can tempered glass be bent and cut to make a door?

[texasjohn]

Door arrived yesterday. Installation was about the easiest $410 part I've ever installed, except for pocketbook pain.

Taking all the hardware apart was easy....nothing stuck.....a little trouble to dig all the glass out of the door gasket. couple of twists in getting door handle off, but nothing major.

Door had holes for large rubber gaskets to go thru.... assembly was simple, just had to hold it at proper angle and carefully install the bolts in hinges.

old gasket slipped back on fine.... I'll see if it stays put... if not, can buy and install new one.

Thanks for comments and input....

 

[firedog]

Some years ago, I decided to replace the cracked drivers side window in one of the fire trucks at the VFD I was a member at. I removed the glass and took it down to a local glass shop, where he measured, cut and laminated the tempered glass. He seemed quite meticulous in his work, buffing all the edges. Cost me about 25 or so bucks, I took the new window reinstalled in the frame and reassembled the door. After rolling the window up & down a few times, I exited the truck, slammed the door shut and CRACK!

Hope yours goes better than mine did.

 

[Eagleview]

Toughened glass does not crack . Laminated glass is two thin sheets of plain glass with a layer of plastic between the two sheets . The plastic ensures that no shards of broken glass will become daggers by holding it together . Laminated glass is scored on both sides and carefully broken along the top score line , the sheet is then turned over and the other side is broken along the other score line . Methylated spirits is then poured over the crack and lit with a lighter , this melts the plastic so the piece can be removed . The Ariss is then done on a sander .

texasjohn , the gasket has a steel spine inside the rubber . It should be pinched together a little with your fingers while installing to make it a snug fit on the glass .

 

[patrick_g]

If for some reason a DIY replacement ever becomes necessary Don't use Plexiglas but use Lexan instead and be sure it is UV stabilized or sun exposure will reduce the strength quickly to about like Plexiglas.

Pat

 

[texasjohn]

Iron Horse, you are correct re the metal band giving structural strength to the gasket.

I have opened and shut the door several times... seems fine.... however, have not slammed the door shut... which certainly happens in real life..... seems to be a good fit all around the door at this point.... am hoping it stays that way.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Texasjohn, if you are absolutely certain that ALL of the broken glass was cleaned out of the gasket, then you should be fine. For anybody in the future that is going to replace their own glass, try using a shop vac along with the tool that you are using to clean out the gasket.

 

[texasjohn]

I carefully cleaned out the glass...I found no adhesive material in the gasket groove. The bare glass was sitting in the rubber groove held there by gasket tension and friction. I went thru the groove three times... the last two being very careful to feel for any tiny shards that might be left in there.. I selected a flat blade screwdriver that was exactly the size of the glass channel... by sliding the blade down the channel, you can both hear and feel any remaining bits of glass.

Agreed, if a shard were left, it might cause a pressure point leading to subsequent failure.

 

[scott_vt]

Good Afternoon John,
Glad you got your glass installed !

I own three tractors and none have glass, but maybe it might be a good idea to let TBN members know what it was that cracked yours to save them the time and expense that you went through !

Glad your up and runnin !

 

[texasjohn]

I gave full story in another thread under safety.... quick answer is that I went thru a gate with my door open.... it caught the gate post..... there were extenuating circumstances...fundamentally I was in a hurry, distracted by cows swirling around the hay I was carrying and I was focusing on avoiding the two mobility impaired people who were watching the gate to hold the cows back.

 

[patrick_g]

I gave full story in another thread under safety.... quick answer is that I went thru a gate with my door open.... it caught the gate post..... there were extenuating circumstances...fundamentally I was in a hurry, distracted by cows swirling around the hay I was carrying and I was focusing on avoiding the two mobility impaired people who were watching the gate to hold the cows back.

I have broken out the back window and a side/rear opening window in two separate events but not a door so far. I didn't have a witness, except myself, bovine or human, just got too rambunctious in the woods brushogging. No matter how good of a juggler you are there is always such a thing as one ball too many!

That tempered glass just EXPLODES into little ice cubes and gets everywhere.

I try to not move the tractor with the doors open because I have had some really close calls with the doors. My door edge rubber thingies are getting well worn from rubbing brush and are beginning to come lose from the glass. I'm thinking it is time to use some sort of flexible adhesive to secure them before they sag at the wrong moment and catch on brush and get ripped off. Anyone have any thoughts on what adhesive might work well in this application?

Bless you my son. Go and break no more.

Pat