Advice, Help & Suggestions Please!

I have just retired and am looking for a hobby - something to occupy my
time...... I thought it would be fun to learn how to cut glass and make my
own windchimes.....

I do not know anyone who has experience in cutting glass to help me - -
Soooo, what would be easier in your opinion???

Buying 8X10 sheets of colored glass from a glass company - cutting the glass
into 1X2 or 1X3 strips and drilling a hole to hang - - -

OR buying some One inch 1X2 or 1X3 pyramid or pencil bevels from a place I
saw on the Internet called McGills Glass Warehouse (www.mcgillsglass.com/)
and then just drilling a hole to hang?

I plan to use glass beads on the filament used to hang the 'chime' cutting
my own strips would give me the opportunity to get different colored glass -
I would rather go this route if it wouldn't be too difficult to learn how to
cut glass -

If y'all think that cutting the glass would be a bit difficult for a
complete novice, then maybe learning to drill holes and using the already
cut bevels would be the way to go?????

I just do not know what to do - - - - - -

Please - I need all the tips I can get - I am a total beginner in doing
something like this - a total novice in the craft world - I just have the
time and want to try and learn something new that I would enjoy doing.

I appreciate you comments.....
Thanks & Have a FABULOUS day!

take a class at your local community center, community college, or at a
local stained glass retailer. you'll find out if you like it, and how to do
it, pretty quickly.

"BoBo" wrote in message
...
I have just retired and am looking for a hobby - something to occupy my
time...... I thought it would be fun to learn how to cut glass and make
my
own windchimes.....

I do not know anyone who has experience in cutting glass to help me - -
Soooo, what would be easier in your opinion???

Buying 8X10 sheets of colored glass from a glass company - cutting the
glass
into 1X2 or 1X3 strips and drilling a hole to hang - - -

OR buying some One inch 1X2 or 1X3 pyramid or pencil bevels from a place I
saw on the Internet called McGills Glass Warehouse (www.mcgillsglass.com/)
and then just drilling a hole to hang?

I plan to use glass beads on the filament used to hang the 'chime' cutting
my own strips would give me the opportunity to get different colored
glass -
I would rather go this route if it wouldn't be too difficult to learn how
to
cut glass -

If y'all think that cutting the glass would be a bit difficult for a
complete novice, then maybe learning to drill holes and using the already
cut bevels would be the way to go?????

I just do not know what to do - - - - - -

Please - I need all the tips I can get - I am a total beginner in doing
something like this - a total novice in the craft world - I just have the
time and want to try and learn something new that I would enjoy doing.

I appreciate you comments.....
Thanks & Have a FABULOUS day!

A class is a good idea. You will find that drilling holes is more of a
problem than cutting glass and tuning the glass to make a pleasant set of
tones is more so.

--
Mike Firth
Hot Glass Bits Furnace Working Website
http://users.ticnet.com/mikefirth/hotbit46.htm Latest notes

"BoBo" wrote in message
...
I have just retired and am looking for a hobby - something to occupy my
time...... I thought it would be fun to learn how to cut glass and make
my
own windchimes.....

I do not know anyone who has experience in cutting glass to help me - -
Soooo, what would be easier in your opinion???

Buying 8X10 sheets of colored glass from a glass company - cutting the
glass
into 1X2 or 1X3 strips and drilling a hole to hang - - -

OR buying some One inch 1X2 or 1X3 pyramid or pencil bevels from a place I
saw on the Internet called McGills Glass Warehouse (www.mcgillsglass.com/)
and then just drilling a hole to hang?

I plan to use glass beads on the filament used to hang the 'chime' cutting
my own strips would give me the opportunity to get different colored
glass -
I would rather go this route if it wouldn't be too difficult to learn how
to
cut glass -

If y'all think that cutting the glass would be a bit difficult for a
complete novice, then maybe learning to drill holes and using the already
cut bevels would be the way to go?????

I just do not know what to do - - - - - -

Please - I need all the tips I can get - I am a total beginner in doing
something like this - a total novice in the craft world - I just have the
time and want to try and learn something new that I would enjoy doing.

I appreciate you comments.....
Thanks & Have a FABULOUS day!

In article , BoBo wrote:

I do not know anyone who has experience in cutting glass to help me - -
Soooo, what would be easier in your opinion???

Buying 8X10 sheets of colored glass from a glass company - cutting the glass
into 1X2 or 1X3 strips and drilling a hole to hang - - -

I don't know how durable glass wind chimes would be. Of course, that's
part of the appeal of a hobby--the chance to design something yourself
and see how it works.

Cutting glass is not hard. Cutting it without waste is harder. I'd try
cutting a bunch of ordinary window glass before trying with the colored
stuff--it can have textures and things that make it harder to cut.

A class isn't a bad idea, either. Many community colleges have good
programs in things like this. Good luck.

