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I've been toying with the idea of getting a tile saw to cut up 6mm glass into strips - but I've read a couple of places elsewhere that you can cut 3-6mm glass with a normal hand held glass cutter. I have a Toyo pencil grip cutter but I haven't been able to break the glass. I had a 5cm square piece of 6mm glass (I had fused 2x3mm layers ) and I ran a score on that but it wouldn't break. Mind you I only have economy running pliers (plastic). Is it because I need to get stronger breaking pliers, or is there some technique I need to use to get the glass to break cleanly? I've only started glass fusing recently but am confident when cutting glass 3mm and generally have no problems. But 6mm has me stumped. I dont' really want to buy a tile saw if I can use hand tools that I already have.

Any advice would be appreciated:)

EDIT: I just had another go and did manage to cut the glass although the cuts weren't as straight as I would have liked. Keeping the post here in case any of the experienced members have any advice they could share:)

Leponitt makes a heavy duty running pliers that makes the job much easier. You may want to pad the jaws with electrical tape to minimize chipping.

You can easily score and break 6mm glass in strips. Circles can also be done in the normal fashion... the secret is you should (must) use the breaking pliers described by Marty for thick glass. They are available from Bullseye.

I have trouble cutting 3mm glass but 6mm, 10mm, and 12mm are easy to cut in strips using this cutter. My everyday glass is 10mm thick.

I use these running pliers for anything 2" or wider

I use these pliers for cutting a 2" strip in to a 1" strip

The strip cutting principle that makes it easiest is to cut pieces of glass in half. So if you have 8" of glass and you want 1" strips, cut it in to 4", 2", and then 1" strips.
Having the right tools makes it routine and easy.

I agree, But I have found that this running plier is the best economically speaking.
Also a Toyo "tap wheel" cutter is a great help.
Jim




The strip cutting principle that makes it easiest is to cut pieces of glass in half. So if you have 8" of glass and you want 1" strips, cut it in to 4", 2", and then 1" strips.
Having the right tools makes it routine and easy.[/quote]

I'd amend that: cut all the strips first and then break them out in fours, twos and ones.

jim simmons wrote:I agree, But I have found that this running plier is the best economically speaking.
Also a Toyo "tap wheel" cutter is a great help.
Jim




The strip cutting principle that makes it easiest is to cut pieces of glass in half. So if you have 8" of glass and you want 1" strips, cut it in to 4", 2", and then 1" strips.
Having the right tools makes it routine and easy.

[/quote]

JIm I agree that they are the most economical. I bought my pair decades ago, and they cost me $100. The cost has come way down. However I find that they often take a bite out of the bottom of the glass, if I have to press too hard. If they were my only running plier, I'd figure out how to pad both sides with rubber. They dip work slick for me cutting 1" strips of 10mm glass. I have a piece that requires these, so I have done lots over the years. Cutting a 1" strip off the end of a sheet always flares. Cutting a 2" strip in to a 1" strip does not.

Thank you very much everyone for your helpful replies:)

I will have to look into different runners.

Yesterday I cut some 6 mm , 1/2" wide strips (two 3 mm sheets, fused). I tried to break them initially with my Silberschnitts and worried I was going to break the runners, though I don't know that I have the hand strength. I finally resorted to the Morton Safety Break button, but I had to LEAN on the push block with all my weight to run the score. When they actually ran, they broke beautifully. I was working with a 12x12" sheet, so this worked great for initially cutting it in half, then half then half... (other than it wore me out!). However, a few of the breaks did go awry and when they did, it was impossible to break out the remaining scores on that piece. Once I got down to two 1/2" pieces with a score down the middle, I was able to break those out with the Silberschnitts if I tried REALLY REALLY hard.

[ I have RA but thankfully the new meds are working great since I am actually able to use my hands today . ]

Do you think the Leponitts would be a good tool to do this, or is there something else? Also, I want to nip these strips into squares. Does anyone have a recommendation for decent mosaic nippers? I see Leponitt has some, and then there are the Bohle Zig Zags. I am willing to pay for the ZZs if I can get something that I can actually use without debilitating myself. Barring that, I'm going for the more "organic look" and a hammer .

Thank you, Dana W.

jim simmons wrote:I agree, But I have found that this running plier is the best economically speaking.

[/quote]

What brand/model are these?

Dana

Dana, they do look like my Leponitts, I use them a lot, like them a lot! ---and you know I am not Superwoman!
I use them for most of my strip cutting, even 3or 4 mm glass.

JestersBaubles wrote:

jim simmons wrote:I agree, But I have found that this running plier is the best economically speaking.

What brand/model are these?

Dana[/quote]
They used to be called PPG running pliers

Thanks, Bert -- Looks like they are referred to on Amazon as "plate glass pliers".

and, Barbel... you are superwoman in my mind

Best, Dana

JestersBaubles wrote:Thanks, Bert -- Looks like they are referred to on Amazon as "plate glass pliers".

and, Barbel... you are superwoman in my mind

Best, Dana

Plate glass pliers is a pretty broad term, so I'd make sure they are the same ones. These are running pliers. Most plate pliers are not.