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  #1  
Old Thu 03 December 2009, 22:53
Daya
Just call me: Fabrica
 
Kandy
Sri Lanka
How to Bevel Glass

I need to bevel glass with my MM. Can some one please advise me on how to get about it, specially on the router bits that are required.
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  #2  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 02:01
Claudiu
Just call me: Claus #43
 
Arad
Romania
Hi Fabrica,

You should use mandatory a diamond tipped bit.
Check this out

Greetings
Claus
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  #3  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 02:06
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
Hi Fabrica, great to see that you are still around! A lot of the MechMaters here joined after you went quiet, but they need to know that you hold serial #1

Okay, that is the inroduction . . . . let's see if someone has glass bevelling experience
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  #4  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 03:58
Greeny
Just call me: Greeny
 
The North
United Kingdom
Hi Fabrica,

Sorry to be negative, but I would advise extreme caution before attempting to use your MM for bevelling glass.
Very small errors in a bevel produce easily visible defects that are very difficult to polish out due to the hardness of glass.
Also the tools are expensive & water cooled and the water/slurry gets all over the machine.
Dedicated machines have all stainless steel components, and dedicated water drainage,filtration and recirculation .
The machines are also very heavy duty and powerful.
Using standard cup tools, you must angle the head. Not too hard for straight edges, but curves are a different ball game.


I work in the glass industry and have worked with CNC machines for cutting, edging and engraving glass.
We have looked into dedicated CNC bevelling machines and decided it was not feasable for us.
They all had issues with accuracy,quality and production time, and these were £100K+ machines


The Edging CNC machines we have that produce glass balustrading/table tops etc are VERY heavy duty machines.
They are Intermac/Biesse machines that are about 6 tonnes.

As everyone knows, glass is very hard and brittle. It is harder than granite.
The tools used are diamond grit embedded in metal or resin.
For bevelling, cup wheels are used. usually 3 grades (Coarse,med,fine)
Then the bevel must be polished with a felt wheel & cerium oxide.
The tools are very expensive £100+ each, although they do last a long time.
I don't know what power the spindles are, but they are much, much bigger on our Intermac/Biesse's than on a typical MM.

Lots of water is required to keep the tools cool.
As a guide you need about six jets of water surrounding the tool, each jet equivalent to a good garden hose.
The water requires drainage and the slurrey is very abrasive and corrosive. It gets everywhere.
Spindle speed control is essential as different speeds are required for different wheels.

I'm not saying it's impossible. I have seen some amazing stuff done with MM's.
However i do think the chances of success are very, very slim.

Cheers
Greeny

Some links:
http://glass.intermac.com/ProductDet...=130,Master,35
http://www.eborstone.co.uk/shop_prod...Diamond_Wheels
http://www.beveledglass.net/HANDBEVELING.html (scary)
Attached Images
File Type: jpg 08-05EL1.jpg (23.7 KB, 762 views)
File Type: jpg 08-05EM1.jpg (26.1 KB, 760 views)
File Type: jpg 122_384_intermac_glass_master_35_bevelling.jpg (195.8 KB, 768 views)

Last edited by Greeny; Fri 04 December 2009 at 04:07.. Reason: missed a bit
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  #5  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 04:35
Daya
Just call me: Fabrica
 
Kandy
Sri Lanka
Hi Claudiu, Gereald and Greeny,

Sorry for not being able to keep in touch with you guys. but when ever I have time I just have a quick peep on the happenings in the forum.

Gereld as you know Gerald this CNC buisness is niether my breadwinner and neither it is my hobby. I took up the Challenge thown at us by you and did up the machine in extra quick time. Thanks for your nice compliments Gerald.
Recently one of my freinds approached me and asked me weather I could do some wood work for him for the house that he is putting up. So I just thought of revving up the old work horse again.

Greeny thanks for your very informative reply. I will post a few pics for you guys so that you will know what am after.

I am proud to see so much of cativities taking place in this forum. Gerald you must be a busy and a happy guy.
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  #6  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 04:47
Daya
Just call me: Fabrica
 
Kandy
Sri Lanka
This is a pic of the work that we are doing. First we cutting these pockets in a 2" thick piece of mahogany. We will be mounting this on top of two window panes. The glass has to get into the holes and they have to be bevelled.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg DSC03275 (A).JPG (184.2 KB, 762 views)
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  #7  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 04:54
Robert M
Just call me: Robert
 
Lac-Brome, Qc
Canada
Send a message via Yahoo to Robert M Send a message via Skype™ to Robert M
Hi Fabrica….
Long time…. Nice to see & read some news from you.
Hope to read more soon & good luck on your beveling quest!
Robert
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  #8  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 05:21
Daya
Just call me: Fabrica
 
Kandy
Sri Lanka
Thanks, Robert.
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  #9  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 06:32
sailfl
Just call me: Nils #12
 
Winter Park, FL
United States of America
Fabrica,

Vary nice wood cutting. Time more time to post.
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  #10  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 08:01
Greeny
Just call me: Greeny
 
The North
United Kingdom
Hi Fabrica,

Those outer pieces have 'shoulders' with an internal corner or radius.They are very hard to bevel.

