The Framers Forum

Just wondering what everybody uses for glass/sheet cutting?

I've seen oil filled diamond tip cutters are great but would rather have some kind of cutter that will take seconds to slice it all up.

Excalibur 5000.

Unfortunately it's not mine. I'm babysitting it. But only fair to give it some exercise now and then.

I've got an old Keencut System 4000. Built like a tank, goes on for ever and they can be bought at very reasonable secondhand prices!

However they are very heavy to transport, so you may need to think about that.

got a 3000 excaliber - never got on with it for glass - broke more than i cut!! (glass that is ) great for mdf!!!!!!

Wall mounted fletcher for the glass.

1962 wadkin bursgreen cast iron table saw for mdf

actually wish i'd bought a fletcher now!! ah well !

Excalibur 5000. A dream

I was cutting glass with a Toyo and board with a cast iron guillotine until I managed to find a second hand Excalibur 5000. A couple of niggles with the second hand machine but Keencut support is superb (especially Andy who is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful) and I've never looked back. And I got a hundred quid for the guillotine on e-bay and the guy came and took it away! Result (it weighed a tonne!)!!

We never had room for a wall mounted cutter until we moved to this shop in 2000 - until then it was one of these for glass (which I still use for cutting slivers), the keencut ultimat squaring arm for mount board and corricor type boards and a stanley knife for anything that the ultimat couldn't cope with.

60" Keencut excalibur now - and here's a tip for this and maybe any other type of wall mounted cutter, cut a board and a piece of glass using the left and right stops - say 250x200mm.

Measure them; if they are not absolutely perfectly exactly the same size (maybe because the glass wheel does not run on exactly the same track as the blade) buy yourself a second right hand stop. I hardly ever use my left hand stop; there's a couple of other advantages to this too - speed (not much, but over time .....) and always knowing that the left stop will be flipped out of the way - it's a PITA arriving at your maxi-slasher carrying a large piece of glass and not being able to put it on the cutter because you have to flip a stop out of the way first.

Thanks for all your suggestions.. any suggestions for a budget of muuuuch les than £1500?

Have a look at the Onyx 90 - here's a topic with some links one of which includes a demo video.

Glass: Toyo tungsten carbide wheel oil filled cutter for around £25 (Wessex GC2) plus ebonite T square £54 (Wessex T52) and a nice clean, clear, not too springy bench.

Back board: Keencut for fluted boards and good old stanley and metal rule for foam core.

ChrisG

Whilst on the subject, does a keencut system 4000 cut mdf ok?

I saw one on an online auction site, but do not know anything about them

ChrisG wrote:Glass: Toyo tungsten carbide wheel oil filled cutter for around £25 (Wessex GC2) plus ebonite T square £54 (Wessex T52) and a nice clean, clear, not too springy bench.

How do you find that method?

I have a fairly cheap (and crappy) diamond tipped oil filled glass cutter and find it to be more hassle than its worth...... takes forever, cut not so great ect ect ect (so not really bought a more expensive one yet at risk of wasting money).

What about something like this at DIY framing ...?

Thanks for all other suggestions. I'm looking around at them all, although can't afford to be spending £1k on one .

Cut to size glass will do for now I guess.

Abacus wrote:does a keencut system 4000 cut mdf ok?

Yes - well, as long as the cutting wheels are OK on a used one (you couldn't cut MDF on my excalibur, I buggered the wheels up on 6mm pegboard!) Here's a link where you can download the manual - you'll have to go to page two. http://www.keencut.com/uk/manuals.aspx

I use a Silberschnitt oil filled cutter - great tool, and a T-square, for glass. I use a Excalibur 5000 for MDF, and all other boards.

Don't you use the excalibur for glass too? The idea is you cut all the frame contents on the same machine with the same stops - surely? Why would you cut glass by hand if you have a machine?

arcon5

No it is like this http://www.wessexpictures.com/glass_cutters.html

You have to measure carfully and ensure the T square doesn't slip, other than that fairly easy. The cutter is very quick and reliable, you score a line much like you would draw a pencil line (and at about the same speed).

ChrisG

I've watched people in glass suppliers chopping up glass using a looooong T-square and a hand-held cutter. Some of them must have arms like a gibbon. Grabbing a 6x4' sheet and dropping it on a bench needs a lot of confidence.

just picking it up takes a lot, never mind dropping it