Cutting glass mirror

Lay the mirror on the worktable so you can see yourself in it, mark where you want to score and score it there. Break out the cut-off area, seam the edge, mount it to hang and hang it and on to the next project. Nothing mysterious about cutting it, and the last thing you want to do is mash too hard on the cutter. just cause it's 1/4" glass does not mean you must mash on it. Biggest error I've seen.

Ummmm...one more thing. Use a "dull" cutter or one with a flat angle wheel. (Hell, ALL my cutters are dull....)

My take is that this is too big a project for a novice to do successfully.

To run your score lift the edge, carefully, and slip a wood pencil (or dowel) directly below the score.... press down evenly and equally on both sides, and it SHOULD run neatly across and separate .... voila!

Actually, if you can get some scraps of 1/4" glass from a glass shop to practice on it would be a good idea! They'll often have several 6" wide x

40+" long scraps in their dumpsters. That mirror costs a lot these days, ya know.

Cheers, Jacques Bordeleau

successfully.

I think I agree...a piece of 7' x 5' x1/4" mirror is a two man project to get it on a cutting table (safely). I didn't notice the mirror's size when I first read the post.

Don't twist it or torque it and your fine, use the edge of the table as your

2nd person, handle it like a board you don't want to warp.

What does it weigh? 100-110 lbs or more? I'll politely pass on handling it by myself...thanks anyway. Besides the possibility of hurting my already sore shoulder even worse....breaking the fool thing would be costly. Not to mention 7 years of bad luck.

OK, with your shoulder, I can see it not being "ergonomically" but the weight is way off. Think of 4 x 8 ft 3/4" plywood, that doesn't weigh 100 lbs, I haven't looked it up, and probably should, but 60 X 84, 1/4" plate is a common size, and easily handled in a glazing shop. Weight isn't the factor, its moving with it, but a person should only do what they feel confidant in doing.

Not at all.. Not any harder to cut than art glass, just larger sizes. To be sure the break goes where you score put cutting oil or kerosene on the line before you score it.

Byron... Wells Glassworks

successfully.

dunno...thought the weight off too, but then I calculated 3lb sq ft (1/4" plate) x 35 sq ft .... 105 lb.

OK, there is inherent danger in a piece of plate this size ... if things goes badly one could lose a foot, leg, arm, hand, or more..... if things go only poorly, you lose the mirror worth several hundred clams. If everything works out right he still has to seam the edges .... I've used a rock before, but it's a lousy sub. And a regular glass shop would charge what....$10? maybe... to do both for him. Choices must be made.

Cheers, Jacques Bordeleau

I quickly calculated that weight by "knowing" that SG weighs about 1.5lb/ft, doubling it for 1/4" thickness, and figuring the square footage. I imagine the reflective stuff and backing weighs a bit, too.

Problem is...if he has the mirror at home, how's he getting it to regular glass shop? (If he already has a glass rack in his vehicle, he should already know how to cut the glass.) I don't imagine any glass shop would send a truck to a residence just to cut a mirror down for any measly ten bucks. Specially if they absorb the liability for breakage.

That's because you have the tape. I, alas..... am still waiting at the door everyday with a tear in my eye.

I would NEVER advise a novice to cut his own 7' x 5' piece of ANY glass. I have experienced SG workers that can't work with 1/4" in any size. There's a whole different set of variables working with 1/4", plus the size and weight issues. This guy is welcome to try it, but I would bet on complete failure, and possible injury.

Ummmm...and all along I thought you were bleary-eyed from drinking all that scotch. Tis a shame.