[Becca]

I had my first really strange experience cutting glass. The glass is a semi opaque bright yellow with red streaks. When I made my first cut as usual - it would not split even when tapped first. I finally mastered it by using the pressure of both hands to bear down on the cutter. Also the cutter made virtually no noise, and I did cut on the smooth side of the glass. Is this unusual or just the type of glass used?

Thanks, Becca

[Rebecca]

What type of glass was it?

Rebecca

[Chantal]

Could it have been improperly annealed?

[Becca]

My handwritten receipt looks like it says says W 831.ll ?

[Chantal]

Wissmach? I'm trying to check out their website but it keeps freezing my compy.

[jackie]

sometimes some glasses dont what to cut well,,,,,,,, I find spectrum cutsthe easiest, wissmach isnt as easy... also i f glass is cold it may not want to cut

[Rebecca]

Probably Wissmach 831 LL. It shouldn't be hard to cut. Maybe you were putting too much pressure on it. Or it could have just been in a bad mood.

Rebecca

[Dennis Brady]

It's misleading to suggest some glass is harder to cut than others. Instead, some glass is more or less forgiving of a poor score then others. Smooth texture cathedral is the most forgiving. Textured glass is slightly less forgiving and streaked glass the least forgiving. Machine rolled glass is a more uniform texture then hand rolled and is thus considerably more likely to follow the score.

If you get a smooth consistent pressure score, all glass is likely to break along the score. The solution to getting "difficult" glass to break accurately is to improve your cutting skills. The best way to do that is to practice the fundamentals of glass cutting:

1. Hold the cutter perfectly vertical at all times.
2. Score with a uniform unchanging pressure.
3. Don't press too hard or too soft (your target is 6 to 8 lbs pressure).
4. Score with a consistent speed from start to finish.
5. Start the score as near as possible to the edge and run it right off the other edge.
6. When tapping to run a score, use a small tip (no larger then 1/4" diameter).

[GAIA]

Chantal, on 05 February 2010 - 04:22 PM, said:

Wissmach? I'm trying to check out their website but it keeps freezing my compy.

Perhaps off topic, sorry, my PC has been locking up, blank screen, blue screen, locking up, then restarting. I thought problems might have been caused by a larger HD I put into the machine or the CPU upgrade I did. Thought perhaps I didn't do these two things quite right. And, or the computer was on the way out, is quite an old one and had a lot of use. Anyway, did a search, problems might be down to a full up, lots of dead links in the registry.

I found RegCure Registry Cleaner http://www.paretolog...cure/index.aspx

These are a bona fide organisation. I did a search for freeware registry repair software. I downloaded one, during installation, I was alerted to a virus, so I cancelled the install and deleted the virus. If you are having a lot of lockups on your machine, it may well be registry linked. Beware of free registry cleaning software, could contain spy ware and viruses www.protonic.com free tech support, should be able to direct you to genuine freeware.

[Boris_USA]

Dennis Brady, on 06 February 2010 - 02:29 PM, said:

It's misleading to suggest some glass is harder to cut than others. Instead, some glass is more or less forgiving of a poor score then others. Smooth texture cathedral is the most forgiving. Textured glass is slightly less forgiving and streaked glass the least forgiving. Machine rolled glass is a more uniform texture then hand rolled and is thus considerably more likely to follow the score.

If you get a smooth consistent pressure score, all glass is likely to break along the score. The solution to getting "difficult" glass to break accurately is to improve your cutting skills. The best way to do that is to practice the fundamentals of glass cutting:

1. Hold the cutter perfectly vertical at all times.
2. Score with a uniform unchanging pressure.
3. Don't press too hard or too soft (your target is 6 to 8 lbs pressure).
4. Score with a consistent speed from start to finish.
5. Start the score as near as possible to the edge and run it right off the other edge.
6. When tapping to run a score, use a small tip (no larger then 1/4" diameter).

I do not agree. I think it misleading to suggest that some glass is not harder than others. Just as misleading to suggest that if glass does not always follow a score, that the fault lies in the person using the cutter, and they need more training in fundamental cutting skills. Thats what is misleading. The physical composition of some glass, temperature, and the ingredients dictate how it cuts, not how "forgiving" it is. Some glass is just plain harder to cut, same as some glass makes a hiss noise when you score, and some does not. Even you, have stated glass is harder to cut cold and may not always follow the score. Did you take more fundamental basic cutting skill lessons to overcome that issue? The fact is, all glass is not created equal, and thats fact. If a particular brand or type of glass is harder to score, or the cutter makes little noise or markings, I call that a harder glass. Its common sense. If it takes me twice as long to polish a haze off one type, or brand of glass, as it does another, using the same wheels and the same compounds, I call that a harder glass. Nothing misleading about that. Taking a fundamental polishing class is not going to make the abrasives cut the glass any faster, is it. I am sure there are folks right here that can cut glass as good as you or I can, and the glass I call harder, will not be any easier to work with because of who is cutting it, or the experience they have using the same cutters. To suggest or state otherwise is Misleading.

I also slow down cutting curves, and then speed up on straight lines. Have not had any problems at all. I also do not like to run the cutter completely off the glass. It can chip the edge. Also have not had any problems with it. I do not always cut on a soft surface, and do not like the idea of the cutter wheel coming off the glass and banging against the table. I cut close to the edge and lift. Those are personal preferences, not skills.

[Becca]

FYI - after my first score and issues, I put the glass under a heating pad for a while before cutting. I had some improvement. Becca - In Canada

[Boris_USA]

Becca, on 07 February 2010 - 09:13 AM, said:

FYI - after my first score and issues, I put the glass under a heating pad for a while before cutting. I had some improvement. Becca - In Canada

Great. Thanks for posting that. Many of us found that out the hard way, so its always good to see it in print. May save others some time and glass, to be aware of this right up front.

[Larry from BC]

Well stated Boris....for sure it is most certainly not always due to "LACK OF CUTTING SKILL". After cutting glass for about thirty years I have definitely found some glass responds differently to the cutting stroke than others. In a few cases I have had some Spectrum streakies and the odd other cut more easily on the rough side although I always go for the smooth side first. Being a "purist" does not always equate to having the correct, or most logical answer. Nuff said :-)

[Becca]

Just to update - I was using this glass again....as suggested I cut the glass on the ruff side, and guess what - it did indeed cut better. I still had to use two hands with the cutter, but am able to break the glass much easier. Thanks everyone for your comments. Becca

[Karen Christ]

Becca, on 15 February 2010 - 12:29 PM, said:

Just to update - I was using this glass again....as suggested I cut the glass on the ruff side, and guess what - it did indeed cut better. I still had to use two hands with the cutter, but am able to break the glass much easier. Thanks everyone for your comments. Becca

I have not been doing glass for very long but I had experienced this on a piece of glass and decided I just didn't know what side was supposed to be cut. Is there any way to know this without trial and error?

[Chantal]

It should always be on the smooth side. *IF* you chance upon a rebellious sheet of glass, then you may use reverse psychology on it, give it tough love, and score on the rough side. Under normal conditions, which for me is 100% of the time, it's the smooth side. I had one sheet of Uroboros granite glass once that was, er, extraordinarily explosive, but the rough side would have been too rough for me to attempt a score.