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Glass
Artists Newsletter - May 2008 |
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You
can read our current newsletter here
on-line each month, free of charge. We
hope you will take the opportunity to let
your stained glass artist friends know
about the newsletter and if you have
students, encourage them to read it.
If
you'd like a reminder when a new issue is
published simply send us your e-mail
address.
In
the meantime, we welcome your input and
support. Let us know if you have tips and
techniques or product information you'd
like to share. |
I
thought it was funny to hear a guy on the
radio describing his panic as he listened
to the news last month. He said he almost
ran out to buy one of those big bags of
rice that everyone was rushing out to get,
even though he wouldn't know what to do
with one even if he had gotten it.
It just
points out to me that we need to keep our
own council and maybe ignore some of the
(bad) news the media reports. And maybe we
might live sensibly. Putting a little more
money away for a rainy day and buying an
extra item for the pantry when it's on
sale.
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In April,
the Provo Downtown art stroll included a
DASH. A contest that included finding art.
We loved it!
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Katherine
going to her last prom, she's a senior.
Many of the kids stopped by for a
picture. |
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| Last
month we showed how to shorten a
stained glass panel, this month we go
right down to the basics. We thought it
would be good to go over the techniques of
cutting glass.
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How
To Cut Stained Glass
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To learn to cut stained glass, it's helpful to
begin with the proper tools. We start with a good quality glass cutter.
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First, know that a hardware store glass cutter
isn't good enough. Why, you ask? Because the wheel isn't carbide, it's
steel, so it doesn't last long and because the wheel is ground to score
window glass, but not all the hardness/brittleness ratings that you'll
encounter cutting stained glass.
Of the four cutters above, I only recommend A
and B. Let's talk about each one of them.
A-is the most expensive, you'll pay around $40
or more for it. I prefer it, a Toyo brand cutter. I bought 6 of them in
1983 and those six lasted me about 20 years. The cutter head is small so
I can see where I'm going.
B-is the best for beginners because they need to
learn to use a cutter before paying the big bucks. They run around $20.
The cutting head is a little big, so it's harder to see where you're
going. It is superior in construction. The weight of the brass and the
solid round ball really makes it work well when tapping glass. You
can buy one from us by clicking here.
C-is a good cutter to buy when you need to
replace the cutting head on your brass cutter because it's cheaper. The
nut on the top of the cutter is way too light to do a good job when
tapping your glass.
D-some will disagree, but the pistol grip cutter
is harder to hold and extremely hard to cut accurately. It's supposed to
help avoid wrist strain, but it's actually harder on the wrist.
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Start by scoring the glass. Scoring
is the act of creating a "scratch" at the point where the
glass is to be parted. The cutter aligns the molecules in the glass,
creating a weakness where the glass will easily break. Hold your glass
cutter as if you're stabbing the glass. The more steady and vertical to
the score the glass cutter is held, the easier the glass will break.
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I find that guiding the cutter head with the thumb
from my other hand helps me to stay more accurately on the line that I'm
trying to cut. Note that the screw on the glass cutter is forward.
The sound you hear is key to getting a good
score. Click Here to hear the sound.
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There are several ways to part the scored piece of
glass when it's done in a straight line. The one used most often is
accomplished by holding the glass on either side of the score with two
fists below the glass and two thumbs above. Hold the glass firmly and
rock both hands apart. |
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The rocking of the hands cause the two sides of the
glass to be pressured just right and the pieces readily part. |
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Another method, which works very well on small
pieces of glass is done by placing the score line on an elevated edge
and then holding the long piece with one hand and applying pressure on
the other side of the score with the thumb of the other hand. The
pressure easily snaps the glass into two pieces. |
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Another method which works well on larger pieces is
done by lying the score line directly over the edge of the table and
pressing the edge which is hanging over the table edge down. |
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When cutting a slightly rounded piece, the scoring
of the glass is the same as before. Follow just inside the line which
has been traced, exerting firm pressure.
Students sometimes worry that they can't draw a
straight line. To this we reply that rolling the cutter wheel is much
like pushing a wheel barrow.
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Then grab the edge of the glass to be removed with
breaker/grozer pliers, grabbing it right up at the score line. Rock the
pliers with the same motion as you do when rocking the hands apart. The
handles of the pliers go down and the end of the pliers stay up.
We do not squeeze the pliers which would crush
the glass. We hold the glass firmly and then rock the piece we're
removing away from the score line. Click
here to purchase a pair of pliers from us.
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When scoring an outside curve, make sure that you
allow the wheel of the cutter to roll freely. If you hear a grinding
sound, the wheel isn't rolling, it's being pushed sideways across the
glass. This will result in an uneven score and the results will be poor.
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Now angle the glass down toward the table and hold it
close to the table top so it doesn't have far to drop. Then tap the score
line directly under the place you've scored. You'll need to tap all along
the score line several times before the glass will drop off. Listen to the
sound change as the "score" begins to "run."
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When, tapping large pieces of glass, it is a good
idea to lay the big piece of glass across the table top and let the
smaller piece hang over the edge of the table. Hang onto the small piece
of glass and as it lets loose it won't have to go crashing down onto the
table.
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