How to cut tempered glass at home?

Cutting tempered (high-strength, safe, heat-resistant) glass is a quick and difficult process, it requires quite serious preparation. Cut it on the same principle as the usual, will not work because of its high mechanical strength. In the process of hardening, the material changes its structure. The matter is complicated by the fact that “safe” glass, with all the remarkable strength properties, is a very fragile material. When you try to cut it off in the usual way, it just crumbles into separate pieces. Let's talk in an article on how to cut red-hot glass at home.

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How to make tempered glass?

Is it possible to cut car glass? Tempered glass differs from ordinary glass in that after heating to a temperature of approximately 660 degrees, it is quickly cooled by blowing with cold air. It is rapid cooling that underlies the process called quenching.

Features of tempered glass are:

• High level of mechanical strength.
• Security. The material is broken into large, non-sharp fragments and is not traumatic.
• Resistance to high temperatures.

Due to these characteristics, these materials are widely used in construction, in the manufacture of shop windows or dishes, and in the automotive industry.

Important! Such a glass also has a drawback. Even a slight blow from the end of the glass sheet is enough, and it breaks. This feature is used by designers (creating the effect of “broken glass” in the manufacture of cabinets or tabletops). As a rule, glass surfaces in this case are arranged in 3 layers (whole - broken - whole).

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Cutting order

If the sheet is large, then you should not try to cut it yourself. Cutting such a product without sad consequences is possible only with the help of a laser system. Naturally, this is impossible in everyday life. The only correct way to cut heat-resistant glass at home is to re-anneal the glass. Let's consider it in more detail.

Tools for work

Before cutting tempered glass at home, prepare the necessary tools and devices. So you will need:

• Special oven with the possibility of heating up to 700 degrees or more.

Important! There were many such furnaces in the laboratories of the research institutes, which in the 90s were literally closed in batches. If there is no such furnace, you can order it at the forge (as a forge).

• Thermometer with a high (the same 700 degrees) threshold.

Important! In the laboratory furnaces there are built-in thermostats and thermometers.

• A set of marking devices (markers, squares, rulers).
• Grinding stones.
• Rods made of wood.
• Diamond glass cutter.
• Powerful fan.
• Water.

Important! You need to work in protective devices - overalls, glasses.

Preparation, cutting of toughened glass at home

So, the only way to cut tempered glass in a domestic environment is to make it less durable. Annealing helps to eliminate the stress that appeared during quenching. It is produced by the following algorithm:

• Soak the glass in water. Then gradually increase the temperature of the water to numbers equal to the temperature of viscosity in the furnace (1013 Poise).

Important! Glasses of different brands have different viscosity indicators. In addition, sheet size affects the duration of the procedure.For example, the duration of soaking window panes varies from 12 to 16 hours.

• Heating the glass in the furnace to a temperature of incandescence. For various brands, it is 470-680 degrees (Celsius). The necessary numbers can be found in the glass documentation.

Important! US manufacturing companies indicate incandescent temperature in Fahrenheit. To translate into the usual degrees Celsius, you need to use the formula: TF = TC x 9/5 + 32 or reference tables.

• After the temperature has reached the desired peak value, remove and cool the glass. At the same time, cooling should be as slow as possible.
• When the glass sheet reaches room temperature, mark the cut lines on it. After the manipulations, the glass ceased to be “safe”, “tempered”, and turned into ordinary.
• Make a groove with a glass-cutter along a previously marked line, and then with careful blows beat off “all that is superfluous”. To make the cut more accurate, place the wooden rods under the done “groove”.
• Is the glass cut? Now is the time to temper it again. Repeat the first 2 points of the described technology in accuracy.
• The cooling process during tempering should be quick. To do this, pre-install a powerful ventilation device in the room. You can lower the air temperature to 10 degrees, but a ventilation unit is still necessary. Blow both sides of the sheet. After the temperature of the leaf has reached room temperature, the procedure can be considered completed.

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Stock footage

As you can see, cutting tempered glass at home is by no means an easy and expensive task. Tackling a business without special tools and skills is unreasonable and unsafe. If you think that you can’t cope with the task, entrust it to a specialist.