Glass from hell

I was doing a rose window over the weekend and I got in a wrestling
match with some Spectrum red ruby waterglass and it just about whupped
me. I produced scrap on about a quarter of the pieces, having to redo
some three times.

To be honest, it wasn't all the glass's fault. I'd been lucky with
easy cutting glass before that and I got into bad habits like not
doing preliminary cuts on concave parts. I also found out that I just
about had to do just one cut and break at a time. Multiple cuts
before breaking broke into the other cuts.

Anyway, this window is my third now and I can see the quality of my
work improving. Very satisfying. I'm getting closer fits with less
grinding.

Michael

On Sep 24, 7:16 pm, Michael wrote:
I was doing a rose window over the weekend and I got in a wrestling
match with some Spectrum red ruby waterglass and it just about whupped
me. I produced scrap on about a quarter of the pieces, having to redo
some three times.

To be honest, it wasn't all the glass's fault. I'd been lucky with
easy cutting glass before that and I got into bad habits like not
doing preliminary cuts on concave parts. I also found out that I just
about had to do just one cut and break at a time. Multiple cuts
before breaking broke into the other cuts.

Anyway, this window is my third now and I can see the quality of my
work improving. Very satisfying. I'm getting closer fits with less
grinding.

Michael

If I ever do another rose or hummingbird window I think I'll scream.

neoglassic wrote:

If I ever do another rose or hummingbird window I think I'll scream.

****************
Haha! I'm happily walking through all the cliches. I've done an
underwater tropical fish window, then a traditional victorian design,
and now the rose. I've got a heron/cattail one coming up, and gotta
do a fleur de lys or however it's spelled.

Michael

On Sep 25, 9:55 am, Michael wrote:
neoglassic wrote:

If I ever do another rose or hummingbird window I think I'll scream.

****************
Haha! I'm happily walking through all the cliches. I've done an
underwater tropical fish window, then a traditional victorian design,
and now the rose. I've got a heron/cattail one coming up, and gotta
do a fleur de lys or however it's spelled.

Michael

HA! Sounds like you're doin' jest fine!! It's all about having fun and
those rose petals will certainly improve your cutting skills!!

On Sep 24, 7:16 pm, Michael wrote:
I was doing a rose window over the weekend and I got in a wrestling
match with some Spectrum red ruby waterglass and it just about whupped
me. I produced scrap on about a quarter of the pieces, having to redo
some three times.

To be honest, it wasn't all the glass's fault. I'd been lucky with
easy cutting glass before that and I got into bad habits like not
doing preliminary cuts on concave parts. I also found out that I just
about had to do just one cut and break at a time. Multiple cuts
before breaking broke into the other cuts.

Anyway, this window is my third now and I can see the quality of my
work improving. Very satisfying. I'm getting closer fits with less
grinding.

Michael

You might consider just investing some time in cutting practice.

Go to a glazier that sells window glass and mirrors - but not art
glass. They throw out large quantities of clear float glass. Ask for
a box of scrap stuff to practice with. Practice scoring and breaking
various shapes. The most important factor when cutting glass is
getting a smooth consistent uniform pressure with your score. Imagine
an opera singer that can hit a musical note and can steadily hold that
note without changing pitch or volume. That's your goal when scoring
glass. The more consistently uniform your score, the greater the
likelihood it will break where you want it to. A great way to practice
pressure control is with a bathroom scale. Place a piece of glass on
the scale and score it. Watch the weight reading. Your target is 6
to 8 lbs pressure. Practicing on a scale will allow you to visually
identify where your score changes pressure. You'll probably see that
you change pressure as you come around curves. You'll definitely see
that if you're right-handed you have better control curving clockwise
then anti-clockwise (the opposite if you're left-handed). Experiment
with pulling the cutter towards you as you score and with pushing it
away as you score. Either way works equally well. Play with both to
see which method feels most comfortable. It can be argued that
pushing allows you to more easily see where you're scoring, but it's
not a problem to allow for that when you pull towards you. How
comfortably natural pulling feels will depends very much on your
drawing and handwriting skills. From kindergarten, you were taught to
print, write, and draw from top down - pulling towards you. Many find
that just feels more natural than pushing. I suggest it's a good idea
to spend enough time working on both methods to feel comfortable with
either.

