Page 1 of 2

Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:25 pm
by ericinvt
I apologize if this has been answered already...
Does anyone have a source for getting curved sashes restored? Specifically, a broken pane replaced. There's a lot of info on here on reglazing, etc, and thank you! But we have one broken pane on a curved sash and it's not a piece of glass I can go to our hardware store for, or can salvage from an old sash.

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 3:43 pm
by Mick_VT
I believe this glass can still be ordered from specialist suppliers. I bet Jade will know

heartwood wrote:hey Jade, see above

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:42 pm
by GibsonGM
Interesting. I had my local glass company ("Portland Glass") do some shapes for me one time. They made lots of straight cuts tangent to the curve. Maybe that could be an option?

Otherwise yeah, maybe some resto place can take a pattern from you and use like a CNC glass machine...

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:15 pm
by Casey
The same shops that make curved glass for china cabinets.
Casey

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 6:47 pm
by Willa
A stained glass shop replaced some curved glass panels in an antique ceiling fixture.

This particular shop did large scale solariums, etc. I seem to recall that a flat piece of glass was cut to size then placed in a kiln/oven over a metal form to create the curved glass shape.

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:10 pm
by phil
duplicate - sorry

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 11:21 pm
by phil
any glass blowers near you? maybe you need o consult with an artisan ? sectioning it of and doing stained glass slices might be an alternative if you are doing them all.

just to be clear, the actual glass pane is bent right ? it isn't just flat glass cut with an arch shape on top is it?

I can see this being difficult, the whole sheet needs to be heated and then bent while it is in the plastic state and at a temp just a little hotter it becomes liquid. in a kiln you dont; really have access to manipulate it or even see it. Sounds tricky or expensive.. Must be neat to see though. You could easily cheat with lexan, I know it isn't the same but it sounds expensive.
glass blowers use a furnace but the only one I've seen isn't big enough for a sheet of glass. they can see and work with the glass in a molten state. maybe they could bend it is sections that would fit in that type of furnace. You can bend little pieces easily but keeping a whole sheet the right temperature would be tricky indeed.

Ive bent lexan using forms, i do that to make radio dial windows, they are usually bubble shaped with a flange. Usually I can make a male and female form out of laminate flooring , you heat the dies and the plastic in the oven then when it gets bendy you an force the male and female die together forming the shape of the bubble. It actually isn't too hard and looks professional. takes a few tries to get the dies right but at least you aren't working as such extreme temperatures. I've found I can heat form it and then remove the protective film afterwards. I once sold a big vacuum pump to a guy that makes things like helicopter windshields and beds for babies in the incubator, I guess they are clear plastic and heat formed with vacuum too.

I think I'd use stained glass in about 2 " panels and let it bend a little where the lead came joints are.. It would be real glass and maybe easier and less costly. of course you are also changing from what is original but all comes at a cost I guess.

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 2:21 am
by heartwood
hello eric in Vermont....
flickinger glass in Brooklyn is where I have purchased curved glass...it ain't cheap...if I remember correctly, an 18" x 34" 3/16" thick glass was $300....
http://flickingerglassworks.com/

another option is to glue the glass...it depends on where it is cracked and how possible it is to make steady the piece of curved glass for the 5 minutes it takes the glue to set...the refraction made by the crack remains but the glue is very strong...if it's cracked in a corner, I imagine you may be able to live with it...if it's fully horizontal or vertical, maybe not...

hope that helps...
....jade

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 3:21 am
by Vala
I believe the term is "bent sash" / "bent glass". When I first read curved I understood it as arch top like some other members did as well.

Re: Curved Sash Restoration

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 11:07 am
by heartwood
vala, that is an astute observation...the proper term in the trades is 'bent'...personally, I think 'curved' more accurately describes the glass and sash and is better understood by most...I refer to windows with a curved top sash as 'round tops'...I think it's a vernacular thing....growing up, we called soda 'tonic'...yea, we got funny looks when requesting a 'tonic' in upstate new York...

...jade