'splain to me about 'band saws'

this is an innovation i know nothing about...basically, since getting
back into SG, i've
ignored the topic when looking at catalogs but ...

all of a sudden it dawned on me that there are some folks out there who
are using
saws to cut glass????? really????

isn't this like cheating? where's the craftsman of old? is everyone
'hi-teching' it
these days?

can you give me a summary of how band saws are used in 100 words or
less???

thanks

ar...
in the dark ages of SG, i guess.

can you give me a summary of how band saws are used in 100 words or
less???

thanks


Glass saws are slow, noisy, and messy - but they can cut glass.
Unfortunately they are most often bought by beginners who think using a
saw will allow them to avoid spending the time learning to cut glass by
hand. These saws are frequently used to cut out shapes that are
structurally unstable and break (often during construction).

There are two basic types of glass saw - band saws and ring saws.
Because they have a low center of gravity, band saws are especially
useful as door stops. The circular ring on ring saws is well suited to
tie a rope through to use it as a boat anchor. There are people that
recommend buying a saw for cutting glass. Those people are almost
always the ones wanting to sell glass saws.

My suggestion concerning glass saws is:

"If a shape can't be cut hand, it shouldn't be cut at all"
"The best choice of saws is the one you decline to buy".

Dennis Brady

DeBrady Glass - http://www.debrady.com
Victorian Art Glass - http://www.victorianartglass.biz
Glass Campus - http://glasscampus.com

wrote in message
oups.com...


can you give me a summary of how band saws are used in 100 words or
less???

thanks


Glass saws are slow, noisy, and messy - but they can cut glass.
Unfortunately they are most often bought by beginners who think using a
saw will allow them to avoid spending the time learning to cut glass by
hand. These saws are frequently used to cut out shapes that are
structurally unstable and break (often during construction).

There are two basic types of glass saw - band saws and ring saws.
Because they have a low center of gravity, band saws are especially
useful as door stops. The circular ring on ring saws is well suited to
tie a rope through to use it as a boat anchor. There are people that
recommend buying a saw for cutting glass. Those people are almost
always the ones wanting to sell glass saws.

My suggestion concerning glass saws is:

"If a shape can't be cut hand, it shouldn't be cut at all"
"The best choice of saws is the one you decline to buy".

Dennis Brady

DeBrady Glass - http://www.debrady.com
Victorian Art Glass - http://www.victorianartglass.biz
Glass Campus - http://glasscampus.com


Please disregard this answer. It was more than 100 words.

wrote:
this is an innovation i know nothing about...basically, since getting
back into SG, i've
ignored the topic when looking at catalogs but ...

all of a sudden it dawned on me that there are some folks out there who
are using
saws to cut glass????? really????

isn't this like cheating? where's the craftsman of old? is everyone
'hi-teching' it
these days?

can you give me a summary of how band saws are used in 100 words or
less???

thanks

ar...
in the dark ages of SG, i guess.


I don't do SG but I use a bandsaw to make curved cuts in my fused
pieces. I'm talking about pieces 1/4" thick and upward. Mostly upward. I
can't imagine needing one for single layer glass.

--
Jack

http://www.glasterpiece.com

okay...so now i've heard from the guys who don't like the idea of
cutting flat glass
with a saw...is there ANYONE here that DOES use a saw, band or ring,
i'm not fussy..

what are the plus sides to this issue?

they sell the darned things...someone must be using them...

any saw users out there???

ar.

wrote:
okay...so now i've heard from the guys who don't like the idea of
cutting flat glass
with a saw...is there ANYONE here that DOES use a saw, band or ring,
i'm not fussy..

what are the plus sides to this issue?

they sell the darned things...someone must be using them...

any saw users out there???

ar.

Nor am I making Sg but in fused glass work a saw (I don't have) opens
few possibilities
1. To cut 2 pieces of glass at the same time, providing a neat seam
between colors. In SG the tin/lead seam is more forgiving, so you do not
need the saw.
2. To cut awful shapes where you cannot separate the pieces with running
pliers. This is also often against the aesthetics of SG work.
3. As mentioned before, making delicate shapes of thick glass,
especially when the thickness is uneven.
4. It makes possible pattern bars. Fusing colors to a rod which is then
sawn into slices.

for 1. I use practice and patience
for 2. I use Dremel with a cylindrical bit
for 3. I cut further away and grind to shape
for 4. I have no use (yet)
However a band saw is in my dream list, quite far down.
Before it comes sandblasting, second and third kiln, lampworking gear etc.

-lauri

wrote:

okay...so now i've heard from the guys who don't like the idea of
cutting flat glass
with a saw...is there ANYONE here that DOES use a saw, band or ring,
i'm not fussy..

what are the plus sides to this issue?

they sell the darned things...someone must be using them...

any saw users out there???

ar.

I have a small band saw and use it to prepare shapes that could not be
cut otherwise before slumping them, it also gets used for cutting colour
bar before fusing it and blowing. Good also for cutting tiles to shape.
The one I have fits on top of a Krystal grinder , similar to inland, and
works surprisingly well although I think I have finally used the best of
the blade recently cutting a fair bit of 1" Kugler colour bar..

well, so far, i haven't heard from one stained glass person who's
using a band or ring saw....

but until i do, the jury's still out...

ar

On Thu, 6 Jul 2006 23:02:53 -0400, Moonraker wrote:

Please disregard this answer. It was more than 100 words.



The executive summary, though, is pretty short: Dennis doesn't sell saws,
so he doesn't recommend them.

For once, I agree with him, but it won't keep me up at night because I
know that if he started selling them tomorrow morning, he'd be calling
them an essential piece of any "artisan's" studio by lunchtime.

wrote in message
ups.com...
okay...so now i've heard from the guys who don't like the idea of
cutting flat glass
with a saw...is there ANYONE here that DOES use a saw, band or ring,
i'm not fussy..

what are the plus sides to this issue?

they sell the darned things...someone must be using them...

any saw users out there???

ar.


Ok...I'll fess up. I have a saw. Mostly it gathers dust. I use it to
make very tight inside curves where hand cutting, grozing, and grinding
wouldn't work as well. I probably use it once or twice a year and usually
on glass that has a heavy texture (like baroque) that seems to have a mind
of it's own.