When cutting stained glass, there are a number of helpful ways to make your job go easier and with less unintentional breakage. Listed here are some of the more basic points to remember.

1) It is best to stand when cutting stained glass so that proper pressure on your cutter originates from the shoulder instead of the wrist. This allows more consistent pressure with much less hand fatigue.

2) Be sure that your cutter is lubricated before cutting as well as between each score of the glass. Any light-duty oil is sufficient, such as “3-in-1″ oil which is available in the studio.

3) When cutting stained glass, always cut on the smoothest side. This not only makes cutting more accurate, it also spares excess wear on the cutting wheel (and on you!).

4) Start your score close to the edge of the glass but not on it, and stop just short of the glass edge as you lift up on the cutter. This practice will ensure a much longer cutting wheel life.

5) Maintain an even pressure while scoring. The score line should be barely visable as you move the wheel over the glass while hearing a faint “hiss” sound. If you do not hear the hiss, you are not applying enough pressure. Conversely, if you hear a pronounced hiss and see a white, fuzzy line along the score, you are using too much pressure. It takes practice to know the proper pressure to use. Also, some glass requires a bit more pressure than others.

6) Never go over a score line twice. This will dull your cutting wheel very quickly and it will also make breaking the glass unpredictable or not possible.

7) Position the cutting wheel to be as perpendicular to the glass surface as possible. Slanting the wheel to the left or right will give a beveled edge to the glass which will make fitting and foiling/leading difficult. In addition, your glass may not break as intended, if at all.

8) Make it a practice to do the most difficult score first, such as the inner side of an arch. Leaving as much glass as possible on your piece while you cut the difficult score will keep the glass from getting weak so that unintentional breaks can hopefully be avoided. Sometimes it helps to lightly tap under the glass along the score line to enable a cleaner break. Use the metal ball-end of the cutter for tapping.

Cutter replacement may be necessary if these conditions are present:

1) Excessive pressure is needed to score the glass.

2) The score looks like a dotted line.

3) No audible hiss is heard while cutting, no matter how much pressure is applied.

We offer several styles of stained glass cutters…from value-priced steel Fletcher models to top-of-the-line Toyo pistol grips. We also sell replacement cutting heads for the Toyo as well as for our basic pistol grip unit. Stop in to see them all.

 

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more artices in the coming weeks.