Does anyone have any experience and/or tips on how to use slide cover glass to make windows? I have read about using microscope slide covers to model windows. This sounded great until I tried to figure out how to cut the pieces to the proper shape. Every time I try, I just end up destroying the delicate little square of glass.
{Dan Sullivan}

I have not specifically tried to cut slide glass but I have a stained glass company and at times we have been called on to repair lead light windows 1mm thin.

Use a good quality glasscutter & make sure the wheel is well lubricated (dip into thin oil or kerosene if it is not the type with a reservoir in the handle). You will also need a pair of grozing pliers obtainable from any specialized glass shop.

For such thin glass make sure it is well supported, like on a thick wad of newspaper. Glass is a solid but has the properties of a liquid and will break irrationally if there is uneven pressure.

Mark with a felt tip where you want to cut (can be straight or curved). Make one even score preferably without stopping. Never go over the score twice. Exert just enough pressure to hear a faint scrunching sound. You are not trying to cut the glass, just to break the surface tension.

With score facing up, hold the glass in one hand and snap off the piece you have scored with the grozing pliers by placing the squared off jaws parallel and close to the score. The pliers have a right and wrong way up. Instructions are usually on the back of the pack or ask the assistant to explain as wrong way up will break the glass unpredictably. The movement is downward away from the score. See Sketch.

Or contact a local Tiffany or stained glass manufacturer. You can also buy little glass saws like a miniature bandsaw but they are pricey and we don't use them as the above method works fine with practice.
{Paul Wilson}

Place the cover slip on a piece of glass, score lightly with a diamond tipped pencil and break abruptly over the edge of the glass. Usually works. Any little peninsulas can be ground off with a small diamond or abrasive wheel in Dremel tool.
{Clayton Feldman}
Try cutting the glass underwater. I know that this sounds strange, but it works. The reason that glass shatters is the breaking of the glass sets up vibrations in the glass that are transmitted throughout the glass. These vibrations cause the glass to shatter. If the glass is underwater, the vibrations are damped out and the glass will not shatter. Believe it or not, I once cut a piece of glass with a pair of scissors! The cut was not clean, but the glass did not shatter.
{Tim Philp}
The best and easiest technique that I have seen and used successfully is contained in an article by N. Roger Cole, Seaway's Ships in Scale, Vol. VI, No.1, page 15. The pattern is drawn on a piece of scrap wood, the roughly cut coverglass is secured to that pattern with double sided sticky tape and then the glass is finished to final shape with a disk sander. Wear eye protection, avoid breathing the glass dust.
{W. Hannan}
I just use 10 thousands plastic sheet for windows. Works great.
{Ben Lankford}
Put the glass on a very hard surface (I've used a steel plate) and scribe with a diamond or similar point...then finish the edges smooth on a fine carborundum paper...you'll still get a lot of "scrappers". You'll find that, when putting them in place, a fleck of sawdust in the frame may be enough to crack the glass.

I now use mica instead; it's flexible, can be split to any desired thickness, can be cut with scissors, and - being a mineral that is already millions of years old - is unlikely to decompose. Unfortunately, it's hard to find - check out your local "rock-hound" shop. (Many of the admiralty models were glazed with mica, and it's lasted hundreds of years.)
===>Suppliers!
{John O. Kopf}

Please be very careful when grinding the edges of glass with an abrasive (diamond or carborundum) Eye protection is an absolute must.
{Peter Law}
Thank you all for many excellent suggestions. After some experimentation, I have found that the "scribe and break" method works very well as long as the glass is well supported (I have been using a steel rule as a base). I use the edge of a sharp chisel pressed along the desired line to support the glass from above.

Lacking either a diamond scribe or a Dremel, I resorted to using the tip of a needle file (the hardest tool I have) to do the scribing. With care, this makes a nice sharp line, and the glass breaks off very cleanly.

I would never have figured this out myself; thanks again for all of your inputs.
{Dan Sullivan}

If the windows are to include triangular shaped panes of leaded glass, this can be achieved by using black plastic window screen and stretching it to make the squares diamond shape. Then pin it on a sheet of Teflon to preserve the diamonds. Paint on a coat of Elmer's white glue and allow to dry overnight. It will dry into opaque looking windows and realistic looking leaded framed diamonds. Then cut to shape and mount in the appropriate place. Works great, used this on my Sovereign of The Seas.
{Bill Short}
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