WarmGlass.com

I need to cut a fused 6m piece .
I would like not to cut with a saw as i need nice clean lines.
Thoughts?
Would love if i could just ues a cutter........and a hammer
Thanks
Andrea

We anneal glass better than the factories that make it. At the factory, every second translates to dollars. For us, we want to fire up and down in a day. That said, if you have fused glasses that are not all that compatible, those stresses will come out to play when you cut. Most likely you can just cut it.

I recently cut a small 9" x 9" 6mm test piece I had made from two 3mm pieces. I scored it (just a straight line) and broke it easily and cleanly with Toyo heavy-duty breaking pliers. I was amazed that it went so well.

My efforts to break larger pieces of 6mm Tekta have not always been so successful. Success seems to depend heavily on how much glass is to each side of the score, and how long the score is. I don't think I've ever successfully cut a 2' piece of 6mm without its veering off the score somewhere along the line.

I'd love to see a discussion here on this subject - I'm sure there are lots of tips and tricks we could use. I'm also sure commercial glass shops don't have this problem - what's the secret?

David Jenkins wrote:My efforts to break larger pieces of 6mm Tekta have not always been so successful. Success seems to depend heavily on how much glass is to each side of the score, and how long the score is. I don't think I've ever successfully cut a 2' piece of 6mm without its veering off the score somewhere along the line.

I have had very good success cutting larger pieces of 6mm Tekta by scoring, then using running pliers to start a run on each end of the score. (Don't run all the way, just get it started.) Then, I slide the piece to the edge of the table, line up the score with the table edge, ask someone to hold the portion on the table, and then grasp the portion hanging off the table (wear gloves) and quickly snap it down. It almost never fails.

I'm using a regular Toyo cutter to do the scores. No oil in the cutter.

Thanks, Brad. I've never had anybody nearby when I've been doing this. Rassling a big piece of 6mm around is a pain when you're by yourself. Better, next time, I wait until I can find someone to help.

BTW, I've found that tapping on the back of a piece with the non-business end of a cutter will often start the run before regular running pliers can - have you used that technique?

David Jenkins wrote:Thanks, Brad. I've never had anybody nearby when I've been doing this. Rassling a big piece of 6mm around is a pain when you're by yourself. Better, next time, I wait until I can find someone to help.

BTW, I've found that tapping on the back of a piece with the non-business end of a cutter will often start the run before regular running pliers can - have you used that technique?

I know a lot of people who do. It's a common stained glass cutting technique. But I tend not to use that approach. I have used a cutter for thicker glass, as opposed to the standard Toyo -- their Tap Wheel thick glass cutter can work better than their standard cutter, due to different cutting angle of the head. (Related -- about a year or so ago they changed the standard cutter so it has a Tap Wheel also, which makes newer standard Toyo cutter's better than older ones.)

In my younger, stronger days I could hold one half of a piece of 2 x 4' 6mm Tekta on the table and snap the other half down while holding it tight, but as I've aged I no longer have the strength (or stupidity) to do that with one hand. So I use a helper now.