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Finally got the hang of cutting those big, curved auto glass pieces
I was at a trade show in Kansas City last fall, just watching a demo on a new waterjet system. The guy running it was cutting a huge, curved windshield for a classic car, and he kept talking about the 'lead angle' on the cut. I'd always just gone straight in and out, you know? He showed how tilting the head just a couple of degrees on the long curves stopped the glass from chipping out on the underside. Tried it the next week on a replacement for a '67 Mustang fastback. Took me three practice cuts on scrap to get the feel right, but that final piece came out clean as a whistle. No more hidden fractures or wasted material. It's one of those little things you don't think about until you see it done right. Anyone else pick up a small trick like that from a show or a demo that just clicked?
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charles_knight26d agoMost Upvoted
That lead angle trick is good for waterjets, but it's not the only way. On my old band saw with a diamond blade, a straight cut with the right feed pressure works better for those curves. Tilting the head on that setup would just bind the blade and ruin the piece. Different tools need different fixes.
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