glass in cabs

   / glass in cabs #1  

jdkid

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2000
Messages
424
Location
Akaroa South Island ,New Zealand (about 1/2 way do
Tractor
8350 valmet with 980SL FEL duels had a 150 Hp deutz just sold it 10 NOV 01
Hi ya
I know alot of ya have not got cabs but i hope one of ya's on here or may know some one who does know ..what dose the E1 mean thats on the glass i looked at my pick up and it has E6 glass in it i ask this cos i broke a window yesterday (tractor rolled back ,brake fail and hit a shed) so i got a new glass for it and while fitting it it blowed in my face so i think the glass is poor or under rated for the job ya may not have $.02 on this one but even $.01 would be a start ...more info if ya asking someone it's pre drilled for bolts ,hinges gas struts etc etc no frame just a push on seal .bout 4X3 foot in size E1 spec's....
thanks
JD Kid
 
   / glass in cabs #2  
Sorry, JD, can't answer your question but as misery loves company... I broke an opening glass window at the right rear of my cab. Had an argument with about a 6-8 inch diameter tree while brush hogging. I ran over the tree and it sprang back up and slapped the window. I thought my neighbor had shot at me. Glass broke into a few thousand little cubes like it was supposed to do to prevent getting stabbed with big pieces. It is a curved glass with three holes in it, two for hinges and one for the latch. It is roughly 1x2 ft and cost, gulp, whine, complain...$150 US. I will try to be a better citizen and avoid a repeat. Spent a frustrating hour trying to install it, nearly dropping it a couple times but got help when my dealer delivered my new box blade. Only took a couple minutes with "extra hands".

Check those brakes fellow! I recall the story of the guy and girl looking for a little privacy who improvised by crawling under his pickup. The guy was somewhat intent on his immediate environment and activities and did not notice the patrolman standing beside him. The patrolman enquired as to what he thought he was doing and he replied, "checking my drive shaft." The patrolman said, "maybe you should have checked your brakes, your truck rolled down the hill a few minutes ago."

Patrick
 
   / glass in cabs
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Hi ya
yep the brakes are being done this week just inbetween 2 nicks ie not full on and too hard to get to next one .yea glass is pricey the stuff i got is worth about 300 or more USD's ..can ya have a look at ya glass and see what eatched on it .oh yea has it got black dots around the outside it does mean something !
catch ya
JD Kid
 
   / glass in cabs #5  
JD, Sorry old man, my Kubota supplied replacement glass doesn't seem to have any markings, not even a maker's mark. I'm used to seeing labels on the glass like "LOF" (Libey-Owens-Ford) or something but I think the replacement glass was not labeled. I don't recall seeing any label on the original but I'm not 100% sure.

I just got back from going to take a look. The matching piece on the other side of the tractor has no label that I can see (poor lighting and not real clean).

All I know for sure was that it definitely was safety glass. When it broke it went into very small cubes. I don't think I could have found a piece as big as 1/4 inch.

On a similar topic to the "tree that ate my window", when I forget to fold the mirrors out of the way they take a lot of abuse from limbs. I thought for sure I broke one a few times but so far they have survived, a testimony to good engineering I think. The only downside is that if a mirror gets pushed around in front of the door there isn't any way to open the door without scraping the paint, oh my. And while on the topic of running into things, the armor that protects the steering stuff on both sides of the front axle is way too skimpy in size and strength. I eat way too many of the rubber thingies that cover the steering balls due to the metal protecto-cover is too short and gets all smashed up too easily (too puny in thickness). I'll be making that a priority one project to split some pipe to put there as an improved guard...or something likek that. SUGESTIONS WELCOME, ANYONE?

Yeah, I know, I coulda-shoulda bought a surplus tank.

Patrick (Hope my previous post wasn't to risque for you, JD, I wouldn't want to embarrass such a sensitive creature.)
 
   / glass in cabs #6  
I don't have a cab, but have replaced quite a bit of breakage prone glass with Plexiglas or better yet Lexan. If you used Lexan, it would be almost impossible to break. It is really tuff stuff. It is also a lot easier to work with that real glass or safety glass. Have any of you tried it in your cabs?

18-32460-1250sig.gif
 
   / glass in cabs
  • Thread Starter
#7  
Hi ya
well i have heard it before but it was not so tame :) on here i tone it down a lot from my real life cos it makes it hard to read when it reads as
guys ya would not f@#$en belive what a f#$%en dumb c#$% i am i broke a...... etc etc
on another note i sent a email to 2 glass out fit's to find out the E1 Vs E6 thing so when i find out i might post the high lights here for ya info
catch ya
JD Kid
 
   / glass in cabs #8  
Lexan is used for bullet-proof glass. When I was commercial fishing on long line boats out of Florida we used it exclusively for the windows in the boats. We had one boat that docked in Madeira Beach, FL. that had huge windows. The old timers swore they would blow in if the boat dove under a wave but they never did. The hands on that boat made a lot of money betting big strong drunks that they couldn't punch the windows out. I never seen those windows knocked out, even after a sore loser tried to do it with a boat hook! One thing with Lexan, it scratches real easy. We would wash the windows with our bare hand and clear water because if you hit 'em with the green pad we washed the rest of the boat with it would turn them translucent with one swipe.
 
