Glass Cutting bandsaw?

[LifeGlass]

I am looking at getting a bandsaw, probably the 10 inch unit from Sears, the link below.

I have a $100 gift card to them, so thats why.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921400000P

Does anyone see a safety or any issue with me using this to cut both boro tubing/rod and also soft glass....

I will convert it to a wet saw myself.

Please check it out and make suggestions, even maybe something else Sears has, thanks guys.

I am off to look for a Diamond blade for it now....

[LifeGlass]

I think this would be a better option, it comes with a diamond blade too. Only cuts up to 33mm, but I am sure you can take that top piece off and do up to 66mm , in two passes.

What do yall think, will that blade slice boro?


http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00922320000P?keyword=wet+saw#reviews Wrap

[byron3]

You can get blades for band saws here : Ukam (http://www.ukam.com/)

[LifeGlass]

Thanks Byron, I think I am gonna try that second one, The 7 inch wet saw, it comes with all I need, I THINK?

and I'll have 4 bucks left on that gift card after I order it, oooohh

[Greymatter Glass]

The problem with either of those saws is they're not made to cut glass.

I have a cheap tile saw, and it works. But, and this is pretty important, it's not made to cut glass.

The band saw you'd probably never be able to convert to a diamond blade saw for less than a cheap diamond band saw. If you're a mechanical/design genius maybe... but you'd still spend dozens of hours and hundreds of dollars.

The tile saw... meh.... it will work, it's far from ideal.

The biggest problem is chatter. Tile saws vibrate so much that any fine/thin cuts will just crack and break on you. They're fine for cutting down tube and slabbing thick sheets... they suck for delicate work.

[glassdocnc]

http://dayton.craigslist.org/art/1302058320.html

may not be robust enough.

http://store.allstainedglass.com/grypc40diamb.html

A little more power to tackle bigger tasks.

[seadal]

Sorry to hijack but what kind of saw would be good to make delicate cuts? I have been trying to make delicate cuts but shit likes to crack on my wet saw.

Doug? Anybody?

[Rosentech]

If you are buying a saw and you want a decent cut buy one that was designed to cut glass. It's an investment in your work, buy a good saw.

His Glassworks in Asheville North Carliona has a good selection of saws all for cutting glass. If you want an inexpensive saw for more delicate cuts take a look at the Gemini Titan ring saw. For $450 its still easily affordable and still capable of cutting pretty large pieces when you take the top guard off. It also has an optional double sided blade where there is diamond coating on the inside as well. Works really well for cutting out intricate paterns in sheet glass.

http://www.hisglassworks.com/cart/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=364

And Grey Matter is totally right. You'll spend countless hours trying to retrofit a saw that was never meant for glass or for handling coolant. You are better off spending that time improving your skills on the torch and having a saw that makes good clean cuts. Think of it this way, would you try to modify a red max and ever expect it to work like a GTT??? You can never have too many quality tools either.

[goldmanglass]

ive cut a good bit of glass and id definitely recommend the one you posted in your first post. youll obviously have to convert it to a wet saw but that shouldnt be hard. if your looking to make precise intricate cuts you cant go wrong with that style. The only way id recommend the other disc style is if your doing a lot a lot of cutting and theyre all relatively straight and simple or if speed is a really big issue.

[Islandglass Man]

Glass bandsaws in my opinion are more trouble then they are worth.

For cutting plate glass it will work but larger tubing will always have some problems. The higher you raise the support for the blade the more twisting you can get in the blade. and rust is a problem unless you use oil base coolants and that suck for glass.

I have always recommended a Pristorius glass cutting saws. There are used ones around but if you want a tool for the rest of you working career invest in the best fine cuts are easy and with a 14" diamond blade you can cut some really large stuff.

Bear

[Greymatter Glass]

the Pristorius saws are the best, hands down, but they'll set ya back a few grand for a new one, at least a G for a used one.

Very important thing is the right blade. A sintered or metal bonded blade is fine for rough cuts. I would look at the Proslicer or similar lapidary blades, but an MK-303 will do in a pinch and are usually available at Home Depot.

The best blades are the resin bonded diamond blades tho. They resin bonding has a tiny bit of give and will go a long way to absorb minute vibration/chatter from a cheaper saw.

Also, a lot can be done to make a cheap saw better:

Make sure the drive motor is well balanced and any belts properly tensioned. A loose belt will result in chatter and an over tight belt will wreck the motor and throw it out of balance. Proper tension is about 1/4" of deflection when not running using just light finger pressure to push the belt.

Make sure everything is tight, and the saw is stable on level ground.

The best saws will have a feed table that moves the work into the blade, which is mounted above the work. On some of the cheaper tile saws that table can have a lot of play. Use washers to take up some of the slack, and make sure they have a good thick body grease on them, something that will add some resistance to the rails. If you want you can entirely redesign the rail system to run better, but that takes some ingenuity.

Good coolant is also a must. Water will do in a pinch if you're in the woods and don't have any coolant, but a quality rust inhibiting lubricant/coolant will help. Graves DiaCut, Abrasivre Technology CrystalCut, Rio grande (and many other private labels) CoolLube, or really any other water soluble lapiday coolant will make things a little bit smoother.

Make sure the blade is up to full speed before starting your cut.

_NEVER_ use a warped, chipped, or broken blade. EVER.

Use the right sized blade for your work. A 4" trim blade is perfect for delicate work. A 10 or 14" blade will cut down large tube, but the inherent flaws of any blade will be magnified in a larger blade, so chatter will be worse.

Go slow. Jamming the work into the blade can damage the blade and will generate heat that can shock even boro. Eventually you'll learn to feel the feed speed of a given blade. Some blades have a feed rate limit printed on them, most will just be smooth and cut clean at the right speed. Too slow and you'll get burn out, too fast and you get chatter and chipping.

To make the best clean cuts cut about 1/4 of the way then flip the work over and go in the rest of the way from the other side, this avoids "blow out" at the end of the cut...

Thats about all I can think of. Learn to feel the cut as you go, the feedback from the blade will tell you what you need to know.

It's all cumulative, so the more you can do the better.


-Doug

[Islandglass Man]

I agree Pistorius is the best also I have 10" very thin blades that fits my saw and does my very fine cuts and you are right resin bond blades are the best.

Keeping everything tight and well lubed is important but if there is that much slop washers can't make up for quality.

The problem with coolant is you are pumping the pieces of glass that you just cut back into the work you are cutting the glass will not settle out, this will fowl the cut. Fresh water is the best a clean cut can (with the right technique) be fire polished with little or no contamination. The proper way to install the saw is to plump it into the waist pluming somewhere in your shop or if you are in the woods you can drain the water onto your garden.

If you are feeding the material into your saw slow and steady there is no need to turn the work around to stop "blow outs " When you turn uneven objects around it is very difficult to match the cuts even with tubing it is difficult to match

Cutting techniques usually have to be learned the hard way I know I have made lots of mistakes at the saw.

Bear

[sunray]

http://www.diamondtechglass.com/manuals/169597.pdf
Here's the one we sell the most of.. Used by some of our local blowers
and they say it works good. We also have one in our own shop.
$225 an comes with 2 blades