Scoring and Cutting Glass

Some people complain about glass chipping when they score and break it. I was having a conversation recently with a person who has been involved in glass all his working life (and he is of similar vintage to me). His advice was:

1. Don’t score too hard. Sometimes the score-line may almost be invisible. As glass is considered an amorphous liquid, all you are trying to achieve is a break of the surface tension.
2. If the glass has texture, always score on the flat side.
3. If the glass has a film treatment (mirror, dichroic etc.), score on the untreated side.

I also know that many people struggled with tidying up edges of shapes they cut. Not everyone has a grinder. Some people are limited for space (tell me about it), or just HATE power tools…
Have a look at this little video from Delphi Glass. It is a great demonstration on how to use a variety of hand tools. 

Then, when you have your shape and are pretty happy with it, use the Diamond Hand pads we sell to smooth off the edges.