MATERIAL USED FOR GLASS CUTTING

by FAISAL
(ABUDHABI)

HAI THIS IS FAISAL,
I JUST WANTS TO KNOW THAT WHICH MATERIAL IS USING FOR GLASS CUTTING.BECAUSE OF MY FRIEND TOLD NOW USING FOR THIS STEEL.I LEARNED FROM SCHOOL FOR CUTTING GLASS WE CAN USE ONLY DIAMOND BECAUSE ITS HARDNESS.I WANTS TO KNOW ALSO ABOUT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF GLASS CUTTING TOOL.AND WHAT IS THIS LASER GLASS CUTTER.KINDLY REQUESTING TO REPLY FOR THIS.

Milly's reply:

Lots of good questions, thanks. Luckily for us, we don't need to be able to afford diamonds to cut glass anymore. The glass cutting tool you can buy for cutting stained glass has a wheel made from tungsten carbide, an inorganic chemical compound that is three times as stiff as steel.
There are lots of different shapes of glass cutters - eg those shaped like a pencil and 'pistol grip' cutters (shaped like the butt of a gun), but basically they are variations on the same idea.
They have a tungsten carbide wheel attached to a hard plastic hollow body that you fill with oil to lubricate the wheel as it scores the glass. I have photos of the different types of cutter in my stained glass Tools section, and advice on how to cut glass in Leaded Panel section.
Laser cutters are the latest thing in glass cutting technology - a bit new for me to have access to I'm afraid. It works by using laser energy to generate a certain temperature at each point of the planned scoring line. It is then cooled, which creates the score exactly with high precision, giving a smooth and polished-like edge. It is accurate and enables very thick (28mm) glass to be cut relatively safely. I want one!