Baer's Glass Cutting Tips

McPhoto

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Mar 24, 2002
Posts
817
Loc
Clearfield, PA
Great article in this month’s Décor magazine by Baer Charlton regarding glass cutting – It’s a great primer for the beginner and good suggestions regarding cutting ovals for those of us that forgot how.
I loved the photo that showed the basic tools needed to cut glass – besides the requisite cutters and nippers the photo also showed band-aids and a hammer. Many times I have used a hammer to “cut” glass –usually when I’m p***ed off at myself for doing something stupid. Should have showed those glass handling gloves that we get from tru-view (and forget to wear) - guess that’s what the band-aids are for.
;)
 
It is great article and the chance to see a masters actual hands, oh my!

My band aids are spiderman variety....makes the ouchy feel better.....
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..... :D

good job Baer!
 
Tom,

You can see Baer's hands in his "Copper" in the Design area. If you think he needs BandAids when cutting glass, Just imagine the damage he could do with his cutt-off tools and the chisel in one of the photos!
 
Did ya notice ? Baer still has all his fingers & thumbs - no photo of his toes though :D
 
So, Baer, I'm looking at the photos and thinking, "he is doing that all bass-ackwards!" :D

...and then I read the text of the article.

Jara is a leftie, Baer is a rightie. Jara is a shortie, Baer is a tallie. (not a word yet, but just wait...)

Hence the difference. Results- same. Good outlining of the scores in black, btw.

It always amazes me to learn of so many framers that cannot cut glass by hand?

Nice job, Baer!! ;)
 
Back in town, and more than 6 hours of REAL sleep under my ears.

Thanks all. It was great to hear that DECOR got the entire country shipped before the 6th of the month. I say lets all give Gabe Kiley a big hand.

Ok, enough of the hand jokes.....

Glad you liked the hammer Mike... I too enjoy chopping glass with a hammer on occation.

amazing as it sounds, bandaids usually adhere to my fingers after arguments with mat bevel edges or slightly raised v-nails.....
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Bob, I use the chisles two-handed and the leading fingers are the guides.... it's dusting off the router table where I get in trouble....

Jara, scan the photos into photoshop and mirror-flip them....
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.

I was in Seattle this week and I called ahead to one of my framers. The "girl" answered and I told her who I was and asked to speak to John. She about wigged out. Then John explained. They had been having a discussion about cutting ovals free-hand as appossed to buying a new tool...
Then the mail arrived. DECOR. He had just opened the issue to the glass cutting and realized who wrote it and explained who I was to the girl when I called..... weird but fun.

There are no accidents in this life. Dessert first. Or something like that..... I'm going back to bed.
 
I just got around to reading the article. Very well written, Baer. I too, want to give a
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to getting the magazine earlier in the month.

PLUS, it took me longer than 45 minutes to read the whole magazine. Great "keeper" articles. I'm glad to see the "basics" articles again. I'm keeping them for when I have to hire someone who is not experienced. (As for now, I've got someone who is teaching me things! Together, we've got about 60 years experience.)

About the glass cutting, I use the cutter that looks like a utility knife, however I hold it like a utility knife as well, instead of the other way around (as in your picture.) I lay the glass on a table and cut by a straight edge that has cork on the back. I (um) created a "hold down" for it by tying a cord through one end and adding a wooden "peddle" to step on to keep the straight edge from moving.

When you're short, and got short arms, ya gotta compensate!

betty
 
I cut glass almost exactly the way Baer describes in he excellent and humorous article. I always pull the cutter towards me (can't imagine doing it the other way) and about the only different thing I do is after scoring I slide the lite towards the edge of the frame, foamboard, or table and just give it a "snap." Always worked for me!

I was astonished to receive all of my magazines on the same day (DECOR, PFM, FBN). Who'd a thunk it!
 
Thanks Baer. Smarty pants.


"Cuz she's a blonde, yeah, yeah, yeah, she's a b-l-o, oh, I don't know the rest...." :D

I pull the cutter towards me on picture framing glass, and push on art glass. 'Splain that one...??

I pop bigger pcs. on the edge, too like Mar said, but I am just as likely to pop it in between my thumbs, like Baer's pic shows. I have a nice scar on the meaty part of my hand where the freshly cut edge jumped after I broke it and sliced the opposite hand good. I had the two pieces firmly between my thumbs and it took a sec. to figure out how exactly I had done that! Best glass scar to date-ugh.
 
Update:

Bill Mosser stopped by the shop tonight. Some of you know him: Reps for more companies then I do.
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He said that he had enjoied the article but still had problems with ovals.... being the kind of non-teaching kind of guy that I am...

so an 8x10 and some scrap glass later, I giving a little demo that "it really is a snap to chop out an oval"....

So I showed him how to "look down" and drive forward around the oval and make the relief cuts and then flipping the oval and glass over....

and the glass fell off the frame and broke all of the score lines and relief lines... leaving the perfect oval exposed . . . I about laughed my *** off as Bill just looked at me and stated "show off".

he then cut a good run himself.... noone had ever shown him how to "drive" the cut. He had always looked down and pulled....blind. And he had a shop successfully for many years.

Moral (I guess) is, that sometimes it can be just the smallest things that you learn in a day, that can make your day. Teaching that cut, made my day.

He enjoyed it too.
 
That's a neat story. I wish I could just drop in on you, Baer, and learn a few things. Great article, by the way. Don't cut glass by hand anymore, but learned to do that before any big ole wall cutters and such! ;)

And I am glad, too, that I got Decor in a timely fashion. Although I got both Feb. & Mar. delivered on the same day. (What is up with that??? I am a fairly new subscriber and noticed that they never get here in time....order Cosmo & you get the Jan 05 issue in Nov 04) Anyway, there were good articles this go 'round' & I got to tell all my friends that I know someone famous (& he gives me great advice...bet they can't say that about Dr. Phil!)! Thanks, Baer!

Joy
 
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