WarmGlass.com

Hi
I am somewhat challenged by accurately measuring so my pieces of glass fit together better before fusing. I imagine there are some "tricks of the trade" that I have yet to learn. My tools include a morton board, rulers with cork on one side, and a L square. It seems I am often just a little bit off and it makes a difference in my work. Thanks for any advice you can give this newbie.

My ruler is firmly fixed to the Morton pad. It extends past the zero mark in both directions. Sometimes I measure to the right of the zero mark when cutting, sometimes to the left, by sliding the glass along the ruler. It is imperative that you make sure that your cutter blade goes across the ruler at the zero point, else you will end up with mis-sized pieces. Been there, done that.

I use a Cutter's Mate cutting bar, which serves two very important purposes:

1. It effectively keeps the cutting blade in a fixed position relative to the zero point on the ruler scale
2. It assures that each cut is at a perfect right angle to the ruler (and hence the bottom edge of the glass)

The Cutter's Mate was not cheap, but I've found it to be very helpful. YMMV

I mark my glass with a water-based Sharpie Paint Pen, with the extra fine point. This way, I get just the tiniest dot to use as my cutting start spot. If your pen is making a big dot, there's more room for error. I also 'measure twice, cut once' to assure everything's lined up, then cut slowly and intentionally. It wouldn't hurt to read Bullseye's cutting tips sheet again, just to make sure you aren't missing anything.

While I don't grind much, many people check the fit of their pieces and grind to adjust any stray cuts; but just make sure to really clean the edges of your glass to avoid grinder scum.

For cutting rectangles I have a template strategy that I've never heard of anybody else using. A while back, I bought a bunch of 5mm thick float glass for about .30 a square foot. I use this to make templates.

I use only an L square, tape measure and cutter. First, I measure my width, from the left side, and make a mark with a superfine sharpie. I place the L square on the mark, then score and break. My template is now bigger than my intended strip by the space between the edge of my cutter and it's wheel. I sand off the sharp edges, around top and bottom. This makes my template. To cut the finished piece, I place the template on the right side of the L square, line it up with my fingertips, remove the template, and then score. This makes the finished glass the same width as the original mark. This is as accurate as you can cut with square edges, which is another skill you want to acquire. I can cut rectangles over and over at this exact width. For wider strips, I put some duct tape strips on the bottom of the template. I can mark the intended width on the tape.

Susanbuckler wrote:Hi
I am somewhat challenged by accurately measuring so my pieces of glass fit together better before fusing. I imagine there are some "tricks of the trade" that I have yet to learn. My tools include a morton board, rulers with cork on one side, and a L square. It seems I am often just a little bit off and it makes a difference in my work. Thanks for any advice you can give this newbie.

Are you using your stops with the Morton? They help significantly if your fit problem is with same-sized pieces.

Dana W.

I use the Beetle bit system. It is a great tool that I use all the time.
Below is a link to a video of it:
Bob

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN7Hp-Yk8OQ