Tile Saw or Manual Cutting?

Peggy C · Post by **Peggy C** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 4:51 pm

I do alot of basic earring & pendant glass cutting: a layer of dichroic, then a layer of clear on top for a cap. I'm wondering if using a tile saw might be more time efficient, and might be a little easier on the old back! I could just lay up a good-sized chunk of dichroic, slap the clear on top, fuse it, then cut it up with the tile saw...right? Does the tile saw cut quickly? I assume you'd have to fire polish the pieces afterwards.

I'd appreciate replies from anyone who's done it both ways. Thanks!

Peggy

Brock · Post by **Brock** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 5:23 pm

I haven't done it both ways, but you have to be aware that you're going to lose the kerf (thickness of the blade) on each cut with the saw, and that will add up quickly at an 1/8" , or so, per slice. You really don't need a saw to cut just 2 thicknesses of glass, unless you are talking very thin strips.

If you did want to do it with a saw, a lapidary saw with a thin blade would be an option. Brock

Alecia Helton · Post by **Alecia Helton** » Fri Jan 16, 2004 6:33 pm

I always cut pre-fired glass by hand. I can't think of a good reason why you would want to use a saw for that.

I sometimes fire a 3 X 5 piece that may be up to 6 layers deep (mostly dichroic) that I then cut into smaller pieces for pendants and earrings. I don't use my tile saw for this, but use a table saw from Inland that has a diamond blade. It functions like a tile saw, but is much smaller. There is a significant loss to kerf.

If you are only talking about two layers. I would precut the glass and then fire. That seems like the best way. If you're having problems with your back, try adjusting the table you're using. It might be too low.

Alecia

jim simmons · Post by **jim simmons** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 7:48 am

sunshine coaster wrote:I do alot of basic earring & pendant glass cutting: a layer of dichroic, then a layer of clear on top for a cap. I'm wondering if using a tile saw might be more time efficient, and might be a little easier on the old back! I could just lay up a good-sized chunk of dichroic, slap the clear on top, fuse it, then cut it up with the tile saw...right? Does the tile saw cut quickly? I assume you'd have to fire polish the pieces afterwards.

I'd appreciate replies from anyone who's done it both ways. Thanks!

Peggy

I also do a lot of earrings and pendants. What I do is to fire the bigger pieces and then just use my trusty Toyo glass cutter and cut them to size and then fire polish the edges.
Jim

Peggy C · Post by **Peggy C** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 1:33 pm

Thanks for the feedback, everybody. I have new questions now.

To Brock: I never even heard of kerf before...that's a major consideration. By "lapidary saw", do you mean something different than a tile saw? Perhaps a diamond blade? I checked some websites selling lapidary tools; the choices seem to be either trim saws or slab saws. I did see a 4" trim saw (called the Tiny Trim!) for $250 that apparently minimizes kerf (at http://www.accountwizard.com).

To Alecia: You say you "always cut pre-fired glass by hand". Isn't the glass too thick to cut after it's been fired? What do you use to cut it by hand?

To Jim: What's a Toyo glass cutter? Is it a hand cutter with the oil? (That's what I'm using.)

My apologies to everyone...I seem to be missing something here!

Thanks again,
Peggy

jim simmons · Post by **jim simmons** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 4:19 pm

sunshine coaster wrote:

To Jim: What's a Toyo glass cutter? Is it a hand cutter with the oil? (That's

what I'm using.

Yup, That's it.
Jim

My apologies to everyone...I seem to be missing something here!

Thanks again,
Peggy

Peggy C · Post by **Peggy C** » Sat Jan 17, 2004 5:06 pm

Jim, isn't the glass too thick to cut with the handheld cutters once you've fired it?

jim simmons · Post by **jim simmons** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:34 am

sunshine coaster wrote:Jim, isn't the glass too thick to cut with the handheld cutters once you've fired it?

No, I routinely cut 1/4 and 3/8 inch glass with a hand held cutter.
I also use the thick glass running pliers from CRL.
Jim

Alecia Helton · Post by **Alecia Helton** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 11:58 am

Peggy,

I cut single sheets of "pre-fired" glass with a glass cutter and use these pieces in my designs. I only use a saw on glasss has been fused. The kerf is significant. Once you see how much glass you are losing you will cut as much by hand as you can.

Alecia

Susan Moore · Post by **Susan Moore** » Sun Jan 18, 2004 10:46 pm

sunshine coaster wrote:
By "lapidary saw", do you mean something different than a tile saw? Perhaps a diamond blade? I checked some websites selling lapidary tools; the choices seem to be either trim saws or slab saws. I did see a 4" trim saw (called the Tiny Trim!) for $250 that apparently minimizes kerf (at http://www.accountwizard.com).

Peggy

Peggy,

I bought the Hi Tech 4" - 5" trim saw without the blade, ordered a yellow blazer 5" blade instead - both from Kingsley North as recommended by Judith at Vitrum Studio to someone posting a similar question in the old archive. The blade is very thin - very little kerf. I'm using it to cut up tile size pieces and small pattern bars - it works great for small projects. Total cost delivered was $219.

http://www.kingsleynorth.com/trimsaws.html

http://search.cartserver.com/search/sea ... low+blazer

Susan

ps Thanks Judith!

WarmGlass.com