I cut tempered glass!

Rat Rods Rule

Help Support Rat Rods Rule:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Sam_Fear

Brother Rat
Joined
Oct 11, 2008
Messages
12,478
Location
Dixon, IA
Well, I untempered it in my wife's kiln and then cut it. Might come in handy if I wanted to cut down the wing vents of a 66 Caddy...
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20150420_202109082a.jpg
    IMG_20150420_202109082a.jpg
    49.9 KB · Views: 52
  • IMG_20150420_202205921a.jpg
    IMG_20150420_202205921a.jpg
    53.3 KB · Views: 44
I watch our glass shop cut glass he scares both sides then pops it with his hand on a piece of carpet then puts lighter fluid on the crack and lights it to melt the plastic between it ... I dont know if it was tempered , but I think it was .. I dont know much about glass ...
 
I watch our glass shop cut glass he scares both sides then pops it with his hand on a piece of carpet then puts lighter fluid on the crack and lights it to melt the plastic between it ... I dont know if it was tempered , but I think it was .. I dont know much about glass ...

That's laminate safety glass, tempered doesn't have the plastic and usually just shatters into a million pieces if you try to cut it.
 
Yep, when I cut it I get pieces in about 1/4 inch squares. Lots of very small windows.

[cl

When we were doing the resto on my dad 57.. we very carefully removed the glass.. set it on the floor came back the next day and it was a million pieces.. that was probably 12 or so years ago.. every now and then we will still find some of those tiny squares..
 
I was curious enough about how glass is tempered to do some looking.

Apparently it is done by either heating to well over 1000*, then cooling quickly in cool air, or by immersing it in melted potassium nitrate. (What ever that is.)
 
I was curious enough about how glass is tempered to do some looking.

Apparently it is done by either heating to well over 1000*, then cooling quickly in cool air, or by immersing it in melted potassium nitrate. (What ever that is.)

Potassium Nitrate is a common fertilizer - also highly explosive :eek: - good bomb making material....
A neighbor many years ago used to add a couple bags of it with a stick of dynamite when blowing out tree stumps for a bigger bang. [ddd
You'd have to think that while in liquid form, dipping a 1000* piece of glass in might involve some element of risk....[S
 
Finding a kiln to fit a wing vent window is easy to find - lots of people have them for art glass. Finding a bigger one might be a problem. ....and on a larger window, I would want it re-tempered for safety reasons.

Soltz, your better bet might be to find a laminated door glass out of a newer vehicle. Some cars have them because they are more sound proof than tempered.
 
One of the glass guys I used to use (he retired) did flat glass untempered, then sent it out for tempering.

Based on Sam's experience tempered glass can be untempered. So I would think you can find a business in most large cities that will untemper and retemper.
 
One of the glass guys I used to use (he retired) did flat glass untempered, then sent it out for tempering.

Based on Sam's experience tempered glass can be untempered. So I would think you can find a business in most large cities that will untemper and retemper.
For flat vent wings, I would think it would be cost prohibitive. Getting flat laminated glass cut to fit is expensive but I'll bet still cheaper.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top