Getting safety glass cut ??

   / Getting safety glass cut ?? #1  

jim_wilson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2004
Messages
1,781
Location
Northeast MA
Tractor
Kubota B3200 w/ BH77 & 12", 18" & 24" buckets, Kubota B50 SSQA w/ 54" & 60" buckets, LandPride FDR1660, Artillian Fork frame, Extreme 3pt rake, Concrete Mixer, MyTractorTools grapple adapter
So I've been contemplating adding a cab to my B3200. I've looked at a bunch of options - and there doesn't appear to be too many choices out there for the B3200 for a "hard" cab.

Plus - I've got an issue because I would like the tractor to still be able to fit inside my garage - thru a 7ft high door ( according to my measurements I've actually got a 83.5 inches I can drive thru)

Some of the cabs I've seen that might have fitted on the B3200 - looked like they were too tall to fit thru that 7ft door.

I'm pretty handy with the welder and custom fiberglass pieces - but what I'd like to build in a perfect world - is a cab that looks "factory" - which means using glass.

Is it possible to do this? I've looked around online and found a few glass places that seem like they would do custom cutting.

Any idea of how much the cost would be for something like this? Say for instance a flat front windshield that is 30 inches wide times 35 inches tall? (just to use as an example)

I'm thinking that if I welded up a good cab framework - I might be able to put together a glass cab for not too bad of a price - if I could get the glass cut - and find the assorted hinges and other hardware to put the whole thing together.
 
   / Getting safety glass cut ?? #2  
If it were me, I'd take some rough measurements of what size the glass should be, see what was available (with the rubber gaskets) and build the cab around that. Since you're starting from scratch that might be easier and cheaper in the long run than dealing with custom cut glass.
 
   / Getting safety glass cut ?? #3  
Chim had a real good thread on his home-made cab build-up. Not sure if you read it, but it was fairly recent so it should be easy to find. I think he used safety glass, and IIRC he had around $1200 total in the build. I have been contemplating this for a couple years as well, but it is at the end of a long list of "want to do's".
 
   / Getting safety glass cut ??
  • Thread Starter
#4  
If it were me, I'd take some rough measurements of what size the glass should be, see what was available (with the rubber gaskets) and build the cab around that. Since you're starting from scratch that might be easier and cheaper in the long run than dealing with custom cut glass.

I was contemplating going that route too. Might be able to build at least most of it using off the shelf glass from factory cabs. I did look up pricing on glass pieces for some Kubota cabs that would be close in size to my B3200 - and if I remember correctly - as an example - the door glass as like $250 each, which didn't seem too bad to me.
 
   / Getting safety glass cut ??
  • Thread Starter
#5  
Chim had a real good thread on his home-made cab build-up. Not sure if you read it, but it was fairly recent so it should be easy to find. I think he used safety glass, and IIRC he had around $1200 total in the build. I have been contemplating this for a couple years as well, but it is at the end of a long list of "want to do's".

Thanks - I'll look that up and see if I can find it.
 
   / Getting safety glass cut ??
  • Thread Starter
#7  
The tinted glass was right around $400 for the whole cab on mine. The glass is the type of safety glass with a layer of plastic between two panses of glass. Here's the thread:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/263920-diy-cab-finally-decided-time.html

I found your thread and read thru the whole thing - that cab came out great.

I'm still contemplating what it's going to take for me to do this if I decide to go build a cab. From what I've been reading here and there - some of the better glass shops can do pretty much whatever you want with the safety glass - including polishing the edges. What I'd really like is to have large glass doors like the factory Kubota cabs - but that might be a stretch.
 
   / Getting safety glass cut ?? #8  
$400 for all the glass doesn't sound bad. How many panes? 8?

I'm seeinng notes on the WWW about DIY cutting of tempered and safety glass including windshields using a sandblaster.
 
   / Getting safety glass cut ?? #9  
Yes - 8 pieces, and I forget the square footage. They count square footage based on the rectangular piece it takes to make triangles / trapezoids. I bought the glass through a small hardware store in the next town West of me. I gave them templates that were cut to fit the openings.

I had called various glass shops and hit snags with each of them: weren't interested, wanted the tractor brought to them, prices were very high, etc. I'm fairly sure the hardware store got the glass from one of the glass shops that didn't seem interested when I called them.
 
   / Getting safety glass cut ?? #10  
A good glass shop should be able to cut whatever you need at a reasonable rate.
I have seen them cut safety glass, score like normal, add some alcohol and light, as soon as it burns out snap glass. They told me the heat softens the plastic layer making the glass snap easier. Oh yeah, score both sides. Rounded corners have to be ground I believe.
 
 
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