   / glass in cabs #9  
bgott, Unless crews in Florida are way different that SOCAL, if they didn't break the windows it wasn't for lack of trying. If memory serves, Lexan is one commercial name for polycarbonate an improved plexiglass (another trade name that became generic). Unless UV additives have been improved a bunch since I last researched this stuff (and they probably have been), Lexan deteriorates with exposure to UV (sun) and relatively quickly falls to strength characteristics of plexiglass. We need to go to Frisco and get some transparent aluminum! (Sorry, a misspent youth as a Trekie)

As in my case, since the glass in question is curved, the replacement isn't too straight forward. I can do heat forming of plastic sheet or real glass for that matter but it isn't optically worth a damn if I do it at home. I'd be lucky to get the glass to seal on its rubber gaskets if I did it. This was an opening "wind wing" vent window to complicate matters. Soooooo until and unless I start going through these $150 goobers at an alarming rate (one was fairly alarming) I'll pass on the DIY project. I already replaced this first example of my overly aggressive driving. The Kubota parts network uses computer terminals at all the warehouses and dealers and I am not so far from the BIG regional supply point at Dallas (Dull Ass??) Texas so I get parts pretty quick.

Lexan was the glazing of choice in some subways to stop vandals from breaking the windows but they didn't have a UV problem. I was told that it was really funny to watch the hoodlums try to break out a window before the near indestrucable qualities became well known.

Patrick
 
   / glass in cabs
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Hi ya
i wondered what that lexan was a guy at the glass shop did say use polycarb but cos it was not in a frame and it has a curved it did not work out but i'll file the info all the same as my dozer has framed flat windows in it so polycarb would be just the ticket..
catch ya
JD Kid
 
   / glass in cabs #11  
JD, I'm not sure what low temp heat forming does to polycarbonate but if it doesn't reduce strength or do anything worse that put optically objectionable waves in it, you might be able to DIY (Do It Yourself) as you certainly could if you used Plexiglass. If it isn't in front where you look through it to drive at higher speed a few waves might be tolerable. I'm assuming that it is a simple curve, i.e. bent in only one direction, like if you picked up a 2x3 ft sheet of thin metal and flexed it a bit.

I also assume that you have a matching window that isn't broken. If that is the case you could use it to make a pattern. I would trace the top and bottom curves onto wood and carefully cut them out with a jig saw or similar and sand smooth. Next attach some thin sheet metal or realy thin plywood that will conform to the curved shape of the wood to make a form in the correct shape. Drape the plastic over it. Here is where it gets experimental...

Since I further assume that you don't have an oven or kiln big enough to hold this stuff and probably not a semi-pro paint curing heat setup, you would use flameless heat sources like heat lamps (careful if you use a hot air gun like the ones for striping paint) to uniformly warm the part where the bend is desired and the part next to the bend a bit less. Do not rush it,let it heat up gradually till it gets soft enough to relax and conform to the bend. Once bent, remove heat source and let it cool on its own (no chilled water "tempering" baths).

Oh yeah, if I were doing this, since I usually don't guestimate things like this real well, I would make the piece oversized a bit and cut it down to size after bending. Course sanding with mechanized tools and patience work for me. Go slow as the sanding will heat, and if rushed, melt the plastic making a mess out of the abrasive. Do not drill polycarb or plex with a wood or metal cutting bit. There are bits, expressly made for this. They are not expensive nor made of exotic alloys, they just have different angles so they don't bind or try to "thread" themselves inito the hole and ruin your efforts. I usually bend first and drill second, again because I don't have much experience in knowing where the hole will end up after the bend. Ever drill thick lead or copper? Takes special bits as regular bits try to thread into the material and jam. Plastic like polycarb or plex will do that and shatter the plastic or at least make a "star" crack pattern around the hole.

If you have access to a saw with a plastic cutting blade, practice on some scraps of the material you will be using and if successfull you could save time and effort cutting the thing to a fair fit before sanding. There are "special" plastic cuting blades for "saber" saws (scroll saw, jigsaw, whatever you blokes call 'em) as well as for table and other circular saws. Like the bits, not expensive and work way better than regular blades. I still remember tha time I got some 3/4 inch think plex (military surplus) and tried to make speaker enclosures out of it. Cut with a table saw, it melted as it went through the blade and welded itself back together behind the blade allbeit with a heck of a surgical scar. Tried hand held saber saw, same results. once cut, even though welded back together I could break it on the line but got a rough R O U G H edge. What looked to be simple became a night mare.

I suggest trial cuts and sanding on scraps before chancing your freshly bent window. Hope I didn't make this sound hard, it really isn't. Remember to check up on polycarb to see if it "likes" to be bent as easily as plex. Plex would work but does scratch and breaks more easily.

Good luck,

Patrick
 
   / glass in cabs
  • Thread Starter
#12  
hi ya
well i'll copy that off and store it somewhere .ya alos right i have not got a big cooker but i have got a paint stripper .thanks for the info.on the info front i did get a email back the E1,E6 is what country it conforms to there spec's ie E9 may be USA so i got back to them to find out more
catch ya
JD Kid
 

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