(03-20-2018, 10:18 AM)Willyou Wrote: May I re-ask the OP's question in a slightly different way? I rarely need to cut glass. When I do, I usually have trouble getting a good score line with the typical hand held tool without using a lot of pressure and repeated passes. Do I need a better tool? Can you get a "good" tool without spending a lot of money?
Fletcher makes the Cadillac of hand scoring tools.
The one pictured costs about $20.00.
They make a deluxe one with an oil reservoir for about $65.00. But for occasional use it is not a good value.
They sell replacement carbide wheels so it is a long lasting tool.
A ketchup squirt bottle filled with kerosene makes lubricating the line easy. Just lay a narrow puddle of kerosene over the proposed cut line, then score. The carbide will last longer.
I always cut dry because as a picture framer, the kerosene represented a contaminant that would have to be cleaned off.
https://www.amazon.com/CRL-Fletcher%C2%A...cher&psc=1
If you are cutting by hand, there is no need to measure. Just place the glass over the frame or mat board that is the correct size and use the actual item as a guide.
Breaking over a dowel will usually assure a clean break. The problem most people have is that they don't start the score at the very edge of the cut and they let up pressure at the end of the cut.
When I cut I like to feel the cutter "climb" onto the glass and feel the cutter fall off the glass at the end of the score. Once you get the hang of it, glass cutting is really simple. But cutting narrow strips is very, very difficult. You will have an impossible time trimming off 1/4" or 1/2" from a piece of glass. Even 1" is difficult.
If it is a narrow strip use a flat board to apply pressure on the strip while it is resting on the dowel.
Too much pressure on the scoring blade will make a wide score and it might not snap cleanly.
You can also snap the glass by placing the score directly over the edge of a table, but you will have to hold onto the scrap to keep if from falling to the floor.
Cut glass is dangerous. They make dedicated tools for dulling the cut edges of glass, but a hand held carbide knife sharpener works well. Just draw it along the edge, it will dress both the top and bottom at the same time. Do this for all the edges and it will be safe to handle.
Something like this works fine (it looks a lot like the glass edge dressing device), use the carbide side. $4.00 at Amazon.com
https://www.amazon.com/Smiths-CCKS-2-Ste...B00032S02K
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