Spent two hours trying to cut a circle with a glass cutter and a string

Ben Singh · 2026-03-12T14:30:10.195673+00:00

Had a job for a round bathroom window in an old house, about 14 inches across. I saw an old video where a guy tied a string to a nail at the center and used it like a compass with his cutter. Tried it three times, snapped every single piece of glass, wasted a $80 sheet of tempered. The string kept slipping and the cutter jumped. Anyone know a real way to do a clean circle cut without a fancy machine?

the_ray7mo ago

That $80 loss hurts, and patel.barbara is right about those videos being a cruel joke.

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palmer.val6mo ago

That trick works, just takes a ton of practice.

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patel.barbara7mo ago

Oh man, I feel that pain. I tried that exact string trick last year to make a round tabletop. Ended up with what looked like a modern art project, all jagged edges and stress cracks. You start off so hopeful with your little homemade compass, and ten minutes later you're just sweeping up very expensive glitter. Isn't it funny how the old-timers in those videos make it look like breathing?

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