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Cutting Circles

by jim martin
(west warwick, ri)

Trying to cut what I call an inner circle. It is a piece that goes around a small circle. I keep trying different ways but it keeps breaking. Your best solution.Jim Martin

Answer

If you are trying to cut a circle with a hole in the center of it, you need to use a circle cutter.

Cut the circle with a circle cutter and break it out. Read this
Once you have the circle out, use your circle cutter and score a smaller circle in the center of it, making it whatever radius you need the "hole" to be.

Run that score just like you did for the larger circle.

Using your glass cutter, make many scores in that smaller circle, from edge to edge, crisscrossing them, being careful not to go over the edge of the score around the circle. If you go over the edge, the entire piece of glass will break when you start to remove the smaller circle. The more scores you can get in there the easier it will be to get the glass out of there.

Turn the circle over and tap the scored lines with the ball end of your glass cutter. Do this while holding the glass over newspaper so the bits of glass don't fly all over the place. As you tap, the scores should run and finally bits of glass will start falling out. Keep tapping until all of the glass is out. Start out tapping gently but firmly. As the score lines start to run you can tap harder and harder.

You should end up with a perfect circle cut out of the center of the larger circle.

If I were you I'd practice this technique on some scrap glass before you try it on the piece you want to keep.

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Cutting Circles

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Mar 24, 2011

Cutting Circle Out of Circle
by: Patrick

Another way, if the difference between radii is not more than the throat depth of a Ring Saw, is to use a glass drill or 1/4" cutting bit to drill a hole through the inner circle. Then use a split ring blade to cut out the inner circle. I have done it a couple times.

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Cutting Circles

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Cutting Circles