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I bought a 15 x 19 inch sheet of .5 inch safety glass sheet with a .125 bezel on 8 sides back in 1982 and I still have it a use it on my work bench...but my work bench is a permanent fixture and I really like working on glass (flatness) and I could use a piece 20 x 36 now. No one is this town cuts glass anymore (probably a lot towns like this now). I paid $22 for the sheet (it was on the bargain table) that I have; but that was almost 45 years ago.
Does anyone else like working on glass opposed to particle board or whatever? I haven't priced the sheet that I want; but I thinking close to $75 (maybe I am way wrong; but I doubt it)
I know you can drill on it or hammer on it; but most people don't do the latter on their work bench and I can put a scrap piece of wood down for the former....Thoughts of working on glass
I bought a 15 x 19 inch sheet of .5 inch safety glass sheet with a .125 bezel on 8 sides back in 1982 and I still have it a use it on my work bench...but my work bench is a permanent fixture and I really like working on glass (flatness) and I could use a piece 20 x 36 now. No one is this town cuts glass anymore (probably a lot towns like this now). I paid $22 for the sheet (it was on the bargain table) that I have; but that was almost 45 years ago.
Does anyone else like working on glass opposed to particle board or whatever? I haven't priced the sheet that I want; but I thinking close to $75 (maybe I am way wrong; but I doubt it)
I know you can drill on it or hammer on it; but most people don't do the latter on their work bench and I can put a scrap piece of wood down for the former....Thoughts of working on glass
I use a 12" x 12" x 3/4" quartz countertop sample that I found at a tag sale for $1. Works great
when scratch building structures and glue squeeze out is easily removed with a razor blade. You
might be able to find obsolete countertop samples at cabinet and countertop stores.
If you want something larger you might be able to find remnants of 1-1/4" thick countertop
that they can cut to your required size and prep the corners for a nominal price.
I have two pieces of 12' x 18' safety glass I purchased 20 years ago or so.
As stated these are for special projects, not everyday use. Great when you need flat & level surface.
Mine is a green "self-healing" safety cutting mat. 20x24 inches (Going by memory, size might be different). On top of the walnut of an old-style oak L-shaped office desk.
I used a 24” x26” x 3/8” of beveled tempered glass on my bench for years. A glass vendor made it for me in the early 80’s and it did not survive the move from North Central Wisconsin to So Central in 2014. It was price prohibitive to get a replacement cut, beveled and tempered.
I now use a bunch of tops for my workbench. I have a 1/2” piece of polished granite, I have 2-12” square smooth stone tiles but have mainly switched to 24” x 32” Xacto self curing matts. All on top of 3/4” Melamine board 26” x 8’ I have used since 2014
I was in the window business and I had a vendor make me a piece of 3/8" beveled tempered glass (late 80's) that I used in the old train room for almost 20 years. That is until I bumped it during the move to the new train shed. Tempered glass will survive most bumps/knocks to its flat surface, but when hit on the edge, breaks into 1000's of pieces immediately. There's pieces still embedded in my hayfield soil between there and the new place to this day.
I was in the window business and I had a vendor make me a piece of 3/8" beveled tempered glass (late 80's) that I used in the old train room for almost 20 years. That is until I bumped it during the move to the new train shed. Tempered glass will survive most bumps/knocks to its flat surface, but when hit on the edge, breaks into 1000's of pieces immediately. There's pieces still embedded in my hayfield soil between there and the new place to this day.
I "assumed" the piece that I bought was safety glass. I have not priced a larger piece; but my work bench top is particle board, but I do like glass. What is tempered glass opposed to safety glass? Like I said, I bought the 0.5 inch thick sheet pre-beveled from the bargain table and it now has had a few nicks to the edges; but it did not shatter. I only has a few dings; but not on the working surface. I will be putting a self-healing cutting board over it; but it is still flatter than my working bench. I have not priced it, as most of the stores around here do not cut "custom" sizes; let-alone beveling.
So, price permitting, should I ask for safety or tempered glass?...and is 0.5 inch thick overkill? Mine is solid as a rock and is a little on the heavy side and I haven't done the math ; but will probably weigh in at twice the weight; but I do not remove the glass piece from my work bench now almost never
Safety glass can be one of two types, laminated glass or tempered glass. Laminated is simply two pieces of glass laminated with a sheet of plastic in between. It's most common use is in auto windshields. The plastic interlayer keeps broken pieces from going anywhere. Tempered glass is specially made by getting a piece of glass to a very high temperature, but not quite high enough to melt it; and then very rapidly cooling it. Must be done with special equipment. Your local glass shop (if you have one), can cut regular or laminated glass, but tempered glass cannot be processed after tempering. It breaks into a billion pieces when it is broken, its most common every day use is in patio doors and other glass doors. The glass company may have access to a tempering facility nearby. The surface is extremely tough and impact resistant, but if hit on the edge, it will break.
If your piece of glass has dings in it, it is probably not tempered glass. All glass can be beveled. Tempered must be beveled prior to the tempering process. Any other glass can be done at any time, including at home in your workshop with heavy emery paper, a Dremel type tool, or even a grinder if done right. Also depends on the person doing it; glass is dangerous if not handled correctly. It is relatively safe if you know what you're doing. Note: I was a glass-cutter early in my window manufacturing career before I realized how much more management paid!
If you have any additional questions regarding glass, ask away and I will answer.