There's a couple of articles on Cutting here you may find helpful:
http://www.glasscampus.com/tutorials.htm

wrote in message
ups.com...
On Sep 24, 7:16 pm, Michael wrote:
I was doing a rose window over the weekend and I got in a wrestling
match with some Spectrum red ruby waterglass and it just about whupped
me. I produced scrap on about a quarter of the pieces, having to redo
some three times.

To be honest, it wasn't all the glass's fault. I'd been lucky with
easy cutting glass before that and I got into bad habits like not
doing preliminary cuts on concave parts. I also found out that I just
about had to do just one cut and break at a time. Multiple cuts
before breaking broke into the other cuts.

Anyway, this window is my third now and I can see the quality of my
work improving. Very satisfying. I'm getting closer fits with less
grinding.

Michael

You might consider just investing some time in cutting practice.

...............snipped due to boredom....

I warned you guys this would happen, it was inevitable....

On Sep 24, 10:16 pm, Michael wrote:
I was doing a rose window over the weekend and I got in a wrestling
match with some Spectrum red ruby waterglass and it just about whupped
me. I produced scrap on about a quarter of the pieces, having to redo
some three times.

To be honest, it wasn't all the glass's fault. I'd been lucky with
easy cutting glass before that and I got into bad habits like not
doing preliminary cuts on concave parts. I also found out that I just
about had to do just one cut and break at a time. Multiple cuts
before breaking broke into the other cuts.

Anyway, this window is my third now and I can see the quality of my
work improving. Very satisfying. I'm getting closer fits with less
grinding.

Michael

hard to cut maybe, hard to say, definitely
Spectrum Red Ruby Waterglass, Spectrum Red Ruby Waterglass, Spectrum
Red Ruby Waterglass,

"Michael" wrote in message
oups.com...
I was doing a rose window over the weekend and I got in a wrestling
match with some Spectrum red ruby waterglass and it just about whupped
me. I produced scrap on about a quarter of the pieces, having to redo
some three times.

To be honest, it wasn't all the glass's fault. I'd been lucky with
easy cutting glass before that and I got into bad habits like not
doing preliminary cuts on concave parts. I also found out that I just
about had to do just one cut and break at a time. Multiple cuts
before breaking broke into the other cuts.

Anyway, this window is my third now and I can see the quality of my
work improving. Very satisfying. I'm getting closer fits with less
grinding.

Michael


I have found with a great many people, their cutting improves when they stop
trying to shove the wheel thru the glass. Ruby red cuts beautifully, if you
don't treat that little wheel like a saw blade, or a knife. No matter how
hard you press, it is not going to cut the glass. Lighten up your pressure
and place a small controlled scratch with the cutter wheel, and it will
practically jump apart where it is supposed to.

Like everything else in life, to get good takes practice.
No secret tricks to it, know matter what a glass campus guru tells you.

Javahut wrote:

I have found with a great many people, their cutting improves when
they stop trying to shove the wheel thru the glass.

************
Haha! Guilty as charged. When I first started I would almost come
off the ground with the weight I was putting onto it. OK, not quite,
but still you get the picture. I've heard that if you cut too deep
the break will go anywhere. I have started to lighten up, but I
imagine I'm still at about twice the pressure I should have on it.

Michael

"Michael" wrote in message
ups.com...
Javahut wrote:

I have found with a great many people, their cutting improves when
they stop trying to shove the wheel thru the glass.

************
Haha! Guilty as charged.

Michael


Yeah, me, too.

About two years ago, I had the opportunity to collaborate in my studio with
Mr. Javahut on a huge SG project that I had to complete under some tight
deadlines. I've been in and around the glass business for a few 24 hrs now,
and I considered myself a pretty good craftsman and pretty proficient in
cutting glass. My jaw hung open as I watched Java cut down sheet after
sheet of opal glass with nary a stray run.

I can tell you from first hand experience and observation that his
"lighten-up" advice is what everybody needs to do. He taught me to listen
to the sound the score makes. Different kinds (and manufacturers) of glass
need different pressures to score properly, but the sound of a correct
score is pretty similar. You'll know that sweet sound when you hear it.

Using a bathroom scale to figure out how much pressure you are putting on
the glass is, well, just plain latrine advice. Believe what you are told
by people who actually make a living in the glass business, not a
discredited scam artist.

P.S....next time you have a trip to Atlanta, send me a private email.
Maybe we can hook up?