ever cut glass with a plasma cutter?

yesterday i was talking to a friend and he asked me if i was familiar with a plasma cutter. i told him yes then he said "those thing will cut just about anything". he then told me that he had been cutting GLASS! with one. WTF! what kind of pills have you been popping dude! get this after i figured out he wasn't fucking with me he said this is how he did it: took some alluminum foil,glued it to the glass with spray adhesive, marked where he wanted to cut, clamped on the ground cable and cut the glass! he said it worked great and would probably work great for windshields. ok someone give it a try and post your result preferably with pic's.

 

I havent ever heard of it, but thats not to say it cant or hasnt been done. I wouldnt want to try it out first though! lol

 

You gotta be pullin' our chain, right??!? This says dangerous and wrong in oh-so-many-ways. If it works I will be floored and question everything I ever heard about what you can or can't do with such and such tool to such and such material.
...come on... no way.

 

Sounds pretty far fetched to me, next you'll be telling us you can make shoes out of plywood.

 

i still think he got into some bad dope....

 

Well,,,,I just discussed this with one of the welding instructors here at work.
He feels it might work,but also feels the aluminum foil will burn away too quick when you first pull the trigger.
Ive got 2 pieces of glass from a medicine chest at home,& we'll be trying to cut it up tomorrow.

 

I cut a real big one in the tub last night,and I didn't use aluminum foil.But it did leave a ring around the edge!

 

This i just have to see.....I aint buying it

 

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.crafts.metalworking/browse_thread/thread/236acc168187331d/730db1f1aebb428b?lnk=st&q=plasma+%22cutting+glass%22&rnum=1&hl=en#730db1f1aebb428b

 

Some plasma cutters will "light up" without having the ground connected, but the arc is between the inner tip and the outer tip piece. It's a weak arc though and the tip burns itself up pretty quick though. I know because a few times I started cutting sheet metal when I had forgotten to hook up the ground cable on my plasma cutter. It cuts, but cuts crappy and it ruined the tip in about 30 seconds. I think they do that feature so that you can keep the arc going when you're cutting things like expanded metal or perforated metal so that it doesn't have to restart the arc over and over.

I have plasma cut through concrete backer board a few times kind of by accident. Sometimes I'll put a scrap of that 1/4" thick fiberglass filled concrete backerboard stuff (it's used a backer for doing tiles on floors or countertops) behind a piece of thin steel just to support it or to keep from burning holes in something underneath and if the cut accidentally goes across the DuraRock stuff, it actually melts the concrete board and cuts it. It's kind of cool. It looks like black obsideon where it melts.

So, yeah, it might be possible, but with the foil, I bet he's just ruining the tip on the plasma cutter. Putting a thicker piece of sheet metal instead of foil might work. It seems like the spray from the plasma could come back and hit you in the face though, so I wouldn't want to try it.

 

Well shoot me with a rubber chicken!
I'm still thinking this would not be the right solution on a $900 '57 Caddy windshield, no sir.

 

i have cut ceramic glass with a plasma..i layed a piece of 26 gage on top to keep the arc going..if your familiar with ceramic glass you will know its the glass used in wood stove doors and gas stove doors now days..its the only kind of glass that can be spot heated and not explode..but anyway the glass did cut, or should i say melt/vaporize away but not in a way you could ever use it..a total mess really and the i had a sore throat for a week after...mith busted in my opinion.

 

I guess we WONT be cutting glass tomorrow!

 

A friend of mine said he watched a couple of guys cut a windshield down and they used a hose and just sheeted water over the glass for a conductor. Probably want to make sure your not standing in the puddle!

 

I was told to use a piece of the metal tape the AC guys use for ducts. It's thicker than foil and has the adhesive already. Never seen it done myself.

 

would seem if you can complete the circuit anything is possible

 

I mean really, just use glass scissors...duh

 

Anything is worth a try...but I doubt it could work on a tempered glass like you might find in a medicine chest or the side windows of a car. Ka-BOOM!
Double plate laminate might be tough too! The aluminium duct tape just might be the deal to use as a conductor though.

Someone suit up and give it a shot!!!!!

 

You can't?^^^

I certainly wouldn't be the one to try it out either. It just screams dangerous.

 

All cutting has the potential to be dangerous.
You can get all kinds of sparks and molten bits flying around doing a plunge cut with Ox/Act cutting torches.
To try this on glass with a Plasma kit your just gonna come in off an edge! I'd give it a shot without blinking an eye.
Of course I WOULD be dressed for the occasion...no exposed flesh and a good face shield over my cutting goggles.

I'm always amazed at how little respect people have for cutting and welding equipment and the damage they can cause now that MIG and Plasma have become common. Tack welding in Tee shirts with your eyes closed etc...your just asking for a painful lesson.
Thats why people fear it.

The bare minimum I wear is a good pair of coveralls, leather gloves, tightly laced steel toe boots and a self-darkening mask.
Thats the way I was tought by professional people I looked up too...and I can't see me changing any time soon...LoL

 

I can't believe this thread popped up, I was just thinking about if this would work. I thought about sandwiching the glass between two thin sheets of metal?
CHAZ

 

I call bull shit the heat should crack the glass not to mention the foil would burn and blow apart. If someone tries good luck I will not take a chance with that one. I have a good glass guy I use. My 2 cents

 

Have you ever tried to cut two pieces of metal sandwiched together to save time? I have it makes a terrible cut if that. Make sure you use a protective hood and a leather apron could get interesting and hot. My last 2 cents

 

this is from 2006 WTF

 

I have some kevlar body armor if anybody wants to try it. It should stop the exploding glass.

 

I think I would keep a dust pan and a broom handy.

 

I'd be really suprised if this was true, I would think that the glass would not be able to conduct the heat quickly enough, causing serious thermal stress, leading to separation (cracking)

 

Someone please promote this dude to grenade inspector?!?