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Glass Cutter: Monce's Hardened Steel Wheel
S. G. Monce's glass cutter (US 91,150, 1869): a small hardened steel wheel, bevelled from both sides to a sharp edge, turning on its own journals in a riveted frame on a handle. Drawn across the glass under pressure it rolls and scores a fine line like a diamond's, for a tenth of a diamond's cost, and it needs less skill. It is the wheel cutter still used today.
The patent gives no sizes, steel grade or hardening method. The picture: the patent's drawing sheet.
Intermediate
1 day
Instructions
1
1
Turn the steel wheel
Turn the steel wheel
Turn a steel roller smooth and round, with a solid journal (d) at each end. Its sides (a) run parallel for a short way, then bevel toward each other to meet about midway in the cutting edge (D). Each bevel (c) stands about 45° to the axis, so the two faces are near right angles, or a very little more obtuse. Ours: a hardenable carbon steel and the lathe.
Materials for this step:
Carbon Steel Bar (0.6% C)1 pieceTools needed:
Metal Lathe
Lathe Cutting Tool
Hacksaw2
2
Harden the wheel
Harden the wheel
Harden the turned wheel. The patent does not say how; ours: heat it in the forge and quench it, as in the connected heat-treatment blueprint.
Tools needed:
Forge
Water3
3
Make the two-piece frame
Make the two-piece frame
Make the frame (B) in two halves. Near one end drill a bearing in each half for the journals. Keep each journal a little shorter than the thickness of the frame's sides (e), so a straightedge laid against the sides never touches the journal ends. Ours: steel strip, drill and file.
Materials for this step:
Carbon Steel Strip1 pieceTools needed:
Hacksaw
Hand Drill
Metal File
Bench Vise4
4
Rivet the wheel into the frame
Rivet the wheel into the frame
Set the wheel's journals in the bearings, close the two halves on it and rivet them together. The wheel must turn freely.
Materials for this step:
Glass Cutter Wheel1 piece
Steel Rivets1 pieceTools needed:
Ball Peen HammerBench Vise5
5
Fit the handle
Fit the handle
Fix the frame to a handle of any form, by any sound means. Monce used the handle of an ordinary diamond glass cutter.
Materials for this step:
Handle1 pieceTools needed:
Ball Peen Hammer6
6
Score and break glass
Score and break glass
Draw the cutter quickly across the glass, pressing as you go, so the wheel rolls. It leaves a fine line like a diamond's. Guide it along a straightedge; the frame's sides ride on the edge. Break the glass along the line.
Tools needed:
Straightedge
Glass PaneMaterials
5- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
- 1 piecePlaceholder
Tools Required
11- Placeholder
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