Glass cutting problems

[Mark Patoka]

I'm trying to cut my own glass for a cabinet door I'm making. It will have 6 panes of glass, each approx 6" x 8". I bought one of those basic glass cutting tools and am using regular glass from picture frames.

I've watched enough online videos that it can't be hard but I can never get the break to completely follow my scratch line. It may follow the scratch line 1/3 of the way, sometimes more before it, well, looks like broken glass, making the piece I'm trying to cut unusable.

The videos make it sound like the tool makes a nice scratching sound, I hardly get a sound at all. I've tried using the tool/wheel dry, with a drop of oil as lubricant, tried pressing hard enough to almost break the glass, about every combo on lots of practice pieces and it just won't break completely along the scratch line.

Do I have a faulty tool and need to just buy another one that will give me a deeper scratch? Every video makes it look so easy there should be no problem.

Any suggestions?

[Bob Vavricka]

Mark,
Is this new glass or some you are reusing? I'm not a glass cutting expert, but from what I understand older glass can be rather difficult to cut.
Bob V.

[David G Baker]

Bob is right on cutting green glass or new glass. Older glass has a tendency to get brittle with age and much more difficult to work with.

[Tim Boger]

I'm trying to cut my own glass for a cabinet door I'm making. It will have 6 panes of glass, each approx 6" x 8". I bought one of those basic glass cutting tools and am using regular glass from picture frames.

I've watched enough online videos that it can't be hard but I can never get the break to completely follow my scratch line. It may follow the scratch line 1/3 of the way, sometimes more before it, well, looks like broken glass, making the piece I'm trying to cut unusable.

The videos make it sound like the tool makes a nice scratching sound, I hardly get a sound at all. I've tried using the tool/wheel dry, with a drop of oil as lubricant, tried pressing hard enough to almost break the glass, about every combo on lots of practice pieces and it just won't break completely along the scratch line.

Do I have a faulty tool and need to just buy another one that will give me a deeper scratch? Every video makes it look so easy there should be no problem.

Any suggestions?

Your local HD will cut for free if you buy the glass there, if your using 1/8 inch it costs almost nothing.

Tim

[James Stokes]

Cutting glass takes a little practice. When I was a young man I went to work in a glass shop. My first day there I did absolutly nothing but work on cutting glass. By the end of the day I was not having much problems any more.

The main thing you need to do is hold your cutter straight and make a smooth draw with the cutter. You should have an even line with no skips. Then use your table, line your cut up with the end of your table pick up one end of the glass hanging over the table lift it up and then snap it down on the edge of the table. That was how I was taught to do it.

[Perry Holbrook]

I cut lots and lots of glass. I would guess that you are pressing to hard. You only need about 5 to 7 lbs of down force to score properly.

Dip the cutter in paint thinner before each score. If that doesn't help, PM me and I'll see what else I can suggest.

Perry

[Dave Johnson29]

I bought one of those basic glass cutting tools and am using regular glass from picture frames.

How sharp is the edge of the glass cutting wheel? I have seen some with a pretty smooth rounded corner. You may need to sort through them at the hardware store to get a good one.

Hold the cutter between your first and second finger and perpendicular to the glass surface. As Perry says not too much pressure. I use a piece of cloth with WD40 sprayed on it. I make a short run on the damp cloth to lube the wheel then cut.

To break, I lift the glass up with my thumb over the cut on one edge and slip a piece of thin wood, maybe 1/8" x 1" under the full width. Lay the glass back down on that then push down on the overhanging edge.

[Perry Holbrook]

For regular single strength glass like you are cutting, the easiest way to run the score is to hold the glass with both hands along the edge with each thumb on either side of the score. Then with a twist of each wrist pulling out and down you sort of pull the glass apart along the score line. If you feel un-easy, wear a good pair of leather work gloves.

Perry

[Joe Pelonio]

I do stained glass work and have cut a lot of glass, and yes, it should make a nice scratching sound. Most people make a mistake with the angle holding the tool, and the frame keeps the wheel from making good contact. You should practice on scraps first. For large pieces the table edge method helps, but the best tip is to score quickly and snap immediately, wait too long and it won't break right.

[Neal Clayton]

get a diamond tipped cutter. they hold an edge infinitely longer than the steel wheel type.

the steel wheeled ones will wear out very fast if your technique isn't good, which for the first few times won't be. diamond tipped cutters are much more forgiving.

lots of arts/crafts supply stores on the web sell them, probably 20-30 bucks.

[Perry Holbrook]

One other tip, never go back over your score line a second time. Not only does it cause breaking out problems, it damages the cutter wheel to make future cuts difficult.

[Mark Patoka]

Thanks for all the tips. The glass I'm using is from a friend that buys low-cost picture frames from x-Mart for her oil paintings and doesn't need the glass, so it shouldn't be anything special. I've practice a fair amount with all my pieces that don't turn out using the table break method, the two hands method, score the line once, etc. with the same basic result. I'll look at getting another/different cutter. The one I have is new from the Borg and just seems to roll along the surface, hence very little cutting action.

[Randy Cohen]

It seems to me that you could use a tile cutter but some of these other guys are more glass aware than I am. the tile cutter I mean is the one with the wheel mounted to a guide on top and then a sort of v shaped piece that you push down on to snap the tile.

[Joe Pelonio]

The tile cutter has a wider blade and the pressure is meant for tile and could shatter glass. It may work but only with a real light touch.

[Dave Lehnert]

I picked up some glass pliers at Harbor Freight the other day like the ones in the pic below. Got them because they were only $3. Have no idea if they work. Never used them yet.