I cannot stress enough how hard that would be to do on your MM.
Even cutting that shape out is difficult and would probably need drilling first,

If it was me I would contract the glass job out to a manufacturer who has the equipment.
They would probably use a semi automatic bevelling machine such as this.

I know i sound very negative, but i'm really trying to save you a whole heap of wasted time,money and energy.

Cheers
Greeny
Attached Images
File Type: jpg ZANETTI_BISMATIC2.jpg (28.4 KB, 743 views)
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  #11  
Old Fri 04 December 2009, 20:41
Daya
Just call me: Fabrica
 
Kandy
Sri Lanka
Thanks Greeny for your kind advice. What you say is true. Might as well get a professional who has the equipment to handle the job. This jon is beyond the scope of a MM. My other option would be to apply sticker on to normal glass to give the bevel effect. I am searching for a suitable sticket manufacturer.
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  #12  
Old Sat 05 December 2009, 08:12
Leko
Just call me: Leko
 
Kaukapakapa
New Zealand
You could acid etch the edges to give a faux beveled look. It's really easy to do and you wouldn't be at the mercy of finding the right stickers.

Does it have to be glass? I bet you could bevel acrylic on the MM.
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  #13  
Old Sun 06 December 2009, 01:27
Daya
Just call me: Fabrica
 
Kandy
Sri Lanka
Good Idea Leko. I will follow it up.
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  #14  
Old Sun 06 December 2009, 17:40
domino11
Just call me: Heath
 
Cornwall, Ontario
Canada
You could also sandblast the edges only for another effect. Masking the rest of the pane.
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  #15  
Old Sun 06 December 2009, 23:02
Daya
Just call me: Fabrica
 
Kandy
Sri Lanka
That is to get the frosty effect, is it? Are you reffering to glass or acrylic.
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  #16  
Old Mon 07 December 2009, 11:16
domino11
Just call me: Heath
 
Cornwall, Ontario
Canada
Fabrica,
Yes the sandblasting give a frosted type effect. I would think similar to the etching? No chemicals involved though.
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  #17  
Old Mon 07 December 2009, 16:25
Polder48
Just call me: polder
 
Edam
Netherlands
Fabrica,

Could this be of any help:

http://www.rockler.com/articles/disp...fm?story_id=59

good luck Polder
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  #18  
Old Tue 08 December 2009, 10:25
Daya
Just call me: Fabrica
 
Kandy
Sri Lanka
Thanks Polder for your input. I followed up your link that too is very interesting. All options that have been provided to me through this forum has been fowarded to my end user. Let him decide. Hats off for all the guys who have helped me out in this venture. Further inputs are most welcome.
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  #19  
Old Mon 08 March 2010, 09:10
iaff84
Just call me: Dennis
 
Muncie, Indiana
United States of America
I followed a hit on my glass beveling site. Found a link from this board. MARKED (scary)
Just wondered, what is scary.
Dennis Swan
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  #20  
Old Mon 08 March 2010, 09:35
Gerald D
Just call me: Gerald (retired)
 
Cape Town
South Africa
I think that Greeny, in post #4, was surprised to see that you still have your fingers intact..
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  #21  
Old Mon 08 March 2010, 09:41
iaff84
Just call me: Dennis
 
Muncie, Indiana
United States of America
All of them are still here, get a little close at times.
Dennis
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  #22  
Old Tue 09 March 2010, 11:34
max.elliott
Just call me: Max
 
Kansas City
United States of America
how much damage would there be to the wood if you poured molten glass into the pockets?
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  #23  
Old Wed 10 March 2010, 06:36
Greeny
Just call me: Greeny
 
The North
United Kingdom
Quote:
Originally Posted by max.elliott View Post
how much damage would there be to the wood if you poured molten glass into the pockets?
Common glass has a melting point of about 1500 Deg C
Wood ignites at around 300-400 Deg C

How much damage it would cause depends on how quickly you could put out the raging inferno that once was your workshop
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  #24  
Old Wed 10 March 2010, 07:33
xraydude
Just call me: Ted #131
 
New Orleans, LA
United States of America
Ah, Greeny.... you spoil everything with your darn facts and science. Now I can't get rid of this mental image of myself running around trying to put out a self-induced inferno....
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  #25  
Old Wed 10 March 2010, 09:46
max.elliott
Just call me: Max
 
Kansas City
United States of America
Ah, but I wasn't too far off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_casting

Sand casting from a wooden plug is possible, and cast glass is general is not so uncommon. He could cut a plug, make a mold from that out of another material, and then cast his own glass bits to fit exactly.

One could also choose a clear resin for outdoor use and fill the voids with that.
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  #26  
Old Wed 10 March 2010, 10:39
iaff84
Just call me: Dennis
 
Muncie, Indiana
United States of America
An inside miter to bevel in glass is a no-no. On some old grandfather clocks I bevel them with a slight inside radius in the inside corner. But these are usually covered with wide stops. Besides they are a real pain to do, so for several years now I pass on the work.
No getting around custom hand beveling if you want real glass in these. Semi-automated bevelers do not do very tight inside curve bevels.
Sounds best to try a fake beveled look with vinyl or an etch of some sort.
Dennis
http://www.beveledglass.net
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