Which Sander for Seaming Glass?

L

LaserGecko

Member
Joined
Jan 26, 2007
Messages
161
Hi everyone,

The glass shop uses a skinny Makita belt sander to "seam" or sand the edges of the panes of glass so that you can pick it up without gloves. It doesn't take them that long to do, but they still charge $.09 per inch to do it. Even at wholesale prices, that adds up rather quickly.
http://www.mytoolstore.com/makita/mak04-04.html#9032 is the $214 belt sander they use.

Has anyone ever done this with a Festool sander? That's awfully close to the price of the Festool linear sander (and it could do both edges at once)!

Thanks!
 
The LS130 would be way less aggressive than the narrow belt sander.

Rotex in rotary mode with the right abrasive?

Got any idea the grit they're using on the Makita?
 
I think they use a belt sander for a reason. The RO may damage the glass. We need  a glass guy to verify!
 
Yeah, you're probably right.  I was thinking about the Rotex, and how the glass would have to be held down to keep from moving.  The belt sander, perpendicular to the glass, wouldn't have that problem.

BTW, Festool, back when they were Festo, offered a power file that looked something like the Makita.  Shared most of its parts with the RAS 115, and could be converted by the user from RAS 115 to power file and back.  Dust collection, of course.  Sanding belt widths from 4mm to 23mm.  The BF 1 it was called.  Looks like now it's NAA (Not Available Anywhere).  Pity.

If the file conversion kit is available anywhere,  it would probably fit a North American RAS 115, and you'd be the envy of your Festool Fan Friends.

Ned
 
Plus, the Makita doesn't actually have a "surface" pushing on the glass; it's pure belt running over the edge. I don't know what grit they use, but I can find out the next time I'm there. I think the belt was blue.

My former glass shop didn't have one of those. I think they used some generic palm sander. There might not be that much involved with it, but I don't want to find out at the wrong time. :)
 
LaserGecko let me know what you find out as far as grit or any special techniques that may be used. Sometimes I snap cut the glass, but I never get great results on the edges and have cut myself numerous times. I know wear gloves.

nickao
 
I own a glass shop.  We use that Makita belt sander to seam shapes (e.g. curves), inside corners, or other tight areas where a larger belt won't fit.  But our workhorse is now the Makita 9920 (which replaced the 9924DB, a heavier model that uses the same 3" x 24" belts).
http://www.mytoolstore.com/makita/mak04-07.html#9920

The 9920 is a bit less expensive than the 9032 and works better on longer, straight edges (the bulk of our work, e.g. for mirrors), in part because it does have a backing plate for the belt (where, as you note, the 9032 does not).  We stock belts in 80 to 400 grit, but most everyday seaming is done at 180 or 220 grit.

It's fairly easy to chip and/or peel the edge of glass--for that reason I would stay away from a ROS, especially with the coarser grits.

FWIW, we have tried combining the 9920 with a CT22 (using a Fein adaptor), but that doesn't work as well as I'd like.  Haven't yet been able to determine whether it is a function of the Makita's design (lots of vents and gaps that reduce the suction and interfere with the exit airflow), or the weight of the glass dust, or both.

I hope this helps--let me know if you have any other questions.

Phred
 
LaserGecko said:
The glass shop uses a skinny Makita belt sander to "seam" or sand the edges of the panes of glass so that you can pick it up without gloves. It doesn't take them that long to do, but they still charge $.09 per inch to do it. Even at wholesale prices, that adds up rather quickly.
http://www.mytoolstore.com/makita/mak04-04.html#9032 is the $214 belt sander they use.

Has anyone ever done this with a Festool sander? That's awfully close to the price of the Festool linear sander (and it could do both edges at once)!
Click to expand...

A cheaper option to the Makita 9032, and one that is distinctly un-Festool, is the Black and Decker narrow belt sander, also known as the Powerfile. This has been available for many years, and has undergone a series of changes and model numbers. One model currently available in the US is designated the PF260 and another in the UK as the KA293

At 1/5th to 1/2th the price of the Makita, it may be cheap enough to experiment with to see if it suits your needs. As would be expected, the B&D model is not designed for hard use, unlike the Makita, and parts will wear out much quicker. My own Powerfile, which I must have got 10-15 years ago, worked fine until I tried to de-rust an intricate garden gate, and this proved too much for the motor!   :(   A second-hand replacement I got on eBay proved to have a worn arm housing (which is made of plastic). One of my jobs for a rainy day is to dis-assemble both machines and do a bit of cannibalisation.

