Opinions Wanted "Lining" a Fletcher Wall Cutter

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CRossDo

CRossDo

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I couldn't think of a better word than lining...
Do you put a lining, cover, barrier on the back panel of your wall cutter to keep glass from being scratched? If so, what do you use? I've seen paper & carpet.
I currently don't because I can manage to tilt the glass forward before moving it, but I'm training someone new for the first time and this seems to be a difficult skill. Do I just need more patience?
Thanks
 
Same as Ylva.

Handling glass in general requires confidence.
Does the trainee have a pair of glass handling gloves? Eye protection?
TruVue offers free sets as well as other promotional material for the asking.
They are basically nylon/synthetic work gloves with nitrile gripping surfaces.
You can also use a microfiber cloth to check for burrs on the board, and especially on the track where a blade might have gone astray. These can be burnished with a stainless tool or sanded off with fine grit sandpaper. I also wax all contact surfaces to facilitate low friction sliding.
 
I keep a piece of flawboard handy for when I'm cutting large panes of glass on the wall cutter. It can sometimes be easier to pinch and slide the mat and glass together as I'm lining it up without letting it drag on the naked vertical bar. Smaller pieces are easier to do without it, but it's so much harder to avoid scratches on the big heavy panes. Also yes, it's good practice to brush out the horizontal tray before/after glass cutting. I think my biggest challenge is gently setting it down on the metal tray so that one corner/edge doesn't get chipped.
 
Over the years the large "Fletcher" branding label on my glass cutter has been scratched and is slightly peeling in places.
Sometimes it makes an impossible to remove smudge on specialty coatings, (especially Museum glass) when the glass is being slid along into position.
For a long time I did what others have suggested, use a slip of paper, plastic, 2ply mat, or whatever to act as a protective slip between the glass surface and the metal of the machine.(or label in my case).
Eventually, I decided to cut a piece of 2ply mat to cover the metal triangle area that the glass slides across.
This works great, is inexpensive and is easily replaceable.
No more smudges/marks. :)
 
We found the main cause for scratches was the aluminum getting burrs from things rubbing against it. We ran our hand over it every once in a while to feel for them and then sanded the rough spots. We also used a thin piece of board if we were being extra careful (like with coated glass).
 
wpfay said:
Same as Ylva.

Handling glass in general requires confidence.
Does the trainee have a pair of glass handling gloves? Eye protection?
TruVue offers free sets as well as other promotional material for the asking.
They are basically nylon/synthetic work gloves with nitrile gripping surfaces.
You can also use a microfiber cloth to check for burrs on the board, and especially on the track where a blade might have gone astray. These can be burnished with a stainless tool or sanded off with fine grit sandpaper. I also wax all contact surfaces to facilitate low friction sliding.
Click to expand...
Thank you! Excellent suggestions. Yes, we have gloves & eye protection.
 
CRossDo said:
...If so, what do you use? I've seen paper & carpet.
Click to expand...
As suggested by others above, just keep the back-plate and bottom channel clean, and you should have no problems. Tilting the glass away from the back-plate is wise, so long as you can do it safely.

When cutting coated glass, I usually pull the paper separator out of the box with the glass and use that as a single-use, throw-away liner.

If you decide to attach any sort of lining on the back-plate, don't use carpet. It's too soft and harbors debris that can scratch glass and acrylic.
 
I use a sheet of matboard behind coated glass. No probs with standard float.

* I also have lined the bottom channel with short-pile carpet so as not the chip corners
of glass if I'm a bit careless loading a sheet.
 
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