quality glass cutter

[ironman55]

I am looking for a good quality glass cutter as there are tons on the market and I don't know which one to choose as I have little experience.

I did buy one but its terrible or I am terrible with it, or both

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks, Joe

[Studiodunn]

So far my Bohle Silberschnitt has been my favorite cutter to date. I went through a pistol grip phase, but find I am enjoying the feel of an easy grip approach to glass cutting.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Silberschnitt-E ... 0973692150

[Jolinda]

I think a lot has to do with your arm, wrist and shoulder strength (probably height is a factor as well). For me, an aging
woman who has cut glass with almost every cutter ever made, I wouldn't take a million dollars for my MacInnes Glass Cutter, sold
exclusively at Sunshine Glass works.
They are special carbide wheels and you can use different wheels for different types of glass.
At one time they had a wonderful plastic pistol shaped holder for this cutter and fortunately I ordered two of those before they
no longer carry them but just the stick shaped cutter works very well. Dan Fenton, who I respected enormously, said if you don't
buy yourself anything else, get this cutter. I did, and have two for regular and hard to cut glasses, have changed out the wheels
(makes it so affordible) easily and continue to be thrilled and amazed at the improvement in my cutting experience. Hope this helps.
Here's a link: http://www.sunshineglass.com/rcol/c-tools/macinnes.htm

[Rick Wilton]

I use these

I use them on everything from Bullseye to 19mm 3/4" float glass.

New ones are for thin glass and the old "worn out" ones are for thicker glass.

They are $25.00 a dozen, yes that's like $2.00 each.

I have some around here that cost $60.00 each but I prefer the cheapo's

[Morganica]

It's one of those things where an expert can make a horrible tool look great, and a newcomer can make a great tool...

When I started out cutting glass, I had so much trouble I bought a Taurus glass saw just to avoid it.* I pretty quickly discovered that I could make much cleaner cuts in about 1/10th the time, without wasting so much glass, if I simply learned how to score properly.

I ordered a Toyo pistol grip cutter and some cutting oil, and spent a few hours practicing on scrap float until I could regularly hear and feel the correct scccrrriiiiiiiitch sound of a good score. I learned a lot about how different glass (and cutting wheels, there are different kinds for different thicknesses of glass) behave.

A few years later an instructor I very much respect suggested I switch to a pencil grip for more control. I tried it, and have been using it ever since. Sometimes I use a Thomas grip--a tiny little cutter with a "saddle" that fits into the webbing between your forefinger and thumb, although the pistol grip is the one I reach for naturally. But I find just about any cutter works, now that I'm used to it.

When I work with new glass artists, though, they seem to cut best with the pistol grip. So I'd give that a try.

-------------
*Good saw, rotten reason to buy one. A saw will grind out the width of its blade (the kerf), so every cut wastes that much glass. It's also slow, noisy, creates an edge that's tailor-made for devit if you don't keep it clean, and every cut uses up a bit of that expensive diamond blade.

[Valerie Adams]

I've been using the same Toyo pistol grip for about 10 years. Only bought a new one when I dropped the old one on the concrete floor.

[ironman55]

Thanks to all who posted. I have only cut bullseye glass so far. Some pieces score great and others come out like I used a jackhammer. The texture on each piece is a little different. Now I have a decision to make. I have been a cabinetmaker for over 30 years so I think in terms of a bandsaw when it comes to curved pieces. I do however need to learn to cut with a cutter as well. Nothing beats hands on

Thanks, Joe

[Jerrwel]

Thanks to all who posted. I have only cut bullseye glass so far. Some pieces score great and others come out like I used a jackhammer. The texture on each piece is a little different. Now I have a decision to make. I have been a cabinetmaker for over 30 years so I think in terms of a bandsaw when it comes to curved pieces. I do however need to learn to cut with a cutter as well. Nothing beats hands on

Thanks, Joe

I think BE had a tech sheet on cutting glass that would probably be helpful if someone can help us find it as I can't find diddly on their site.

[Marty]

Joe- BE (or any art glass) can be finicky, some sheets will have their own issues (and sometimes parts of a sheet will be fine and others....).
Get yourself a large pile of scrap window glass and start cutting. Straights, curves, circles. Over and over. Try it with oil/kerosene and without. See what happens when you run the score with this plier or with another or with your hands. Find out how tight an arc you can get. When you're sort of comfortable, try different cutters.

[Bert Weiss]

I've been cutting glass since 1972. There is one cutter that stands out far and above every other cutter I have worked with. My cutter of choice is the Toyo Custom Grip tap wheel cutter. I use it for everything from 3mm Bullseye to 19mm float. I do not recommend it for glass thinner than 3mm. It can last for longer than a decade, used every day.

I use more float glass than anything. When I cut float glass, I paint the glass where I am going to score with kerosene. Kerosene costs around $3 a gallon and a gallon could last you half a lifetime. I started my cutting career on stained glass. Typically, I did not use any cutting fluid, and had no problems. With float glass, when I paint with kero, the cut usually works. When I skip that step, the cut usually fails. I would never advise anybody to not use a cutting fluid on float glass.

