What’s That Tool?

The pistol grip glass cutter is a favorite – especially with beginners who find it easier to hold and control than traditional pencil cutters. As with most glass cutters, a sharp carbide wheel is used to scratch the glass – creating a weakness that will steer the break when pressure is applied.

These standard running pliers are used to apply equal force on both sides of a score so that it “runs” – or breaks – properly. The set screw, just behind where the two handles are connected, controls how far the pliers can close. Setting them so that the pliers can only close slightly narrower than the glass thickness can prevent “over breaking”.

These plastic running pliers are used to break glass along a score. The plastic model above (manufactured by Leponitt) has a lighter touch than standard breakers and work well on thin glass.

The wide, heavy-duty jaw on these plate glass breakers are well suited for thick glass – including Bullseye’s 6MM Tekta.

This Silberschnitt circle cutter allows for the perfect scoring of glass to make plates, bowls and other objects that require a glass circle. This model allows for circles from about 3 inches to 24 inches in diameter.

Take a good look at these Silberschnitt running pliers and you will see something is different from standard breakers. On these the pivoting break pad allows you to come in from the side and apply even pressure to the middle of a score that is close to the edge of the glass.
An adjustable brass ring on a rod that protrudes from the side of this strip cutter provides a visual guide for lining each score up with the previous one. It may sound complicated – but it only takes about 30 seconds of watching one of these in use to master it yourself.

Mosaic nippers provide a quick and easy way to cut glass rod, chip glass or even rough-out a small circle before taking it to the grinder.

For a comprehensive guide to tools, visit the [button link=”/wiki/#tools” color=”limegreen” size=”small” target=””]Tools[/button] of our Wiki.