Using a tile saw chips glass. Is this normal?

[JeffP]

Yes, I am new to this, so this may not be the smartest question.
I purchased a tile saw from my hardware and have used it to cut glass. It certainly cuts the glass, but it seems rough.
No matter how slow I go, it chips small pieces of glass off and they fly about. I am thinking maybe the blade is too coarse??
Is this normal or should it cut smoother without chipping?

[Morganica]

The diamond blades that come with hardware store tile saws cut ceramic well enough but are usually too coarse for glass. You need a blade intended for glasswork. HIS sells them and I think Daniel Lopacki and CR Loo do, too.

I use the Result blade from HIS and rarely get chips unless I'm going 'way too fast. Even then, any chips are tiny. I'm not a glasscutting expert by any means, but I did write about using saws awhile back: http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2012/ ... lass-saws/

[JeffP]

Thanks Morganica. That was a big help.
I can see now that what is happening isn't acceptable and your article about cutting was a fantastic resource.
So its off to get a new blade.
At some time it will be a new saw as well. My saw is a cheapy and the whole water feed is from a reservoir below that the blade runs through. Not great, but seems to work, though messy.

[Lynn Perry]

I bought a 6" Results blade from HIS to replace my 6" MK blade. The MK blade has worked well but was getting worn, and I wanted to try the Results blade. When I mounted the Results blade on my lapidary saw, it was slightly larger in diameter than the MK blade and was rubbing the saw baffle which reduces overspray. Fortunately, I noticed the problem and was able to easily enlarge the baffle with a file before I ran the saw. If I had not noticed the problem, I probably would have ruined the blade as soon as I started the saw. You might want to pay special attention to the clearances when you install your replcement blade.

[dee]

other options to the result blades are the mk 303 professional blade and the 215gl blade - they cut very well for jewelry and are a bit more cost effective than the result blades if cost is an issue...
D

[JeffP]

Thanks everyone for the info. Sad thing for me is I am in Australia and I can't find anybody that sells those brands, though I am sure there are equivalent brands.

[Morganica]

You may be in luck--I saw on Facebook that HIS was going out to Ausglass. You probably can talk to Bob and order there.

[Brad Walker]

Thanks everyone for the info. Sad thing for me is I am in Australia and I can't find anybody that sells those brands, though I am sure there are equivalent brands.

Amazon.com ships to Australia. That's where you can buy the MK blades.

[JeffP]

Thanks Brad. Will check it out.

[Mike Griffin]

The biggest problem with many cheap tile saws is that the blade doesn't run true meaning that as the blade rotates once it can wobble from side to side. That is the problem with my tile saw, it wobbles by more than 1 mm so that on each revolution it slaps the glass and causes nasty chips. I armed myself with a sharp lead pencil and took off to the hardware store. Hold the point of the pencil against the side of the blade close to the cutting edge and rotate the blade through one revolution. Tile saw the same as mine but several years newer also wobbled by more than 1 mm meaning that no one recognised or fixed the problem during the intervening years. Another brand, more expensive of course only just detectably wobbled, was likely less than 0.1 mm. Don't let them convince you that the spinning blade will compensate for the wobble. It won't.