I love Toyo cutters of all styles. The day I got my first Toyo was the day I stopped screwing up. They do a lousy job of fluid delivery to the cutting wheel, as most of their styles are designed to do. I stopped messing around with trying to get the fluid delivery to work, and switched to the paint brush. I much prefer that routine.

[JestersBaubles]

I've been cutting glass since 1972. There is one cutter that stands out far and above every other cutter I have worked with. My cutter of choice is the Toyo Custom Grip tap wheel cutter. I use it for everything from 3mm Bullseye to 19mm float. I do not recommend it for glass thinner than 3mm. It can last for longer than a decade, used every day. .

I use this custom grip cutter, too. I bought a pistol grip last year and haven't cut one piece of glass with it. I was thinking it might be easier on my arthritic hands, but for right now, I love the control so I guess I'll wait until I'm REALLY in pain to switch

Dana

[Kevin Midgley]

I'm with Bert.
http://www.glassaccessories.com/dealer-locator/

[Jerrwel]

Thanks to all who posted. I have only cut bullseye glass so far. Some pieces score great and others come out like I used a jackhammer. The texture on each piece is a little different. Now I have a decision to make. I have been a cabinetmaker for over 30 years so I think in terms of a bandsaw when it comes to curved pieces. I do however need to learn to cut with a cutter as well. Nothing beats hands on

Thanks, Joe

Here's the 'Studio Tips' document from BE for cutting glass; they added a document index at some point so I was able to find it http://www.bullseyeglass.com/methods-id ... tting.html.

[Studiodunn]

Bullseye also has a really awesome in depth video about this subject if you are a video subscriber. Part appears to be available FREE, but I think for the more detailed stuff you need to be a subscriber.

http://www.bullseyeglass.com/education/ ... g-137.html

[DonMcClennen]

In the last 2 days I have cut over 400 strips 1/4" wide x 24" long with 100% straight accurate breaks.... Pistol grip, tap wheel, does the trick.. I think the tap wheel really helps.

[Bert Weiss]

In the last 2 days I have cut over 400 strips 1/4" wide x 24" long with 100% straight accurate breaks.... Pistol grip, tap wheel, does the trick.. I think the tap wheel really helps.

Don, those are not easy cuts. You can't argue with success. The tap wheel has little bumps on the wheel bearing hole. These serve to drive the cutting wheel a little deeper in to the glass. It is designed to minimize flare when breaking out the cuts. The thicker the glass, the bigger a deal the flare becomes.

My first switch was from the straight pencil style cutter to the pistol grip. When I got the Custom Grip in my hand, it was an amazing improvement in my ability to control the cutter. The little tab allows you to concentrate your whole arm up to the shoulder on the wheel, and holding it like a pencil, allows you great control.

Some years after I was cutting a lot of glass, I noticed that my neck is larger than shirts my size are cut. Size Men's Large fits me just fine, unless I want to button the top button and wear a tie. For a shirt to fit my neck, I need an extra large. I have always assumed this was glass cutting muscles that I never noticed except on the rare occasion I wear a necktie. I would guess I am not alone on that one.

[Kevin Midgley]

Don knows a great cutter saves money.
If you know what you are doing, cutting narrowing than 1/4" is simple
http://www.glassaccessories.com/

[ironman55]

Thanks to all for the input. Where do you find a cheap source of float glass? Do you use salvage glass? Can float glass be used to slump?
Thanks, Joe

[Bert Weiss]

Thanks to all for the input. Where do you find a cheap source of float glass? Do you use salvage glass? Can float glass be used to slump?
Thanks, Joe

I work primarily with float glass. The ideal way to work is to buy a 2 ton case, and everything in the case is compatible. I am able to pay attention, and only cut on the air side of the glass, so I can tell without testing, which side is which.

Float glass is a commodity, so you can never be sure what company manufactured the glass. I am fortunate that the wholesaler I use has a primary supplier, as well as several others. They tend to know who made their glass, when I ask. I find that the glass I get made by PPG in their Fort Worth plant is compatible with iteslf, and with Youghiogheny EZ fuse.

So, to be sure, if you are getting random pieces of float, fuse glass to itself, and not to another random piece.

Float glass is quite different from the fusing glasses. It tends to require all temperatures to be about 80ºF hotter than fusing glasses for both fusing and annealing. Float glass has a tin side, which is both a great help, and a pain in the butt. You MUST fire tin side down. The air side will come out rough. You must never slump such that the tin side gets compressed (inside of a bowl) When you compress the tin layer, it fogs up, only where it is compressed. Unless your mold is a perfect sphere, the result is spotty and not pretty. The tin layer will change some colors when in contact with them. You have to test.

I have done a lot of float work. My glass of choice is 10mm thick. I also work with 6mm for lighting. I do my best to avoid any glass thinner than 6mm.

I have messed around with fusing broken tempered glass. This is pretty tricky. It requires quite a bit of heatwork, and is not easy to anneal.

[ironman55]

Thanks, where would I find a supplier for that? I have tried searching and nothing specific comes up. I was thinking of trying pieces that start with broken glass and would only be tack fused and then possibly slumped. Art for walls and as a center piece only. Is a kiln that heats to 1700F sufficient?
Thanks, Joe