Cutting Glass?

Thank you!

You’re very welcome!

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You could try a ring saw; we’ve got a Taurus 3 and it’s basically a wet band saw that cuts the glass in any exotic shape you like. Maybe a bit noisy and messy but totally saves your hands and allows you to cut shapes that are pretty hard to do with a hand cutter.

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With some experimentation, you should be able to score the glass and break it.

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Hi Bricry,
Maybe, but you would have to use a coating and very the power levels of the laser. I have seen it done works just like your typical score and snap.
I also work in an industry that uses special glass that reacts to laser light.
Different frequencies etc caused different reactions etc… That glass is not on the typical menu for the average Joe… couple of pieces and your Glowforge looks cheap by comparison.
My point is when you get the Glowforge you just might find that your experience working with your glass material and a few modifications will let you achieve what you what… Good luck

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Thanks, I had one and it was very noisy. It one of the reasons I don’t want to resort to it again. But I’ll keep that name handy if I do have to go that route. :slight_smile:

That is what I thought would be the case. Thanks.

I don’t think getting glass other than the crafting stained glass type would be cost effective as you say. It is interesting though, I didn’t know that there was glass that reacted different ways with lasers.

UPDATE.
I contacted Full Spectrum Laser as I’ve used their CO2 Laser Cutter before at a makers space and asked them. They called me back and said no, a CO2 laser will not cut through glass. The reason being is that the laser has such high heat it creates micro-fractures on the glass and if it is in contact with the glass for too long it will cause it to shatter/explode. You can only engrave, etch or as someone else said possibly score and break the glass. Thanks everyone for the help!

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I’m going to revive this thread a little.

I came across this video today. I don’t agree with his safety practices but it is a good example of what happens when you score and break glass with a laser. He starts cutting around 1:15

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As a hobby stained glass worker, I suspect you don’t need to go over the score line that many times to get a decent score. And for straight cuts it’s actually easier to just do them by hand with a glass cutter. But I can see using the laser to score curved pieces and include the tangential straight scores that relieve tension and help insure a clean break. That could be a huge help. Can’t wait to try it!

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You should not score your lines more than once . I was taught that it would hurt the cutter.
I love my ring saw I can cut way more intricate shapes than I can by scoring and breaking . I am doing mosaic work in stained glass.you might like it I know it’s opened up whole new possibilities for me.

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Ring saw?

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Yes. Taurus Ring saw its basically a band saw for glass or tile

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Actually I do have a ring saw Taurus). I’m just hoping to avoid the watery mess. But yes, we made some very cool interlocking 3D Christmas trees that way. Took a LONG time to cut all the edges.

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ok here is something I found you might be interested in knowing. I found on a different laser sight someone who uses a 35 watt Co2 laser to score their glass.so I think the glow forge would score the stained glass for you. it will probably take some experimenting with settings but should work.

i know the ring saw can be messy but the designs it can cut compared to by hand are night and day

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I certainly plan to try it! And the ring saw won’t be obsolete; the glass Christmas trees we made would be impossible to do any other way.

How about this:

http://makezine.com/2016/09/13/wazer-desktop-waterjet-cutter/

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Welcome @ericlew44 to the forum. Have you been lurking? The Wazer is a pretty cool gadget. Here is a forum topic on it.

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