Fused Glass for Coffee Tables

[SusanH]

I want to make some fused glass for a coffee table but I'm a little nervous about how safe this would be -- I have been told that if i make the glass quite thick around 15mm it would be ok. Any comments or suggestions ??

[Brock]

A good support system is crucial, you don't want the glass to have the opportunity to flex. Rigid support under the glass every 6" or so. It would be even better if it was resting on, or under, or both, tempered glass. Brock

[Bert Weiss]

A good support system is crucial, you don't want the glass to have the opportunity to flex. Rigid support under the glass every 6" or so. It would be even better if it was resting on, or under, or both, tempered glass. Brock

I'm much less nervous about a heavy glass table top. I make them with float glass 10 - 12 mm all the time. I like to see the glass supported at the quarter points. I think that the thicker the glass, the more interesting it looks so I encourage thicker as good.

Flexing doesn't scare me. I have carried a sheet of 48" x 130" x 1/4" and it shakes like jello. One never broke on me while carrying it though.

[Brock]

A good support system is crucial, you don't want the glass to have the opportunity to flex. Rigid support under the glass every 6" or so. It would be even better if it was resting on, or under, or both, tempered glass. Brock

I'm much less nervous about a heavy glass table top. I make them with float glass 10 - 12 mm all the time. I like to see the glass supported at the quarter points. I think that the thicker the glass, the more interesting it looks so I encourage thicker as good.

Flexing doesn't scare me. I have carried a sheet of 48" x 130" x 1/4" and it shakes like jello. One never broke on me while carrying it though.

Yes Bert, float. But we're talking about fused glass here. Different animal. Brock

[charlie]

A good support system is crucial, you don't want the glass to have the opportunity to flex. Rigid support under the glass every 6" or so. It would be even better if it was resting on, or under, or both, tempered glass. Brock

15mm is just over 3/4". i'm pretty sure that won't flex that much, if at all, ovr a coffee table span. i've seen 1/2" thick 8' long glass dining tables not be tempered and only be supported at 4 spots about 6' apart.

[Brock]

I guess Bert and you think float and fused glass, (we don't even know WHAT fused glass) act the same way. I don't. Brock

[Bert Weiss]

A good support system is crucial, you don't want the glass to have the opportunity to flex. Rigid support under the glass every 6" or so. It would be even better if it was resting on, or under, or both, tempered glass. Brock

I'm much less nervous about a heavy glass table top. I make them with float glass 10 - 12 mm all the time. I like to see the glass supported at the quarter points. I think that the thicker the glass, the more interesting it looks so I encourage thicker as good.

Flexing doesn't scare me. I have carried a sheet of 48" x 130" x 1/4" and it shakes like jello. One never broke on me while carrying it though.

Yes Bert, float. But we're talking about fused glass here. Different animal. Brock

Brock

I can understand the differences in using multicolored glass when reheating in the kiln or relative to kiln wash sticking, but for sitting on a table base in a living room, I don't see the difference.

Interesting to me was the bartop I ate at in in a Thai restaurant in Portland OR last year. It was 1.5" thick and 12' long, BE glass. The glass was suspended on drilled standoff hardware. My mode of thinking says to only used drilled hardware on tempered glass. I guess that their thinking was that 1.5" is so rugged that it will take a lot of force to split it. I would have used some different sort of support for it if I was the designer. It has been over a year since I saw it, but I don't think there were lots and lots of supports, just enough to hold it there.

Lani and Dan have glass stairs made with BE. I suspect it is more rugged than you give credit for, Brock. I am not the expert here, just an observer.

[Brock]

I'm just an observer also Bert, but we don't know anything about the proposed construction of this table, or the experience of the builder. If I'm erring on the side of caution, that's fine with me. Brock

[jim simmons]

Interesting to me was the bartop I ate at in in a Thai restaurant in Portland OR last year. It was 1.5" thick and 12' long, BE glass..

Do you remember which Restaurant this was?

Jim

[Bert Weiss]

Interesting to me was the bartop I ate at in in a Thai restaurant in Portland OR last year. It was 1.5" thick and 12' long, BE glass..

Do you remember which Restaurant this was?

Jim

Jim

I don't remember the name. It was more of less downtown and served very good Thai Pacific Rim fusion food (Thai style salmon). 12' glass bar. I ate at the bar and stared at it for about an hour.

[SusanH]

Bert / Brock great reponse and very helpful
To take it further, I was planning to use float glass with metal inserts - my main concerns centre around people dropping cups and things.

