Grinding wheels for glass lathe   

Culture & Context

Different wheels can be used on a glass lathe to grind, carve and engrave the surface of glass. This can be to shape the glass or to produce pattern, texture or imagery.

Process & Production

Wheels for carving glass come in a variety of materials and profiles to produced different effects.

Wheel materials:
Sintered or electroplated diamond wheels – various grits Rough and smooth stone wheels
Polpur Lapi-T abrasive wheels, embedded with aluminum oxide – various grits Felt, cork and brush wheels for polishing Copper or sintered diamond wheels are also used on smaller lathes for engraving finer details.

Shapes of wheel:
V-wheels – various angles and widths of wheel Olive wheel – rounded profile of various diameters Spherical wheel – used to make lenses or grind punties
Flat or strap wheel – various widths
Specialist wheels such as gang wheels, which have parallel grooves to create unique textures.