The choice of glass cutters. What are the types of glass cutters?

Recommendation points

• Glass cutter with lubrication function
• Diamond glass cutters
• Tools for cutting ovals and circles from glass
• Correct use of glass cutters
• Cutting glass on a large scale

A special tool is used to cut glass – a glass cutter. Previously, there was no rich selection of glass cutters. Now there are so many of this tool on the market that it is easy for a poorly trained person to get confused. Let’s try to figure out what kind of glass cutters are.

Glass cutter with lubrication function

This tool is a relatively new device for cutting glass. It is equipped with the function of automatically supplying lubricant to the cutter wheel. That is, the oil glass cutter is an improved version of the conventional roller glass cutter. The grease reservoir is built into the handle of the glass cutter. The lubricant is supplied to the cutting roller through a wick. This system significantly reduces the frictional force of the roller, and therefore increases the tool’s uptime. The lubricant also allows the cutter to move smoothly, and binds the smallest glass particles created when cutting a fragile object. Oil glass cutters work perfectly with glass no more than 20 millimeters thick, and they are enough for almost 6000 meters. With such a serious mileage, as a rule, not only the roller itself is worn out, but also the mounting axis, and parts from the sides of the head. The glass cutter head is completely replaceable. When cutting glass of different thickness, it is necessary to select oil glass cutters equipped with rollers with different sharpening angles. So for glasses from 1 to 10 mm, a roller with a sharpening angle of 135 ° is suitable, and for glass from 10 to 20 mm, you will have to use a roller with a sharpening angle of 150 °. There are oil glass cutters with a rotating head and a fixed head. The first is especially well suited for template cutting where smooth lines are provided. But even in these models, the head can be rigidly fixed if necessary.

Diamond glass cutters

The first tool for cutting glass was a glass cutter with a small diamond as a working element. This model is still one of the best and will not be lost among others – more modern brothers. With the help of a special silver solder, the diamond is securely fixed in a special holder, ensuring high joint strength. The holder has slots for easy breaking of narrow glass strips. Glasses up to 10 mm thick are subject to a diamond cutter. The total diamond cutter is enough for 10-12 km of run. If one cutting edge becomes blunt, work begins with the other: turn the cutter 90 degrees, having previously loosened the retaining screw of the holder.

In addition to glass cutters made using natural diamond, there are glass cutters with synthetic materials as a cutting element. They are much cheaper, but no less effective. For these tools, there is a limitation on the thickness of the cut glass – no more than 5 mm. Worn diamonds are ground on a cast iron disc or on a bar, which is covered with a special mastic containing diamond dust. The cutter is sharpened until it leaves a thin, straight line on the glass. If you are choosing a diamond glass cutter for use at home, then you should know that tools are available with a curved cutting edge and a tetrahedral pyramidal. It is easier to work with the former for non-professionals, while the latter regularly serve experienced carvers. Cutters with the shape of a tetrahedral pyramid are set at an angle of 20-22 degrees to the tool axis. In glass cutters with a curved diamond cutting edge, the cutters are located on one straight line with the tool axis. This makes it very much easier for a beginner carver to work with glass..

Tools for cutting ovals and circles from glass

For cutting even ovals and circles, special circular glass cutters were developed. The compass of the simplest design consists of a suction cup rigidly fixed on the glass, an adjustable scale that sets the required radius, and the glass cutter itself, usually an oil cutter. In order for the oval to turn out perfectly even, special systems are used, consisting of rods with suction cups located at right angles to each other and a glass cutter. The radii on the scales are selected in such a way that when they intersect, an oval of the correct shape is obtained, and then cutting is performed and the desired glass element is removed.

Correct use of glass cutters

It is only necessary to cut the glass on a perfectly flat surface, the glass must be absolutely dry and clean: dirt particles quickly disable the glass cutter. A diamond glass cutter is taken in the hand like a pencil, at the base of the pen, and without pressure, with a slight movement, a line is drawn along a template or ruler. Ideally, you should get a shallow, thin and hardly noticeable cut-scratch. A particular crackle when advancing the tool indicates that you are doing everything right. The roller glass cutter must be pressed harder than the diamond cutter. The incised line is deeper and whiter. When working with any glass cutter, remember that a repeated cut along the same line in no case should be performed. Approximately 4-7 mm before the end of the cut, the pressure on the tool is reduced to prevent damage to the cutting edge on the edge of the glass after the tool leaves its surface. After making an incision, the glass is broken using a ruler placed under it or simply on the edge of the table. Careful tapping of the glass with the cutter frame from the underside simplifies the process: in this case, the crack deepens and the break passes easier. Narrow glass floors break off with pliers or slots located on the sides of the glass cutter holder.

Cutting glass on a large scale

Different models of glass cutters are good for small volumes of work or for field work – glazing of a greenhouse, apartment, country house, etc. At the scale of industrial production, for example, in the manufacture of double-glazed windows for wooden or plastic windows, it is much more efficient to use specialized equipment that makes it possible to obtain units, or even hundreds, of cubic meters of cut-to-size glass per day. Such equipment includes special laser cutting machines, reprogrammable mechanical glass cutting machines, as well as waterjet and sandblasting glass cutting machines. The latter two are considered the most effective, since they do not melt the glass edge and allow high-precision cutting. Of course, it makes sense to purchase such equipment when organizing your production. If the need to cut piece elements from glass arises periodically, you should take care of buying an ordinary good-quality glass cutter. The range of prices for these tools allows people with absolutely any income level to choose the right model. However, it will not be superfluous to remind you that you need to save wisely, so you should buy tools in special stores, and not at a flea market from your hands. After all, then it may happen that instead of a valuable purchase, you will be disappointed and inevitably followed by the need to set off again in search of a glass cutter.