How to cut glass at home

How to cut glass at home

In everyday life, for sure, many had to deal with such a problem as replacing glass in windows. And then the question. how to cut glass, undoubtedly tormented the householders. After all, this material is fragile. You need to work with it in such a way as to avoid unnecessary cracks and not damage the workpiece. The article tells about all this.

Glass cutting. essential tools

Before discussing the question of how to cut glass with a glass cutter, it is worth talking about the varieties of this tool. The best model is the diamond glass cutter. The cutting element in it is a small diamond, which is securely fixed, and there is a comfortable wooden handle. Such a tool is capable of cutting glass with a thickness of up to ten millimeters. Its convenience lies in the fact that when one blunt edge of a diamond fails, another is put into operation. For home use, it is best to choose tools with a curved cutting edge. In addition to diamond cutters, there are roller glass cutters, where the main element is rollers made of tungsten and cobalt hard alloy. Oil glass cutter can be called a newer tool. This is the same roller version, only equipped with automatic lubrication, which protects the rollers from friction and prolongs the life of the tool.

Glass handling rules

Before you start working with this material, you need to adhere to the following: the glass must be clean and dry. To know how to cut glass properly, follow these rules. Consider the exact dimensions of the frame for which you are going to process the material. To do this, you need to measure all the angles using a square. This simple drafting tool also comes in handy for measuring finished glass that has been cut at the factory. They are often produced with uneven corners.

The diagonal of the binding must be measured on the new frame. The markings on the glass are placed on the reverse side. A soft pencil is perfect for this purpose. For ease of cutting, the material must be placed on a soft, flat surface, for which a table covered with a cloth is suitable. Before cutting the glass, make sure you have a ruler on hand. After all, with its help, all mowing lines will be drawn exactly, without errors. To more conveniently fix the ruler on slippery glass, you need to glue a small piece of rubber to it.

When cutting, the tool should move close to the ruler. This is necessary to avoid hesitation during the process. After cutting, the glass can break on the sharp edge of the table. If it is rounded, it will not work, as it can cause unwanted cracks. And it is best to release the cut out workpiece by lightly tapping on the cut made by the mowing line. You can cut glass not only with special glass cutters (which will be discussed below), but also with such unexpected tools as a file and scissors. The file is useful for creating multiple cuts that run along the edge of the glass. Then, using a ruler, you need to draw a hot soldering iron along the marked mowing line. A break can be made along the resulting straight crack.

How to cut glass using scissors? It turns out it’s easy too! First, the material must be placed in water. This is a necessary security measure. Indeed, in the process of cutting, fragments will appear, but they will not be dangerous while in the liquid. Nevertheless, it is necessary to additionally protect hands and eyes before starting work with glass. Tailor’s scissors make a small crack in the water, the process completes the capillary effect, with the help of which the pieces of glass are broken.

It is important not only to know how to cut glass, but also the rules for working with the material, and how to choose the right tools. All this will ensure the quality of the finished product and reduce the time for solving household problems.

How to cut glass with a glass cutter: detailed instructions

If you have planned to carry out work on cutting glass, then first of all you should decide which glass cutter is best suited for your case. At the moment there are two types of tools. diamond and roller.

The diamond model is considered to be the leader among the tools of this type. If you are going to use it at home, then the model that has a beveled edge is perfect, which is very convenient for breaking off cut pieces. You can cut glass with such a glass cutter almost ten kilometers of material, with a thickness of up to one centimeter. But at the same time, it should be borne in mind that there are cheap types in which an artificial diamond is installed, which allows you to cut glass with a thickness not exceeding 5 mm.

Unlike diamond, a roller glass cutter has a working element in the form of a small roller, usually made of carbide materials, usually a tungsten-cobalt alloy, which is capable of cutting material up to 4 mm thick. The advantage of this type of tool is that the roller can easily move on the glass, while not putting much effort to lay the furrow.

The work process is carried out in the following order:

Clean and dry glass is laid on the surface of the working table. The necessary markup is made with a marker. Further, at both ends, small cuts are made along the marked mowing line. Please note that the material used must be in close contact with the surface of the work table.

After that, you need to put a ruler on the glass and draw a line along it with a tool. It is worth holding a diamond glass cutter in your hands in the same way as a regular pencil; when passing along the marked mowing line, only a little effort should be applied. As a result, only a barely noticeable mark remains on the glass, which looks like a scratch. If the instrument is in good working order, then a characteristic crackle-like sound must be present. If the sound is creaking, then this means that its cutting element needs to be sharpened on a special bar for this.

Holding such a tool during operation should be at a slight angle, the correctness of which is determined empirically. Please note that a tool that is in the correct position relative to the glass leaves a colorless thin line.

A roller glass cutter, unlike a diamond one, must be held strictly at right angles to the surface of the glass, while pressing it with the middle and thumb, and pressing it with the index finger. Please note that the roller tool is pressed a little more than the diamond one, and the cut itself should turn out to be white.