Mike Beede

try a local framing shop. they usually love to get rid of scrap glass. Also,
your local stained glass supplier probably sells scrap which will work for
chimes. cutting stained glass is different than plate due to grain, etc. But
it's a good place to start. You will need running pliers and a good
(carbide) cutter. i prefer a pistol grip version. The drilling will be more
problematic than the cutting i believe you will find. You need diamond drill
bits and need to drill under water. m


"Mike Beede" wrote in message
...
In article , BoBo
wrote:

I do not know anyone who has experience in cutting glass to help me - -
Soooo, what would be easier in your opinion???

Buying 8X10 sheets of colored glass from a glass company - cutting the
glass
into 1X2 or 1X3 strips and drilling a hole to hang - - -

I don't know how durable glass wind chimes would be. Of course, that's
part of the appeal of a hobby--the chance to design something yourself
and see how it works.

Cutting glass is not hard. Cutting it without waste is harder. I'd try
cutting a bunch of ordinary window glass before trying with the colored
stuff--it can have textures and things that make it harder to cut.

A class isn't a bad idea, either. Many community colleges have good
programs in things like this. Good luck.

Mike Beede

"Michele Blank" wrote in message
...
try a local framing shop. they usually love to get rid of scrap glass.
Also,
your local stained glass supplier probably sells scrap which will work for
chimes. cutting stained glass is different than plate due to grain, etc.
But
it's a good place to start. You will need running pliers and a good
(carbide) cutter. i prefer a pistol grip version. The drilling will be
more
problematic than the cutting i believe you will find. You need diamond
drill
bits and need to drill under water. m


"Mike Beede" wrote in message
...
In article , BoBo
wrote:

I do not know anyone who has experience in cutting glass to help
me - -
Soooo, what would be easier in your opinion???

Buying 8X10 sheets of colored glass from a glass company - cutting the
glass
into 1X2 or 1X3 strips and drilling a hole to hang - - -

I don't know how durable glass wind chimes would be. Of course, that's
part of the appeal of a hobby--the chance to design something yourself
and see how it works.

Cutting glass is not hard. Cutting it without waste is harder. I'd try
cutting a bunch of ordinary window glass before trying with the colored
stuff--it can have textures and things that make it harder to cut.

A class isn't a bad idea, either. Many community colleges have good
programs in things like this. Good luck.

Mike Beede


On a slightly related note, I recall reading in some book sometime in the
past (maybe in
connection with cutting pieces of glass to make a secondary mirror for a
telescope) that
you could carefully cut *thin* pieces of glass under water using regular
scissors without it shattering uncontrollably. I believe the offered reason
involved the water cushioning the glass
from violent vibrations that propagate during the cutting and lead to
uncontrolled breakage,
or something like that. (I also don't recall whether you were supposed to
score the glass before
doing this or not, though I don't imagine that that would hurt....)

Anybody here know if this is true?...I never bothered to try it, myself.

Of course, if it doesn't work, at least with the glass being under water,
you wouldn't be able to
*see* the mess you've just made very well... :-)

-Gene

"Gene" wrote in message
...


"Michele Blank" wrote in message
...
try a local framing shop. they usually love to get rid of scrap glass.
Also,
your local stained glass supplier probably sells scrap which will work
for
chimes. cutting stained glass is different than plate due to grain, etc.
But
it's a good place to start. You will need running pliers and a good
(carbide) cutter. i prefer a pistol grip version. The drilling will be
more
problematic than the cutting i believe you will find. You need diamond
drill
bits and need to drill under water. m


"Mike Beede" wrote in message
...
In article , BoBo
wrote:

I do not know anyone who has experience in cutting glass to help
me - -
Soooo, what would be easier in your opinion???

Buying 8X10 sheets of colored glass from a glass company - cutting
the
glass
into 1X2 or 1X3 strips and drilling a hole to hang - - -

I don't know how durable glass wind chimes would be. Of course,
that's
part of the appeal of a hobby--the chance to design something yourself
and see how it works.

Cutting glass is not hard. Cutting it without waste is harder. I'd
try
cutting a bunch of ordinary window glass before trying with the
colored
stuff--it can have textures and things that make it harder to cut.

A class isn't a bad idea, either. Many community colleges have good
programs in things like this. Good luck.

Mike Beede


On a slightly related note, I recall reading in some book sometime in the
past (maybe in
connection with cutting pieces of glass to make a secondary mirror for a
telescope) that
you could carefully cut *thin* pieces of glass under water using regular
scissors without it shattering uncontrollably. I believe the offered
reason
involved the water cushioning the glass
from violent vibrations that propagate during the cutting and lead to
uncontrolled breakage,
or something like that. (I also don't recall whether you were supposed to
score the glass before
doing this or not, though I don't imagine that that would hurt....)

Anybody here know if this is true?...I never bothered to try it, myself.

Of course, if it doesn't work, at least with the glass being under water,
you wouldn't be able to
*see* the mess you've just made very well... :-)

-Gene

yes it works, but not very well nor can you cut accurately. the scissor
starts an edge fracture and it just runs in some direction.