Detailed instructions

When realizing ideas for home or apartment improvement, sometimes you may need a complex-shaped mirror that you cannot buy in a store. In this case, you can do it yourself, picking up a good tool and studying the technology for cutting the mirror. To perform this work you need a high-quality manual glass cutter and some skills to work with it.

Types of glass cutters: roller and diamond.

Preparatory work on cutting mirrors

Before you talk about how to cut a mirror according to all the rules, you need to make preliminary preparations for this work. It includes:

1. Preparation of materials and tools.
2. Preparing the surface of the mirror.

Cutting a mirror with a glass cutter: a - with a diamond; b - roller.

The surface of the mirror should be well cleaned with a soda solution and a cloth. It is necessary to carefully remove dust, dirt and all kinds of greasy stains from its surface. Before you start cutting a mirror, you need to leave it for a few hours in the room where the work will be done, for adaptation. Make sure that there are no foreign scratches or cracks on its surface. Mirror - the material is very fragile, so you need to handle it carefully, using a high-quality tool.

To perform the work should prepare materials and tools:

1. Mirror.
2. Glass cutter
3. Soda solution, rag, capacity.
4. Metal ruler.
5. Roulette.
6. Marking pencil.
7. Hammer.
8. Soft fabric.
9. Pliers with rubber pads.
10. Kerosene.
11. Table with a smooth surface.
12. Emery paper.

The glass cutter is a specialized tool for cutting mirrors and glass.

Breaking the mirror: a - hands; b - glass cutter; in - a gear; g - pliers.

It consists of a metal holder with a cutter and a handle with special grooves to facilitate the breaking off of the cut-off piece of the mirror. Depending on the type of tool, this tool can be diamond or roller. The cutting part of the roller cutter consists of a wheel made of durable carbide, and for a diamond tool it is a piece of technical diamond. More expensive and durable must be considered a glass cutter with a diamond cutter.

It is important in this type of work to comply with safety. In order to avoid damage from splinters, eyes should be protected with special glasses, and hands - with gloves. Work should be done carefully, without haste.

The main stages of the mirror cutting glass cutter

Now you should consider detailed instructions on how to properly cut the mirror with a glass cutter. First of all, the mirror is laid on a soft cloth, which covers the smooth and stable surface of the table. Works are performed from its front. First, the marking of the cutting line is done, using a ruler, tape measure, marking pen.

Cutting mirrors with a moving ruler.

During the entire cutting process, a long ruler is applied, attached to the marked marks, and it is necessary to make an indent from the line of 2 mm for the roller glass cutter and 4 mm for the diamond cutter. This is due to the displacement of the cutting line during operation by an amount equal to the distance between the side surface of the tool holder and its cutting edge.

During operation, the glass cutter is tightly pressed against the surface of the mirror and ruler. The cutting edge of the tool should be strictly perpendicular to the cutting line. Carefully, without haste, with a uniform movement in the direction “towards oneself” and with the same force, a cutting line is drawn.

\ The cutting motion can be carried out only once and without stopping. The force of pressure on the tool is somewhat reduced approximately 5 mm to the edge of the mirror in order to avoid unwanted chipping and jumping off the tool from its surface. The specialist is able to determine by ear the correctness of cutting - by the characteristic light cod. It should be immediately noted that when using a roller glass cutter, greater effort will be required than when using a diamond tool.

Two-plate vacuum suction cup is used to carry mirrors and glasses.

The appearance of an unpleasant squeak or uneven cutting line during operation means: either the glass cutter used is faulty or the pressure is too strong. The cutting element of the tool can be lowered for a short time into kerosene, if, when using it, a notch mark is not visible. If you cut the mirror correctly, then a thin, smooth, transparent line should remain on its surface.

Now comes the second crucial part of the work: the separation of the cut element. To do this, it is necessary to put the mirror on the edge of the table and, holding it with one hand, with the other, sharply press down on the cut fragment, which should be separated from its main part. If this does not happen, usually with a large thickness of the mirror, then you can use a small hammer and gently knock on the cutting line, then repeat the process of separating the fragment. In some cases, pliers with rubber pads are used to remove the cut fragments of a thin mirror. Cut the sharp edge can be processed with emery paper or with the help of emery wheel.

Thus, picking up a high-quality glass cutter and observing detailed instructions for cutting, showing patience and accuracy, you can, if necessary, cut the mirror yourself without involving specialists in this work.