choosing a glass grinder

Looking at the problem from a diifferent angle..... I'm imagining that the geometric panel is mostly straight lines - with glass cut into squares, diamonds, triangles etc ? (If not the case then none of the following will apply )

My experience has been that it's always quicker to cut the glass to the right size rather than 'expect' to have to cut first and then grind to size .... - though I know some teachers 'teach' the cut'n'grind method.

With that in mind - perhaps you need a better way of cutting, rather than a better way of grinding ..?

I use the Morton system most of the time. It's a series of adjustable clamps that fit into a plastic matrix - and will let you cut lots of pieces of glass to 'exactly' the same size and shape.

Suppose you had 20 3" squares to cut. With the Morton system - you can set up the metal cutting guide at 90-degrees to the 'location bar', and set a couple of 'stops' to give you strips of glass exactly 3" wide. Once you have the strips, use the right-angle guide to sqaure off one end, then cut the strips into 3" squares.

It's ten times quicker to do than to describe. You can also jig up for non-90-degree shapes. The great thing you'll achieve is 'repeatability' - all of your 3" squares will be 3", and square

You might then find that a quick touch with a grinder along each edge will make life (& assembly) easier - but you'll be taking off a tiny amount of glass quickly, rather than trying to 'grind to size / shape'.

Hope this helps Adrian Suffolk UK

Your instinct to look at a disc grinder is correct. It is well nigh impossible to grind a straight line any other way.

Adrian's comments about cutting the glass to a tighter tolerance is correct, but if you need to grind a lot of pieces that are already cut a flat disc is the best way to go. However.....

From a cost and time standpoint, you might be better off to toss the oversize pieces and recut everything. The cost of a sheet or two of glass might not be as much as buying a grinder, and you certainly can cut a lot of new pieces in the same time you would spend grinding some to size.

The Diamond Max grinders are cheap Chinese junk. You would be much better off to find an Inland or Glastar. Look around on the web and remember that eBay is your friend.

"From a cost and time standpoint, you might be better off to toss the oversize pieces and recut everything. The cost of a sheet or two of glass might not be as much as buying a grinder, and you certainly can cut a lot of new pieces in the same time you would spend grinding some to size." ================================================================

for straight line cuts ONLY ONE WORD x3

JIG JIG JIG

buyable or makeable

as fast as you can push a cutter on a straight edge you can score glass easy to snap a stack of glass in one quick flex just a light grind is necessary for foil no grind for came

DO NOT BUY INLAND CRAP....AND THEY DON'T HONOR THEIR WARRANTY.

TOTAL JUNK

have a look at the inland wizling. A great product, inexpensive, good customer service. m

Me, too. I have 2 Wizlings, one on my service truck and the other in the shop. They both are more than 20 years old and still going strong. One of them had a switch go bad a couple of years ago, and I called Inland. They sent me one at N/C and sent it priority mail, to boot.

I'd say that was pretty darn good customer service. All I asked them for was the OEM switch mfg's part number, so I could go try to find one at an electronics shop. I figured that the 18 year-old part wouldn't even be available. I offered to pay for the part, and they wouldn't take my money.

Ya know? Customer service "sometimes" is all about how you present your problem to the rep. I've found that "can you help me?" works a LOT better than "you lousy SOB's make junk grinders".

Inland and Glastar are both good grinders. I have both and each has served me well. Don't know anything about Diamond Max, but I've heard in various circles that they are not of very high quality.

I suggest practic>> this is absolutely NOT the experience i have had with inland. i've been

well i have two sitting her that have burnt out motors, one is less then a year old.

still working on getting warranty.

back using old (4year) glastar.

Sorry to hear that you have two burned out units. I have an Inland that is nearly 10 years old with absolutely no problems encountered through frequent use. Same would go for the larger Glastar that I've had for about 5 years.

There are good ones and bad ones, just as you would find with anything else you would buy these days.

Is your warranty problem with the factory or vendor? I would suspect the vendor may be the problem and doesn't want to deal with it. Try the factory, if you haven't already. Good luck. I h> well i have two sitting her that have burnt out motors, one is less then a > year old.