'd encourage you to give glass cutting with the hand cutter another try. Use a decent model, lubricate the tip with oil, use firm pressure and never make a second pass on the same line. Once you have your score line, which must extend all the way to both ends of your piece, gently tap on the bottom side of the sheet until it starts to crack. You'll be amazed how easy it is to master this skill.

[Richard Coers]

One key to cutting glass is to not buy the cutter at a hardware or big box store. They only sell junk. Get a good one at a glass working supply. Curved cuts with a wet saw is going to be tough. The blade is going to bind if the radius is too tight. Heat is the killer with wet saw cutting. Get it a little too dry, then if breaks. The easiest is to do your woodworking, and then take patterns to the glass shop. Those guys are notorius for loose tolerances though. If you take them a pattern, tell them the glass can be no bigger than the pattern. They can then wet sand the glass to size if it is slightly bigger than the pattern.

[Erik Christensen]

I have been doing stained glass for decades - so I am as bad at that as I am woodworking. compared to WW tools glass stuff is almost free - less than the cost of a single sheet of decent plywood. this is a great cutter - http://www.amazon.com/Toyo-Pistol-Grip-Glass-Cutter/dp/B000IGMQ1C and all you need besides that is some glass cutting oil and a set of running pliers - they have curved jaws to 'bend' the glass at the score line. Dip the cutter in oil (oil feed helps keep the cutter from running out in a long cut but it is good to start the cut with a wet cutter), nice even pressure as you roll the cutter - it should sound like tearing a piece of paper - if you see micro chips on the cut line pressure is too heavy. Tap (gently) the underside of the cut with metal pliers to help crack propagate then put running pliers on score line and squeeze.

compared to the kind of wood stuff you guys do without thinking this is bread dead easy - much better results than what you get from a commercial shop - you'll take a minute to measure and line up the cut - they take 5 seconds and it shows.