Is My Piece of Glass Cracked?

How-To

How can I tell if a piece of glass is cracked?

Did you ever notice the workers in your local glass shop tapping on a sheet of glass before they move it? They do that to see if it has any cracks. Cracked glass has a very different sound when tapped than intact glass does. This will be the best way to tell if your glass is broken. However, you should try it out on some other sheets before you try it on a piece that you think may be broken. Once you have heard a cracked piece, you will know what it sounds like.

Hold the sheet from the top edge with one hand. Hold it out and away from your feet, just in case. Gently tap the sheet with one of your knuckles. A solid sheet of glass with no cracks will have a solid, clear ringing sound. A sheet with a crack will have kind of a buzzing, vibrating or tinkling sound.

Reprinted with permission from Stained Glass News. All rights reserved.

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Stained Glass News

Stained Glass News

Stained Glass News is a full-color newspaper which has been dedicated to informing, entertaining and inspiring stained glass hobbyists for over 22 years. Each issue features: • information on new books, tools and glass • quick tips & hints and Q&A's • columns on stained glass, mosaics, and hot glass by industry experts • photos of our readers' projects in the Readers' Gallery • glassworking hints from our readers on The Readers' Page • a photo and information about a glass workshop belonging to one of our readers on The Readers' Page • other information that makes working with glass easier, more fun and more rewarding SGN is published five times a year (on the first of January, March, May, September and November). The current issue is SGN #90 (May, 2010).