Need advice on how to score

Sorry dumb pun for a title, but so I’m wanting to build a coffin shaped mirror for a friend of mine, and are looking in the range of a 2x5 to start with and then scoring it to shape, now I’ve scored small stuff before but is there a point where the probability of it working successfully starts to disappear as the piece gets larger, cause the longest break would need to be something like 3.5” which would need to be a clean straight edge or clean enough I can sand it straight due to me wanting to build a frame to put it in, so is this 1 even possible to attempt, and if so what tips tools or tricks do I need to do to make it work

Make sure the glass cutter wheel is sharp, put a drop of oil on the wheel, score it in one smooth motion, the start of the cut is hardest, you need to press the wheel into the glass hard enough till you hear it sort of crunch then roll along the cut edge and let the cutter roll off the other edge of the part. Put a small dowell or pencil under the scored line and press on the glass to snap it. Wear safety glasses and gloves.

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We also have “running pliers”. I can demonstrate those for you sometime.

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Gentle tapping along a score line is really helpful when I’m nervous about a break. There are some really good tutorials on youtube on how to do it (you may already know this - apologies if so).

Here is one called “A little known secret: tapping a score”, but it’s not a little known secret. :wink:

Tapping begins about 1m 2sec if you want to jump forward.

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What thickness of glass? it’s tougher to get a clean snap with the thicker glass, but the scoring technique is the same for any of it.

Depending upon when you wanted to do this, I could do it for you at the space pretty easily. I’ve been hand cutting glass for work (picture framing) for over 30 years, so LOTS of practice… :slight_smile:

I could bring some scrap glass from work as well for you to practice on if you were interested. There’s a certain feel and sound to the cut when it’s being done correctly that you learn from practice.

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Sorry…but I let out a big laugh when I read the thread title. :joy: I didn’t realize it was in the glass working forum until I started reading what you wrote. :grimacing: I was very amused at someone being so open and trusting of our opinions that they would ask us how to score (thought you meant with another person!). Glass was the last thing I was thinking! :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

And there goes the subtly of the joke lol!!! But to reply to others so it’ll be a wall mirror so I’m assuming something like 3/8th but to the person who said they’d help me do it and has been doing it for years, that would be amazing, cause I’m familiar with running pliers and all the tool but very early into the score like it gets so far from the edge you and use them and since the score is Angeled you can’t use them facing the other way, so that’s been my biggest fear is how to handle it if it doesn’t shear the entire length of the cut line on the first try

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So I just wanna claify the title was a joke, I am, and really do need or would like help making this mirror, I just slid that joke in the title this is a real project I will be working on soon

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