[jayglass]

I am trying to find out if there's any kind of equipment that will allow me to cut hand blown glass, much in the same way that a plasma cutter allows metal to be cut. Preferably, the equipment would be portable and not very expensive.

Thanks for your input.

[low_48]

I would venture a guess here, but dry abrasive would seem to meet your requirements. I'm sure that a water jet would be more accurate, but that does not fit under the "not very expensive" requirement. Silicon carbide through a fine nozzle should do the trick, but are you talking CNC? Would hate to have silicon carbide/glass dust blowing around ball screws and linear bearings.

[jayglass]

Do you think that it would allow me to slice off pieces of the glass in precise patterns or is that more in the realm of sandblasting, which really just effects the finish?

[High Seas]

Ring Saw? Its like a band saw - "blade" is about 12 inches in diameter - wet/flooded and cuts up to 1/2 inch thick fused galss - haven't tried thicker. BUT its manual! Not cnc'd workd like a bandsaw - don't put any side load -- or you'll be buying a new $100+ band.


Hope that helps - need any more details aks - there is one in the closet (but not for sale).
:cheers: Jim

[jayglass]

Thanks! I'll check it out. Too bad I'm not in the neighborhood>

[jayglass]

I just did some research on the ring saw. It looks great for working with flat pieces of glass, but there doesn't seem to be much clearance. What I work with is much larger and 3 dimensional. The reason I thought about something like a plasma cutter is that I'd like to be able to remove material of different depths from within the body of a piece.

[High Seas]

Clearance under the "foot" is about 1 1/2 inches - and only about 4 inches until you have run out of space fore/aft. Suppose there might be some adapting - but that's a whole other project! Good luck.
:cheers: Jim

[trevis1st]

You could also cut the ring saw blade to make a scroll saw with it. Even with that the guide bearings to keep it straight would have to be probably to close to give you the depth you wanted. What about a diamond router bit. They take a long time but that's probably the cheapest and most accurate way other than the water jet.