In order to get a high-quality and, of course, even cut. remember a few simple rules that must be followed when working with glass using a diamond tool:

• Do not press on the glass while moving the cutter, otherwise the cut will be too deep and the edges will be uneven.
• In no case should you make another cut on the resulting mowing line. Otherwise, the glass may break. The incision should be made as quickly as possible. For example, if we cut a length into a meter, then you need to spend no more than two seconds on it.
• In order for the workpiece to break off quickly and accurately along the mowing line of the cut, you need to lightly tap on the back of the glass. After which you will not need any effort to break it off.

If you are just a novice master, then it is best to practice on small pieces, this will help determine the correct angle of inclination of the instrument, gain experience, reduce losses, and also avoid mistakes in the future.

How To Cut Glass

How to cut glass with a glass cutter at home

Sooner or later, the household may need to replace the glass on its own. But working with such a fragile material is very traumatic. In this connection, in order to avoid injuries and excessive consumption of material, you should know the basic rules for working with this material and the selected tool.

Cutting ordinary glass is very simple and it will not cause any difficulties for a person. You can cut such glasses with a special glass cutter or even ordinary scissors.

If you have no idea how to properly handle this tool, then you can watch numerous videos on this topic on our website. They will help you cut out the desired shape and provide the necessary information for working with a rather complex and fragile material like glass.

How to cut glass without a glass cutter

You can cut glass without using a glass cutter. Very often, the simplest scissors are used for this procedure. To cut fragile material with scissors, place it in warm water and cut out pieces of the size you need underneath. Regular glass will be as easy to cut with scissors as cardboard or other sturdy paper.

If a large piece of glass needs to be cut, it can be placed in a large basin or tub. Then run the sharp part of the scissors over the glass, break off unnecessary parts of the glass. Be sure to put on gloves first to avoid cutting yourself on the sharp edge. At the same time, it is also desirable to protect the eyes.

In this way, you can cut glass no more than 3 mm. Shapes can only be cut with straight contours. It is imperative to prepare a template in advance and glue it to the glass using glue. It is worth noting one interesting point: the more water is above the glass, the easier it will be to cut the future product.

You can also use twine, some hot liquid, and a small vessel that needs to be filled with cold water. You need to make the necessary marks on the glass, then soak the string with alcohol or gasoline, fold it onto the marks and set it on fire. Immediately after the fire goes out, you need to pour a thin stream of water over the fishing line. At this point, the glass must be cracked. Then break off the glass along the crack that appears and sand all the edges with sandpaper. If no cracks appear, then you need to repeat the whole procedure again. In this way, you can cut very complex shapes, everything will depend on how you lay the twine.

How to cut a circle out of glass

In order to be able to cut a circle out of glass, you can use several different methods, which may differ depending on the diameter of the future circle and, of course, the thickness of the glass.

The simplest and most common way to cut an even circle is to use a circular glass cutter. Usually, the presence of such a tool on the farm is quite rare. But for these purposes, you can use the usual tool.

First of all, you will need to designate the central part of the future product and fix a special suction cup on it. Then you need to attach a strong thread or fishing line to this suction cup with a length equal to the radius of the planned circle. The glass cutter itself must be tied to the end of this rope. Tighten the rope as much as possible and then draw the line in a circle around the suction cup with the tool. When the circle is drawn, it is very important to additionally make more beam mowing lines, which will eliminate unnecessary pieces of glass around the finished product.

Preparatory activities

In order for the cut to be of high quality, you must first prepare the material for work. If the glass is new, then just wipe it down. A newspaper is best suited for these purposes, it mainly wipes the surface dry, and also does not leave lint and stains behind.

If the glass was previously in use, then before cutting the material with a glass cutter, it will take a little more time to prepare it. First of all, such a surface will need to be washed well using special glass cleaning products. This is followed by a thorough degreasing process. Alternatively, you can use kerosene. To do this, wipe the glass thoroughly with a cloth soaked in kerosene and wait until it is completely dry.

At the same time, the stage of glass preparation also includes its cutting. There is no doubt that you will be able to achieve the final result without waste, especially if you need to cut a product with an irregular geometric shape. But if you make the calculation as correctly as possible, then you can reduce the amount of waste several times.

Also, make sure that the working surface is sufficiently flat and without slopes, but not too hard, it is advisable to make the working surface of plywood or fiberboard, and cover it with an oilcloth or soft cloth on top.

Compliance with safety precautions

When cutting glass, it is very important to observe safety precautions, because the material is quite fragile and dangerous. You can not only cut yourself, but also injure your eye with shrapnel.

In no case should you cut glass on your knees or on unreliable objects with a glass cutter. Never grab the edge of the glass, as raw edges can be very sharp. If you want to raise the workpieces, then you should make a wrap with your hands from the sides.

To avoid cuts, wear protective gloves and goggles before handling. It is also important to wear closed shoes so that the glass does not cut your foot if it falls accidentally. Clothing should be made of dense and thick fabric, which will also help to avoid accidental injury.

In order to prevent small glass fragments from falling outside the working room, clothes and shoes must be changed at the end of work.