Glass working and glass cutting makes a great
hobby and sideline business. Many people enjoy
working with stained glass. This craft involves
hundreds of beautiful projects, including everything
from a simple sunlight catcher hanging in the
kitchen window to an intricate lampshade. Glass
cutting is also a useful skill for the do-it-yourselfer
repairing broken windowpanes and other glass
items.
The
following are some cutting tips for the
glass hobbyist:
1)
Prepare a suitable surface. The glass cutting
surface must be completely flat, Any unevenness
will cause the glass to either break or score
unevenly. A piece of carpet or even a few sheets
of newspaper will provide padding to help protect
the glass as you are working with it
2)
Holding the cutter. The glass cutting tool
is a small, sharp, bevelled wheel with a handle.
Stand while cutting glass and hold the cutter
however is most comfortable to you. You can
either score the glass toward you or away from
you.
3)
Use moderate to light pressure. For glass cutting
you do not actually cut the glass. You are
going to score or scratch the glass surface.
You only need about 15 pounds of down pressure
on the cutter, just enough to make a scratch
or line in the glass. This is a stress point.
When pressure is applied, the glass should
break along this line.
4)
Never go over the same score line while glass
cutting. The glass will not break evenly.
5)
Tap underside to break. To break the glass
along the score line, turn the piece over and
tap along the score line with the ball end
of the cutter until the glass separates.
Drilling
Holes In Glass Easy With Specialized Bits
In
addition to these basic glass cutting techniques,
the home hobbiest can advance to drilling holes
in glass. There are a wide variety of drill
bits for glass cutting. These bits are offered
on websites such as this one. With these simple
tools the home hobbiest and crafters can become
accomplished at glass cutting.
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