How to choose a glass cutter?

Many owners try to make repairs themselves. This allows you to save the budget and do work at a convenient time, without adapting to the schedule of outside workers. However, performing repairs exclusively with your bare hands in the literal sense of the word is sometimes difficult. And if craftsmen can do some work with improvised means without buying specialized tools, such a focus will not work with cutting glass. Going to the store, it is better to know in advance how to choose the right glass cutter. Cutting glass or mirrors is a thin, almost surgical, robot; it is almost impossible to fix flaws. Therefore, a mistake in choosing the right tool can cost you a completely damaged glass cloth. Our article will tell you how to choose a good glass cutter and avoid such troubles.

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What glass cutters exist?

At the moment, the market for cutting devices is not very diverse. However, despite this, for each type of glass it is better to choose “your” tool, based on the following parameters:

1. Scope of work - the number of cut glass meters.
2. The technical task is smooth or curly cutting.
3. The thickness and structure of the material to be cut.

It is especially important to accurately determine these factors before choosing a professional glass cutter, but for household use on small volumes you can buy the so-called universal models.

Based on the design and material of the cutter, manual glass cutters are divided into the following types:

• diamond;
• roller;
• oil;
• winning;
• circular.

Each type of tool is distinguished by its wear resistance, sharpening method and application features.

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Diamond glass cutters

Even from school, everyone knows that diamond is a super strong natural material. It is this stone that has long been used for cutting glass.

Advantages:

• allows you to make an even and accurate groove;
• cuts, not scratches glass;
• durable material - service life up to 10 years.

Disadvantages:

• use requires some experience;
• high price.

Important! If the edge of the diamond cutter becomes dull, you can simply rotate it to another edge. Also, the diamond is grinded with a cast-iron disk or bar covered with diamond dust and mastic.

Device

Structurally, diamond models consist of:

• wooden or plastic handles;
• steel or tubular frame covered with an anti-corrosion layer;
• a metal hammer that has slots for breaking glass and fixing minor cutting flaws;
• directly the diamond tool itself, securely fixed with a special solder with silver;
• connecting screw.

In addition to glass cutters with natural diamond, there are also options with artificial stone. Such tools are much cheaper, but practically not inferior to their predecessors.

Important! A model with natural diamond can cut glass up to 10 mm thick, and with artificial - up to 5 mm.

Types

Diamond glass cutters come in two types:

1. With an edge in the form of a tetrahedral pyramid - it has an inclination of 22 degrees relative to the axis of the tool;
2. With a curved edge - does not tilt from the axis.

Important! If you are thinking about how to choose a glass cutter for your home, it is better to stop at the second option - working with such a tool is easier if experience is not enough.

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Glass Cutter

Wizards and ordinary users also make extensive use of roller glass cutters. Unlike diamond, the cutting part here is a special rotating roller with a diameter of 6.6 mm, made of an alloy of tungsten with cobalt.

Advantages:

• inexpensive;
• easy to use;
• when the roller is blunted, it can simply be replaced with another.

Disadvantages:

• a small amount of work - 300-400 meters of glass;
• not enough groove.

Important! Some people think that in glass cutters with interchangeable rollers on the holder there are disks for cutting glass of different densities and thicknesses - this is not at all the case. The rollers are the same in size and are designed to replace dull ones.

Tool Quality Check

To make sure that the roller is working, make a test cut on a small piece of glass. If you get a thin line, then - the tool is ready to work, but if a thick groove with a small crumb of glass comes out, replace the roller.

Important! Before you choose a good glass cutter in a store, you definitely need to check it: the rollers should spin freely, but not hang out.

Types

Depending on the thickness of the glass, you need to choose rollers with different sharpening angles:

1. For glass of 1-5 mm, a tool with a sharpening angle of 100 degrees is suitable.
2. For glass up to 10 mm thick, a cutting disc with an angle of 100-140 degrees is used.
3. A tool with a sharpening angle of 160 degrees can handle glass up to 20 mm.

Important! Universal is considered a sharpening angle of 138 degrees. These will be the best roller glass cutters for home use.

