My old boss in Spokane finally told me why my glass cuts were always chipping

I was scoring with too much pressure for years, trying to make a deep line in one pass. He showed me how a light, steady score with a Fletcher 3000 cutter, followed by a firm tap underneath, gives a clean break every time. I tried it on a 36 inch piece of 1/4 inch tempered last week and it was perfect. Anyone have a different trick for keeping the edge smooth on thicker glass?

3 comments

3 Comments

gracethomas18d ago

Tempered glass can't be cut after it's tempered.

the_blake17d agoTop Commenter

@gracethomas is totally right, it just shatters into a million pieces (learned that the hard way with a shower door once). Trying to cut it is a lost cause.

shane_bell17d ago

Man, that sounds like a rough lesson to learn. I can only imagine the mess from that shower door. It's wild how it just explodes into those tiny, safe pieces instead of big shards. Definitely a one-and-done kind of material once it's treated.