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I am trying to find the easiest way to cut a thick glass pattern (glass thickness of 1-3 mm thick) without breaking. I am considering laser cutting but I don't know if I can cut glass of this thickness. Can anyone suggest an easy way to cut curved shapes precisely into glass?

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    $\begingroup$ 1-3 mm won‘t be a problem to cut with a laser $\endgroup$
    – OpticalResonator
    Jul 11, 2018 at 17:00
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    $\begingroup$ Also possible to use a waterjet cutter. (also 1-3 mm is not really thick as far as the watejet is concerned try 300 mm) $\endgroup$
    – joojaa
    Jul 11, 2018 at 17:21
  • $\begingroup$ I recently used a diamond granite cutting blade on my angle grinder, it worked fantastically well (just be careful, it cuts almost too easy;). $\endgroup$
    – eatscrayons
    Jul 11, 2018 at 20:14
  • $\begingroup$ Depending on the complexity of your cut geometry, you can use a simple handheld glass scorer, and follow-up with a set of snapping pliers. The pliers have a slight bevel which will cleanly separate the glass. homedepot.com/p/Husky-5-in-Glass-Cutter-8501H/100169741 homedepot.com/p/KNIPEX-7-1-4-in-Glass-Breaking-Pliers-91-31-180/… $\endgroup$
    – Austin Prater
    Jun 13, 2019 at 1:18

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Waterjet cutters work like a charm up to 5mm. I have cut 'fireproof' glass of 4mm and it came out very well.

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  • $\begingroup$ Don't waterjet cutters work well over greater thicknesses than 5mm? $\endgroup$
    – Solar Mike
    Jul 11, 2018 at 20:16
  • $\begingroup$ At absurd speeds like 800-1000mm/min I was able to cut through 4mm glass fairly easily. I presume it would be fair for us to be talking inches instead of milimiters in case of lower cutting speeds. $\endgroup$
    – Marco Souza
    Jul 11, 2018 at 20:19
  • $\begingroup$ I was wondering if you had read the comment by Jooja above that mentions 300mm is considered thick.... $\endgroup$
    – Solar Mike
    Jul 11, 2018 at 20:21
  • $\begingroup$ @SolarMike it greatly depends on the waterjet cutter and the abrasive medium used. Much like different lasers have different results. But yeah i have cut glass building bricks with waterjets. $\endgroup$
    – joojaa
    Jul 12, 2018 at 4:39
  • $\begingroup$ What type of precision can you get though? $\endgroup$
    – Lydia Ioannides
    Jul 21, 2018 at 19:21
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1-3 mm is perfectly doable with a cheap-o, off the shelf, carbide glass cutter. So long as your shapes are generally large sweeping curves (i.e. few acute corners), you can use something like this to score then glass, then something like this to cleanly snap the piece.

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