cutting pyrex?

[shakyman]

not very original i know, but i have today removed valve from propane cyl in order to make woodburner, been eyeing up wifes old pyrex casserole dishes from the back of the cupboard.. question is i dont fancy big circular shape....i want to cut a small rectangle or square out of it..can it be done,and whats the best tool for the job?

 

[brightspark]

not very original i know, but i have today removed valve from propane cyl in order to make woodburner, been eyeing up wifes old pyrex casserole dishes from the back of the cupboard.. question is i dont fancy big circular shape....i want to cut a small rectangle or square out of it..can it be done,and whats the best tool for the job?

dont bother unless u want tonnes of bits of broken glass all over the place. u cant cut them they shatter there tempered glass

 

[shakyman]

i thought as much..i will just have to look out for proper glass or put a big round door on it!

 

[julianthegypsy]

You need stove glass, good glaziers stock it and its not too expensive. It's also sometimes called boron glass, because that's what it is, but any dealer understands stove glass. I prefer 5mm thickness but 4mm is cheaper and works ok too.

 

[shakyman]

thanks for the info,probably better to keep glass small(ish),so door flex and also not too tightly mounted so as not to crack(hopefully)...!

 

[pedrobedro]

thanks for the info,probably better to keep glass small(ish),so door flex and also not too tightly mounted so as not to crack(hopefully)...!

You can mount it with some heat resistant stove rope to absorb flex, it's cheap and I just glue it in place with PVA then put a few clips the other side to hold the glass tightish up to it

 

[octo0072000]

pyrex lids work better than the bowls

 

[julianthegypsy]

You can buy fire rope for a couple of quid a meter, I use 6mm and glue it in with stove glue if it needs it. As long as it has something to locate it though it's not strictly necessary, and as Pedrobedro says a couple of clips to hold the glass in place. I use 5mm stainless screws with penny washers, just tight enough so its snug and doesn't rattle.

 

[shakyman]

could not resist it....put diamond tile cutter disc in angle grinder,applied masking tape to pyrex lid ,wore several pairs of goggles..(fear of glass explosion!)very gently scored back and forth and guess what?...it cut it! flushed with success i then proceeded to gently sand the edges smooth...and cut a door from the offcut..i was surprised how nicely the thin 1mm discs cut the bottle seem to last quite well too

 

[rkde]

Pyrex is not toughened. Or The last one I dropped wasn't..

 

[Shox Dr]

Pyrex is not toughened. Or The last one I dropped wasn't..

Isn't Pyrex where the Glass has been tempered to relieve the stress. Where as Toughened is the opposite, so it breaks into tiny bits. I guess it needs googling

 

[hotrodder]

AIUI toughened = tempered in glass speak, dunno whether it's an English vs Septic language thing or something else though. Pyrex is just a trade name i believe? Origionally for borosilicate glass that has better thermal shock properties to 'regular' glass but AFAIK domestic kitchen stuff is more likely to be regular toughened glass these days as thermal shock is less of an issue for cooking food etc than it is with bunson burners and borosilicate (toughened or not) is easier to break than regular glass?. From memory of school chemistry lessons test tubes etc used to shatter like float glass i.e. 'proper' borosilicate stuff ain't toughened and as the dish didn't shatter it definately wasn't toughened and so is probably 'proper pyrex'?

 

[sardine]

most glazing shops cut high temp glass, it 's pretty cheap, and works for stoves. If you have to buy a Pyrex dish, theres not much point. I'm wondering if washing machine glass is the same ?

I know someone who used them as boat portholes.

 

[normspanners]

wondering if washing machine glass is the same

Yep Boron.

 

[shakyman]

cc

today i cut out door,made a frame for the window,and loosely fitted the hinges(h/duty gate hinges only £5.75) going to make the door double skinned, for a better seal and stronger...bit time consuming,would have been easier with a solid door...but like looking at flames!

 

[DAPPH]

Shakey ,
Have you tried to use the diamond disc to cut the inner oven door glass found in modern cookers ( I think you'll need to keep it a tad on the cool side though ) ?

I've a sneaky feeling that you have found the solution to a long standing problem for many home made stove makers .
As far as I understand things from our old log burner days when I replaced several sets of the door glass over the years so long as you use the sealing to rope on both sides of the glass and don't make it too tight a fit & make a little allowance for expansion & contraction of the door I think it will work quite well .

As an aside I happened to click " a 200 x 250 glass table mat from Range or Poundland with a square glass coaster from the same set as I was clearing the table on Boxing day , the place mat shattered into thousands of bits just like heat resisting tempered glass does

Knowing these table mats have some sort of heat resistance .... as I've put boiling pans straight off the gas hob on to them and are obviously tempered , would they be a likely candidate for the door panes or do any of you guys think they will melt easily ???
The mats usually have a frosted pattern blasted onto them so if it works it could be an added benefit for a more aesthetic look to the stoves.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

The old Parkray fires had strips of glass around 2" wide in the door.

Paul H

 

[shakyman]

The old Parkray fires had strips of glass around 2" wide in the door.

Paul H

The old Parkray fires had strips of glass around 2" wide in the door.

Paul H

now that i know that "pyrex"type glass can be cut ,i tried different grinding discs i had lying about...metal and stone discs no good..my cheap wet tile saw works if you lower the glass onto the wheel(fancy radial arm saw would be better!) slotted multi purpose wheels no good...best result by far is with a marcrist diamond disc i bought years ago to cut porcelan tiles...DAPPH i am going to try getting an oven glass from the dump to try...compo..yes narrow strips would be nice..then would,nt need to make a box to fit radius of door..save a lot of faffing !....

 

[Shox Dr]

The mats usually have a frosted pattern blasted onto them so if it works it could be an added benefit for a more aesthetic look to the stoves.

I wouldn't put the frosting to the inside it will be a real PITA to clean. (An old green pan cleaner (damp) and dipped in the ash, cleans the glass very easily.