One benefit of the B&D product (apart from the low cost), is that the belts are much easier to find - in a variety of grits and qualities. An interesting and useful cranked arm was also available for the B&D, which the Makita doesn't have.

The Powerfile, Makita 9032, and the Festool BF1E have been discussed before athttp://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=1946.0 and you might want to read through that thread, although glass wasn't mentioned.

Forrest

 
Some times I think we go to far. I remember watching a guy on a job stretch an extension cord
from the basement to the attic to cut one board when a cordless Sandvic would have done it in a second.
I don't cut a lot of glass, but when I do I seam it with a cordless 220 sanding block.

Bob  ::)
 
Bob's right.

I got stuck in technoid mode.

If you're not doing very much glass, the 220 sanding block is the way to go.  I use silicon carbide for glass.

Ned
 
Bob Swenson said:
Some times I think we go to far. I remember watching a guy on a job stretch an extension cord
from the basement to the attic to cut one board when a cordless Sandvic would have done it in a second.
I don't cut a lot of glass, but when I do I seam it with a cordless 220 sanding block.

Bob  ::)
Click to expand...

You're absoultely right about going overboard, Bob.

I do stained glass as a serious hobby and we grind the edges of our glass.  I bet you could get a glass grinding bit on the end of a drill if you had to use a power hand tool to do this.  I'm also thinking a rotary sander might chip the edges of the glass...... maybe.

Online auction sites always have a ton of these bits, cheap that you could use.

You might even be able to chuck them up into a router, but I've never tried it.  Pay attention to your speed and keep in mind they need to be water cooled.

If you need a dedicated grinder there are several good manufacturers.  Inland is just one of them.
 
Are ya'll talking about seaming it by hand with a handblock?

I've never done that, so how much work would that be?
 
Recently, my wife asked me to make a couple of replacement frames for some glass-covered prints.  When I removed the glass from the old frames, I noticed the edges were sharp where the glass had been snapped after scoring.  After making the new frames, I realized one of the glass pieces was a bit too large and not square!  I made that glass pane fit and softened the edges of both panes using a diamond studded metal base sharpening disk by hand followed by hand sanding with fine silicon carbide abrasive paper.  I used water to clear the debris so as not to scratch the glass or overheat the edges.

Bosch used to make a small narrow belt sander called Vario - I have one.  It has built in dust collection.

Dave R.
 
Hi Guys

I'm in the glass business and do a lot of sandblast and SGO (USA product) where I don't use toughened glass that has an arrissed edge I use a sharpening stone using the fine side, single wipe, or two if you're keen and it won't cut you in normal handling. As an aside if you do sand the edges in this way it actually makes the glass stronger as you tend to remove the small (microscopic) cracks from which the glass will "run" from.
 
lasergecko- Very little. We used to make nice drinking glasses from  bottles
with a piece of nichrome wire. Rap it around the bottle, give it a little juice and
pop the top off. Clean the edge with a bit of 220, add some ice and your choice
of tea or whatever.
Cool  ;D
Bob   
 
Thanks for the info, Bob. I will give it a shot on my next cage (after I get a good pair of gloves and build a box to transport the sharp glass safely, that is).

Funny thing about the nichrome wire...I just bought a Hot Wire Foam Factory kit at the haunt show yesterday so I have a beefy power supply that would work perfectly for that.

Wow, this must be the first time that anyone's been talked into a sanding block instead of a new Festool. Of course, there is the Pocket StickFix Hand Sanding Block.  ;D
 
"LG"- We have one each of all the Festool Sanders. I like the 150 with
the boom. I might try  the inline with a "V" block the next time I need to
cut a bunch of glass. Get both edges at the same time.

For you guys in Riolinda, when you wrap the nichrome wire around the
bottle don't let it touch where it comes together. For a power transformer
you might try a soldering iron.
Imported Green bottles make attractive Glasses after you empty them, hic!

Bob  ;)
 
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