Cutting glass

[Mr_Cool]

Well, I didn't actually CUT it.....

I had to cut off the bulkheads in my overflows because they were glued together and I wanted to start fresh. The first one came out/off great. But the second one was in a tricker position for me. I had to sit under the tank while it is on the stand in my garage, and cut away with a grinder. But, because of the angle I was sitting at, the plastic "shrapnal" was flying right back at my face. (It can get pretty hot, too!) So, I didn't really see that I was also hitting the bottom glass of the tank as well.

Long story short: I wore away some of the glass about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch deep. It's a small arc, maybe an inch long. The glass is 1/2 think everywhere else.

It's really not a cut or a crack, so I don't think it will spread. Someone put my mind at ease and tell me that it's no big deal. Or, if nothing else, tell me what I can do to "fix" it.

I don't know if a picture will really do any good, but I'll see if I can get one tomorrow.

[Bill S]

How big a tank? Where specifically is the cut?

[Mr_Cool]

It's one of the two 8 ft tanks Louis used to have in the back of his shop by the garage door. The "cut" is about 2 inches from the right side of the tank, and pretty much in the middle of the tank (front to back). When you look at it, you can see that the blade of the grinder was at an angle to the glass, so the depth gets deeper as you go towards the side of the tank.

[LoneStar]

I'd be cautious about it. Personally I'd fill the tank with water in your garage and check it for stress and leaks over a week or 2.

[edawgm]

I'd be cautious about it. Personally I'd fill the tank with water in your garage and check it for stress and leaks over a week or 2.

What he said but what about the fact of sand and rock wieght? Wouldn't that effect it differently than just water?

[LoneStar]

I'd be cautious about it. Personally I'd fill the tank with water in your garage and check it for stress and leaks over a week or 2.

What he said but what about the fact of sand and rock wieght? Wouldn't that effect it differently than just water?

Put some cinder blocks in the tank to mimic sand/rock when you fill it with water ;)

[Bill S]

Sand and rock become much "lighter" in water.

Because it's at the edge, I don't know if you can reinforce it from the outside. But, you should be able to reinforce it from the inside with another large piece of glass.

[LoneStar]

Because it's at the edge, I don't know if you can reinforce it from the outside. But, you should be able to reinforce it from the inside with another large piece of glass.


Thats a great idea. You can get a piece of glass cut at Samuels Glass off of San Pedro (by the old Maggies) and get some silicone and do a patch job. Just get a piece cut large enough to work as a brace. Since you will be using sand, you won't see the patch after the tank is all setup. But I'd still test it throughly with water in the garage after the silicone is completely dry before putting it in your house ;)

[Mr_Cool]

It sounds like I need to get a piece of glass cut to fit inside from front to back. If the cut is about 2 inches from the edge, I should probably go 6 inches wide or so?

Should I use the same 1/2 inch glass? And how do I "Patch" it? Does glass work like acrlyic? I'm guessing that I just put a bunch of silicone on the piece of glass and then stick it in place. Then, just seal the edges?

[LoneStar]

You'll patch it just like your mom did your old jeans when you were younger ;) Depending on the location, I'd go 4 to 5 inches from the edge of the scar in each direction. If your limited to less than that (due to it being so close to a wall), I'd go as close as you can to the silicone holding the wall. You just need to buy a tube of 100% silicone (not the kind that has additives in it to prevent mold).

As for the thickness of the glass, why not just get a 1/2" piece of glass to repair it with. Then I'd apply a generous bead of silicone around the scar in the bottom pane. Make sure there is no gap in that bead of silicone. Then set the new 'glass patch' over it and seal the sides with silicone.

Or you can get a hold of Jack (Rocketeer) and see if he has any pointers on his tank repair.

http://www.maast.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=23840&hig hlight=jack

[Mr_Cool]

So, here's the deal....

I talked to a friend of mine who owns a glass blowing shop. He said the reason the tank is made of 1/2 inch glass is because it's so LONG. He said there is much more pressure on the front and back panels of glass than anywhere else. So, his suggestion was to fill the gouge with some silicone and be done with it. He also said that, if I wanted some extra piece of mind, I could put a piece of wood or something under the siliconed gouge and support that piece.

I think I'm going to use an extra piece of acrylic to support it. That is, fill w/ silicone, put acrylic in place, put a 2x4 under the acrylic and attach the 2x4 to the stand. I almost have to do it this way because of where the cut is w/ respect to the overflow/bulkhead.

Any thoughts on this now?

[Headless_donkey]

Why not use glass instead of acrylic? That way the patch will be bonded to the tank.

[Bill S]

As above, I'd choose glass.

[erikharrison]

oop, thought this said "cutting class" of which I was a master. Anyone needing advice on this subject contact me... :D LOL :skeezy

[Mr_Cool]

Acutally, I re-thought this whole thing before I saw the last few posts. I think I will go with glass. And, I'm going to support the whole bottom of the tank by putting it on some foam. This way, as stated above, the patch WILL be bonded to the tank and I'll have better support all the way around, including where the patch is.

Thanks to everyone for the help and advice! I'll post some pics as things progress. I'm HOPING to have the new tank up and running this weekend or early next week.