Also is it possible to toughen fused float glass ?

Susan

I want to make some fused glass for a coffee table but I'm a little nervous about how safe this would be -- I have been told that if i make the glass quite thick around 15mm it would be ok. Any comments or suggestions ??

[SusanH]

Bert / Brock great reponse and very helpful
To take it further, I was planning to use float glass with metal inserts - my main concerns centre around people dropping cups and things.

Also is it possible to toughen fused float glass ?

Susan

A good support system is crucial, you don't want the glass to have the opportunity to flex. Rigid support under the glass every 6" or so. It would be even better if it was resting on, or under, or both, tempered glass. Brock

I'm much less nervous about a heavy glass table top. I make them with float glass 10 - 12 mm all the time. I like to see the glass supported at the quarter points. I think that the thicker the glass, the more interesting it looks so I encourage thicker as good.

Flexing doesn't scare me. I have carried a sheet of 48" x 130" x 1/4" and it shakes like jello. One never broke on me while carrying it though.

Yes Bert, float. But we're talking about fused glass here. Different animal. Brock

[Brock]

What kind of inserts? Brock

[Brock]

Also is it possible to toughen fused float glass ?

Susan

You can sandblast or kiln form, or both, on float glass, then have it tempered. The tempering company will not guarantee results, it will be done at customer's risk, but there is a high success rate doing this. Brock

[gone]

Also is it possible to toughen fused float glass ?

Susan

You can sandblast or kiln form, or both, on float glass, then have it tempered. The tempering company will not guarantee results, it will be done at customer's risk, but there is a high success rate doing this. Brock

Will you then have to protect the edge to keep it from shattering?

Els

[Bert Weiss]

Susan

If you are drilling the glass, it should be tempered. I much prefer not to temper table tops. The edge of tempered glass is quite vulnerable to destruction. You have a choice of a chipped edge or a pile of broken glass. I'll take the chip any day.

You can not temper fused glass, or any glass with the tiniest bubbles. You can temper kiln carved or sand carved glass like Brock says. In many regions of the country there are no tempering companies that will work with us, just as there are companies that will.

If you drop a hammer on a glass table it will break. There are zillions of glass table tops out there. Use common sense and reasonable care and it will survive just like the rest of them.


As I said before the theory of glass support is to have it supported at the quarter points. Having horizontal glass suppported just on the edges is not a good idea at all.

The best advice I can give you is to look at a commercially made glass table and copy what they did only with art on it.

[Patty Gray]

Hi Bert,

You can't drill a tempered piece of glass - it will break. You do all drilling, cutting, etc. before you get it tempered. Glass is very strong - that is one reason Dan and Lani can have stair strips out of glass. If stairs are out of glass it is advisable to have the edge protected - even stone, ceramic tiles, marble, etc. can chip with use.

For fused glass table tops, 1" to 1 1/2" is the normal. Good engineered supports (even glass legs). Susan can look into glass tables that have been made over the years - some date way back in magazines. Not all tables are made out of float either. With proper fusing schedule the table top may be stronger than float glass due to float glass coming from the manufacturer isn't annealed as long as the glass will be annealed in our kilns. Float glass annealed in our kilns will be stronger too (after a texture, etc. has been put on it).

Tables out of fused glass are beautiful as well as float glass ones. The edges are important too. For a coffee table you would not want the edge to be so sharp that a baby hits their head on a sharp point (you know how a baby holds onto things while learning to walk).

Have fun designing your table. Patty

[Dani]

Years and years ago, we had a glass show here entitled, "Fragile Strength". It would be an interesting show again to demonstrate the possible uses of glass... like large tables, bars, stairs, tiles, all the architectural applications. What else?

[charlie]

As I said before the theory of glass support is to have it supported at the quarter points. Having horizontal glass suppported just on the edges is not a good idea at all.

every glass bottomed fish tank is supported on the edges by the frame. since it contains hundreds, if not thousands of lbs of rock and water, it's pretty strong.

[Bert Weiss]

As I said before the theory of glass support is to have it supported at the quarter points. Having horizontal glass suppported just on the edges is not a good idea at all.

every glass bottomed fish tank is supported on the edges by the frame. since it contains hundreds, if not thousands of lbs of rock and water, it's pretty strong.

Charlie

Like I said, following industry is generally a good strategy. If they get away with making thousands of a design and haven't been sued out of business, they may indeed have a viable design.