Advice needed for cutting mirror glass please

[jayem framing]

My first post on the forum,

I have recently been asked to cut a mirror 130cm X 80cm, my question is that i have not cut mirror glass before and would like some advice as to which side of the mirror glass do you cut.
I have been framing for only a short length of time, and learning new skills as i go along.

Any advice given would be appreciated.

Many thanks in anticipation!

Mike at Jayem framing.

[prospero]

Hi Mike and Welcome.

How thick? You should be able to cut it the same way as 2mm glass. Score on the front. I have in the past cut 10mm thick mirror glass this way, although I wouldn't advise it.
Anything thicker than 6mm and I would get it to cut to size by a glass company and get them to smooth the edges.

[Nigel Nobody]

What Prospero said!
Mirror glass isn't anything special. It's regular glass with a coating on one side! Cut it exactly as you would any other glass of the same thickness.

[jayem framing]

Hi Prospero & Nigel,

Thanks for your replies, i forgot to say that the mirror glass is 4mm thick. Hopefully should be ok(he says with fingers crossed).
Any how thanks again for your replies.

Mike

[prospero]

4mm shouldn't be a problem as long as you have a good cutter. I would advise wearing safety specs when snapping thick glass though. If you don't get a clean score, little bits can fly off. When i did cut the aforementioned 10mm mirror I only wanted about an inch off. I ducked down behind the bench and reached up to snap it. Needed a heck of a lot of force and it snapped with a sound like a gunshot. The edges looked a bit ragged but it did follow the scoreline.

[Nigel Nobody]

4mm cuts easily.
As Prospero said you need a good glass cutter. I use an oil filled cutter, but you can just dip a standard cutter into an oil soaked piece of felt or rag before scoring your line. That will stop the chips from flying.

As a matter of fact, if your cutter is good, there should be no chips or at least so tiny that you can't see them.
Before I started buying oil filled cutters, about 15 years ago, I would always run the wheel of a brand new glass cutter along a very fine oilstone a few times to remove that really, really sharp edge from the wheel. It's that very, very sharpness that causes chips and can cause the glass to break away from the scored line, occasionally. The oil filled cutters don't seem to have that problem even when new.

[Dermot]

Make sure you have a good straight edge and dont let it slip or you wont get a clean break..

[JFeig]

I have never had a problem cutting 1/4" plate mirror (6mm) once I found out that placing a wood dowel under the score(or just before the score) gives just enough lift to allow the short side to move as I press down on it in a snapping motion. The dowel acts as a fulcrum an makes the score break easier.

[Not your average framer]

I don't wear any eye protection when cutting thicker glass on my system 4000 wall mounted cutter, I just move my head over to the right hand side of the vertical slide bar so that I cannot see the break line.

Anything heading towards my eyes will hit the vertical bar instead.

BTW, if your workshop gets cold this time of year, or the mirror glass has just been delivered from the back of a cold vehicle, it will be more difficult to get a perfect break. If in doubt warm the glass a little before scoring and breaking.

[jayem framing]

Thanks for your advice,

We are also using a Keencut 4000 wall mounted.

Thanks for the info regarding cutting in a cold workshop, our's is above a shop and certainly gets a bit nippy, so will make sure to warm the mirror first. Should be ordering the sheet of mirror tomorrow and so should be delivered on Wednesday morning.

Regards

Mike

[Dermot]

Why not just order the mirror cut to size....!!!