How to cut glass with an oil or diamond glass cutter

Recommendation points

• Safety engineering
• Glass cutters: which is better
• Workplace preparation
• How to work with an oil glass cutter
• Selection of rollers and lubricants
• Raising the skill level: working with a diamond glass cutter

To cut glass smoothly and accurately, you do not need to be a hereditary glazier, a high-quality glass cutter and a little preliminary practice are enough. Today we will tell you how to use the two main types of glass cutters correctly, we will touch on the aspects of the choice and technique of working with them..

Safety engineering

Glass cutting is a rather traumatic process. There are three main risk factors:

• microscopic glass dust that irritates mucous membranes;
• small needle-shaped shards that can damage the eyes when rebounding;
• sharp edges of workpieces.

Glass cutting, even on a small scale, must be carried out with glasses and cotton gloves. If you plan to work on this front for a long time, then a regular petal respirator will not hurt..

Most injuries are due to excessive force being applied to the instrument. The probability that the hand with the glass cutter will slip off from excessive stress is quite high, this can not only lead to serious cuts, but also guaranteed to ruin the material.

And, of course, the traditional source of injury is human inattention. There is nothing worse than a glass splinter, so do not feel the cut edges before you sand them, and do not cut the glass over a canopy or on your lap. Keep your work area tidy, especially on the floor, prefer closed clothing and do not place glass sheets at too steep angles.

Glass cutters: which is better

In the matter of choosing a tool for cutting glass, there is more dependence on professional training than anywhere else. Roller glass cutters are great for training and rare use, diamond tools are preferred for experienced cutters.

Roller glass cutters differ from diamond cutters not only in appearance and design, they have a different effect on the material. The main advantage of the roller tool is the absolutely clear marking process. It is almost impossible to make a mistake when using such a glass cutter, but the quality of the edge and the speed of work usually leave much to be desired..

Besides, rollers, as a rule, have a short service life. Depending on the cost and, accordingly, the alloy used, one roller can be designed for 200–500 m of cut, subject to the operating rules. After that, it needs to be replaced, which is not very convenient for large volumes of work, moreover, not every model of glass cutter provides such an opportunity.

More or less experienced glaziers use practically indestructible diamonds for cutting: it is easier to learn how to use them once than to change rollers every 40–60 minutes. These two types of tools do not have any other fundamental differences: of course, there may be additional “gadgets” like a breaker or an edge grinder, different shapes of handles. But these are all secondary signs that determine the convenience of work, but not the basic technique..

As for oil glass cutters, this is a way to eliminate the ubiquitous glass dust, and an attempt to bring a roller tool closer to diamond in terms of durability. The attempt, by the way, is quite successful: in the presence of lubrication, the roller can make several kilometers of cut, which is still far from a diamond tool, but not bad. The only criterion for the quality of such a tool is the reliability of the lubricant supply mechanism: with working pressure, the roller should leave a small dot, but not a spreading spot.

Workplace preparation

When cutting glass, the quality of the result is determined by the convenience of work. Regardless of whether you just want to shorten the mirror or are going to earn extra money by sharp, the place must be equipped taking into account several requirements. But the approach to their execution can be completely different..

The first is the soft surface of the table, to which dust and grains of sand cannot be pressed by a sheet of glass. For professionals, brush skirting boards are recommended; for one-time work, an old carpet or a soft dense sheet will do. The size of the table should allow placing the part on at least 2/3 of the area, while the cutting line should be entirely on the table.

One of the keys to success in glass cutting is quality lighting. Additional tools will require a thick metal rail with a straight edge and a small thin bead for breaking off. Before cutting, all glasses must be thoroughly washed and dried, the markings are applied intermittently on dirty glass, and the workpiece cannot be broken off evenly.

How to work with an oil glass cutter

Due to its amorphous structure, glass has an interesting breakdown pattern. It always breaks “along the shortest path,” that is, in the thinnest place. Therefore, the most insignificant scratch is enough, if only it starts from one edge and ends on the other.

Roller glass cutter does not scratch, it pushes a groove, breaking off the edges with many small flakes. The pressure on the tool should be commensurate with the thickness of the glass being cut and, accordingly, the diameter of the roller. Remember also that there is only one attempt to apply the markings; when you pass the risk again, the roller will almost immediately be crushed and dull.

Correctly hold the glass cutter as a handle, using the edge of the palm as a stop and pushing the little finger forward for greater stability. The movement is always directed towards itself, that is, the glass cutter simply reaches for the hand, the necessary pressure is provided by the fingers. The position of the glass cutter in the longitudinal projection is always strictly perpendicular.

All talk about the correct inclination of the handle in the direction of the cut is sheer heresy: a round roller does not matter at what angle it is turned. However, for oil glass cutters, it is preferable to hold the handle closer to the perpendicular position for normal pressure on the lubricant supply wick..

So, putting the roller to the far edge, you need to stretch 3-5 mm to the risk with minimal pressure so that the markings are guaranteed to touch the end of the glass sheet. After that, the main line is drawn at the same risk, this time with a normal pressure. If the marking is forced to interrupt, you need to start with a small approach to the scratch made and mark the place of interruption so that you can carefully tap it afterwards. The main specificity when working with an oil glass cutter is to provide enough pressure to press the feed wick. Otherwise, such a tool cuts like a regular roller.

Selection of rollers and lubricants

There are many types of rollers for different tasks and different types of glass. For oil glass cutters, rollers are used made of the same material as for conventional ones – tungsten carbide or tungsten-cobalt alloy; hardened stainless steel products are somewhat less common. It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer regarding the cut quality of each material: all alloys are definitely harder than glass, and the assessment of the convenience of working with them is mostly subjective..

The roller diameter is matched exactly to the thickness of the cut sheet. If the roller is smaller, there may be problems with breaking, the larger one will leave an ugly chipped edge. For cutting with a curved outline or if the glass has an uneven surface, very small rollers are used, but in this case the markings should be very carefully tapped.

The rollers may differ in sharpening angle. Glass up to 4–6 mm thick is perfectly cut by a roller with a 135 ° edge, this is the minimum value. The thicker the glass, the more obtuse the sharpening angle is used, in some models the angles reach 160 °.

There are also nuances with lubrication. For the safety of a quality tool, it must be filled with a special water-based composition. The oil has a certain consistency, due to which its minimum consumption is ensured, and is easily washed off with water. In the absence, you can use petroleum jelly: the consumption will be slightly higher, but there are no problems with cleaning.

Raising the skill level: working with a diamond glass cutter

If the resource of the oil glass cutter is still not enough, purchase a diamond one. But be prepared to make a series of test cuts – about a couple of hundred meters in total. This is necessary to determine the individual characteristics of the diamond – sharpening angles and edge turning.

First, carefully examine the crystal under a magnifying glass. The diamond stone has the shape of a tooth with two slopes – one is gentle and straight, the second is steeper and has two faces. Normal direction when working – with a gentle straight edge towards you.

The main task in mastering a diamond tool is to find the most favorable tilt of the handle towards / away from you, in which the diamond tooth will scratch out a miniature groove as easily as possible. At the same time, the marking itself on the glass is almost invisible, and when the glass cutter moves, a characteristic ringing is heard.

Do not forget that you cannot tilt the diamond glass cutter left / right: if the roller is tolerated by a couple of degrees, then when working with a diamond cutter, the scratch will get torn edges and the quality of the edge will turn out to be disgusting. Therefore, train on scraps of glass, fill your hand and form muscle memory: a good diamond glass cutter is enough for many almost for a lifetime.