I use this too!   Did you know if you heat it to 40 degrees and clean the glass well , (I use vinegar),  you can print pla without any glue or any adhesive of any kind. It leaves a super shiny finish too!

you dont need any special glass to be able to do this. My cheap mirror tiles will hold PLA just fine with no additives, just a nice clean surface heated to 60C.

I'm using a heat-resistant ceramic glass like the kind used for fireplace windows. It works okay, but I'm starting to wonder if it's perhaps too insulating. I may switch over to a cheaper glass and see what comes of it.

I use this too!   Did you know if you heat it to 40 degrees and clean the glass well , (I use vinegar),  you can print pla without any glue or any adhesive of any kind. It leaves a super shiny finish too!

heartless wrote:

Once you have scored the glass, pick it up and hold it firmly between your thumbs and forefingers (almost a fist with the glass in between) very close to the score line and snap it by twisting your wrists outward. (wish I had pics, but I was by myself)

I always found that laying the glass scored side up over a dowel or rod of some kind then pressing down worked better for me than trying to hold it in my hands (especially if it is a long score on a wide piece of glass).

yeah, that would work as well, or over the edge of a counter or something.

Once you have scored the glass, pick it up and hold it firmly between your thumbs and forefingers (almost a fist with the glass in between) very close to the score line and snap it by twisting your wrists outward. (wish I had pics, but I was by myself)

I always found that laying the glass scored side up over a dowel or rod of some kind then pressing down worked better for me than trying to hold it in my hands (especially if it is a long score on a wide piece of glass).

wardjr wrote:

A buddy of mine owns the ACE store in town, haven't bought a single piece of glass yet

No fair, Ward - you cheat! LOL

Take it when you get it

A buddy of mine owns the ACE store in town, haven't bought a single piece of glass yet

No fair, Ward - you cheat! LOL

Here is a simple how to for cutting your own glass/mirror.... (i will apologize for the crappy cell phone pics in advance)

gather your supplies:

• glass or mirror (in my case, a box of 12" x 12" mirror tiles)
  glass cutter
  sharpie marker (i use a fine point one)
  measuring device (cheap plastic ruler with both inch & metric)
  3-in-1 oil
  and a good thick straight edge to guide your cut (I have a nice piece of aluminum I use, but a piece of wood would also work)

Mark out the size you need on the glass with the sharpie and ruler - here I am cutting a 200mm x 200mm piece for use on the new Prusa i3

squirt a little bit of the 3-in-1 oil on a scrap section of the glass, and roll the cutting edge of the glass cutter thru it - this will help you get a nice clean score.

Line up your straight edge guide, centering the cutter on your marks...

When you are all lined up, hold your guide tight & press down firmly on the cutter and score the glass along your line - you should hear a nice scratching sound all the way - works best to start close to you and cut away... keep the angle of the cutter at 45 degrees or less to the surface. (hold the cutter kind of like you would a knife at dinner to cut meat) start the score just a tiny fraction from the edge of the glass - it will snap fine.

Do NOT try to score more than once!

Once you have scored the glass, pick it up and hold it firmly between your thumbs and forefingers (almost a fist with the glass in between) very close to the score line and snap it by twisting your wrists outward. (wish I had pics, but I was by myself)

Should look like this after snapping...

Repeat for the next cut.... and a perfectly cut 200mm x 200mm piece of mirror for my new printer.

It may take a little practice to get the scoring pressure right, so practice on a scrap piece first, but once you do, you will never pay someone to do this again for your printer needs.

The quality of the edges on the glass will depend on the sharpness of their cutting blade.

+1 I've never had the edges smoothed on the ones cut at ACE.  I've also never had to sand them as they just aren't sharp.  They've also been perfectly square.

For those of you who have gotten glass cut at Home Depot or Ace Hardware, do they sand the edges at all or do they leave them sharp?

They do not process the edges, you would need to do that if necessary.