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Looking for a good glass cutter

TomB19

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Jan 1, 2015
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547
Location
Regina, SK, Canada
I have a couple of glass cutting tools and that are pretty ****. In both cases, they sometimes etch glass very well and, in others, they don't. I'm sure they could work well with perfect technique but I suspect there are better quality cutters out there.

I cut glass and mirrors fairly often. Can someone recommend a good quality cutter, perhaps with a replaceable carbide wheel?
 
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ScottsGT

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Jan 1, 2014
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Lake Wateree, SC
Yes. Give me a minute to find it. Cuts glass like butter! Well, a great score line at least

Toyo cutting head. CR Laurence on Amazon. Has an oil reservoir in the handle.
 
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neophyte

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Apr 23, 2012
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9,754
Location
Pennsylvannia
I knew a stained glass artist who said The basic Fletcher bsll end glass cutters were the preferred cutters. I was also told to keep a small jar of kerosene to lubricate the tip of the cutter. Tbe jar was just a glass jar, with a pad of steel wool at ghe bottom filled with kerosene clise to the top of the pad.
 

the gypsy

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Mar 13, 2013
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Montreal, Quebec, Canada
I have researched it a while ago as you are doing now. And the common response was that any basic glass cutter would work if it is lubricated with kerosene and most important is technique. When scribing the glass it has to sound like tearing paper one continuous tear with no skipping. practice, practice, practice.
 
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moon_tanner

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Nov 12, 2014
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NW Florida
I used to make aquariums for people, and at the end of the day, it was cheaper and more proficient to use a local glass shop.
 

Anotherrcguy

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May 6, 2012
Messages
140
Location
Made in USA
MacInnes is my favorite traditional cutter but it's not cheap.
If you like a self oiling cutter I would stick with the Toyo TC17B

I used both for years, I've been in the glass business for 26 years.
I would suggest mineral spirits as a lubricant and a small paint brush. Place your straight edge and dip the brush in mineral spirits and brush it on and you'll never have too hot of a cut.

http://www.sunshineglass.com/rcol/c-tools/macinnes.htm

http://www.crlaurence.com/crlapps/showline/offerpage.aspx?Productid=84889&GroupID=56195&History=39324:386:56176:56178&ModelID=56195

And No, you can't cut tempered glass, you can only break it into thousands of tiny pieces.

Lastly, choose the correct wheel. The thicker the glass, 1/2", 3/4" etc. the softer the glass. The thinner such as 3/32" or 1/8" the harder but more brittle it is.
 
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David Stanley

Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Messages
5
Location
Manchester
I have a couple of glass cutting tools and that are pretty ****. In both cases, they sometimes etch glass very well and, in others, they don't. I'm sure they could work well with perfect technique but I suspect there are better quality cutters out there.

I cut glass and mirrors fairly often. Can someone recommend a good quality cutter, perhaps with a replaceable carbide wheel?

I find by far the best glass cutters to be the TOYO range. My preference is the TC20 glass cutter, purchased from Ecohold. Its a dry wheel glass cutter (so it doesn't have a reservoir for automatically oiling the wheel), but I just dip it in oil before each score. Never had any problems with it.

I've seen a brand called Schilberschnitt out there, never used, but the quality looks decent. Anyone used them?
 
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Steve_P

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Sep 15, 2010
Messages
5,185
Old thread, but I worked at a glass factory and we used a Japanese made cutter that had a reservoir for kerosene in the handle. It sounds like what was mentioned
 
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