Hi Bill

Bill Browne wrote:
I work in etched glass, not stained. But I like to work with odd shapes, so
I've considered a glass grinder, and I have a few questions.

I'm curious as to how badly the edge is chipped after its been ground.

Simple answer is 'it varies' g - seems to depend on the type of glass.
Some glass will chip at the edges, some doesn't. Plain, clear,
machine-made float glass is usually OK - the more 'fancy' the glass gets
the more liable it seems to be to get chipped...

I
know the stained glass crowd puts came or foil around the edge, so it isn't
an issue. But for me, it might be. Can someone send me a close-up pic of
the edge of a piece of glass after it's been ground so I can see the finish?

My experience is that, wherever possible, it's best to cut rather than
grind (quicker!). However, when I'm doing foiled work, I always run
round the edge of the cut glass with the grinder, just to take off any
sharp edges that would otherwise damage the foil (or me!)

There are different grit grades of grinding head available - I tend to
use 100 grade most of the time - and usually a 3/4" head. If you want to
take the time, then you can use heads with finer grit - I sometimes use
a 600-grade head, but not very often.

I do quite a lot of work with mirrored glass - and have just bought a
specific mirror-grinding head - which grinds both top and bottom surface
of the glass at the same time. I'm still experimenting with it - but it
does seem to reduce the problem of chipping the mirror coating off the
glass - and leaves a reasonable semi-rounded edge on the glass.
Aanraku do them. I'd imagine that, using a combination of the
mirror-grinder head and a conventional coarse head you could create an
acceptable finish on the edges of your etched glass work..

The mirror-grinder head does tend to 'grab' the glass and try to throw
it across the workshop - so practice on some scrap first! g

Also, it looks to me that most grinding heads are 3/4 to an inch tall.
Would they'd work on 3/8" or 1/2" glass? Seems like it'd be OK, but wonder
if anyone out there has had experience with this?

The 'standard' grinder head can be moved & locked up & down the grinder
spindle - so you can start out with the head only just showing above the
grinder table, and then, once that 3mm strip of diamonds has gone dull,
you can re-set the position so a fresh set of diamonds is exposed - so
you can get mugh longer life from a single grinder head...

If you want some photos then I'll send you some after the weekend (busy
selling at the open-air markets this weekend - weather permitting.

Hope this helps
Adrian
www.inspired-glass.com