First-years were practicing clean scores with six‑wheel cutters in the shop today; anyone know who first came up with the modern wheel glass cutter, and where it happened? I’m collecting fun tidbits to weave into next week’s safety and tool‑care lesson for our apprentices, so bonus points if you know the year too.
Samuel Monce in Bristol, Connecticut, 1869, is the usual origin; some credit earlier English tries, but his patent stuck, and six‑wheel turret heads show up in catalogs by the 1890s. > tool‑care lesson for our apprentices, so bonus points if you know the year — I have them clean the wheel and touch a single drop of light oil right before scoring; too much oil makes a mushy break. Want the patent ref for your slide?
Depends what you call “modern”: the steel‑wheel cutter gets traced to a Bristol, CT patent in 1869, and the six‑wheel turret heads show up in catalogs in the 1890s. Since your first‑years are on six‑wheel cutters, try letting them do one pass with a dull wheel, then swap to a fresh one with a drop of light oil so they feel the difference in score sound and pressure. @c_griff89 has the gist; quick cite here notes the Monce 1869 origin: Glass cutter - Wikipedia.
If you want one clean date to put on the slide: 1869 in Bristol, CT — Samuel Monce’s steel‑wheel cutter; Wikipedia backs it up: Glass cutter - Wikipedia. For a practical add‑on, early wheels were hardened steel around about 120°, while modern carbide tends to be blunter for thicker stock — teach them to match wheel angle to the glass. @g_thomas_82, got a favorite angle chart?
If you need one year, 1869 in Bristol, CT — Samuel Monce’s steel‑wheel is the watershed; a few English makers tinkered earlier, but his patent made it standard. One thing I drill into apprentices: practice on scrap until they can hear a single, even ‘zip’ from start to stop — wobbles usually mean the wheel isn’t square or they’re pushing too hard. Want a quick blurb on early oil‑feed heads to pair with that?