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Oil glass cutters

Oil glass cutters have appeared on the market relatively recently. In fact, they are an improved version of the roller tools described above - the handle also serves as a reservoir for lubrication.

Important! If, when working with a roller tool, to improve the cutting line, you need to constantly lubricate the roller with oil yourself, then lubrication is automatically supplied. This happens in this way: oil is poured into the handle cavity, which then passes through a special hole to the axis of the roller and its cutting edge, as well as to the cut line. Due to this, it is possible to significantly reduce the friction of the roller on the material, thereby increasing its wear resistance.

Advantages:

• able to cut a large volume of glass meters;
• durable
• evenly cut glass;
• independently delivers oil from the reservoir to the cut line;
• convenient to work with.

Disadvantages:

• costs more than a conventional roller.

Important! The oil cutting tool is capable of processing up to 5,000 meters of glass and a thickness of up to 20 mm. After that, replace the entire head.

Types

Oil glass cutters are sold with replaceable heads and rollers. The latter, depending on the angle of sharpening, are intended for cutting glass of different thicknesses:

• 135 degrees for paintings up to 10 mm thick;
• 150 degrees for glasses up to 20 mm.

Also, oil glass cutters can be:

• with a fixed head - standard;
• with a rotating head - used for cutting glass according to the template.

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Winning Glass Cutters

If you are faced with the task of choosing the cheapest glass cutter for glass, pay attention to the tool with a winning cutter. This option is also suitable for one-time work.

Important! It is unsuitable for a large volume of cutting, as the cutter dies very quickly and needs to be sharpened constantly.

Advantages:

• cheap;
• Suitable for simple one-time work.

Disadvantages:

• constant sharpening required;
• poor-quality groove, which sometimes leads to glass cracks;
• the cut line is not very neat.

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Circular glass cutters

The best glass cutters for cutting holes or figures in the form of a circle and an oval are circular ones. They greatly simplify such a complex and painstaking work. They are often used by professionals.

Device

A circular glass cutter has the following components:

• glass cutter, as a rule, is an oil model;
• a suction cup that secures the entire tool to the glass;
• adjustable scale, with which the desired radius of the circle is set.

Advantages of circular glass cutters:

• allow you to cut complex shapes and holes in the canvas;
• can work with thick glass;
• facilitate the work.

Important! The sharpening angle of the cutting element of the circular glass cutter allows you to work with glass up to 20 mm thick.

Disadvantages:

• price;
• require significant experience in glass cutting.

Important! To obtain an oval of glass, a structure of two rods is used, which are arranged perpendicular to each other and to the tool itself. The main thing is to choose the right radius on the scales.

To make the work of the master as comfortable as possible, in advanced models of glass cutters the handle is hollow and has a wick for oil supply. If you are thinking about how to choose a professional glass cutter for curly cutting, while the amount of work will be substantial, take a look at this option.

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Tips for choosing a good glass cutter

In order to choose the best glass cutters from those that are available in the store, you need to look not only at the type of tool, but also at the workmanship itself.

Here is a list of additional points to pay attention to:

1. Glass cutters with a wooden or rubberized handle will not slip in your hand.
2. The notches on the handle of the tool will allow better control of the cutting process and provide a more comfortable use.
3. In roller glass cutters, the roller should spin well by inertia, while not making the “eight” during rotation.
4. During test cutting, the tool should produce a distinctive crackling sound without creaking.
5. For a direct cut, choose a model with a fixed, straight, thick head.
6. For curly cutting, you need a tool with a moving or thin head.

Important! A universal option is a glass cutter with a rotating head, which can be fixed if necessary.

As you can see, even a novice, following our advice, will be able to accurately understand how to choose a glass cutter for home or for professional work. Summing up the brief results, we can say that a lot here depends on the amount of work and budget:

• For cutting several glasses and mirrors with your own hands, you can safely opt for a roller model.
• When answering the question of how to choose a professional glass cutter, you should pay attention to diamond and compass tools.
• But if you plan to work with thick glass, masters recommend oil models.

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We hope that this article helped to make the right choice and repair will bring you only joyful moments!