55 Glass - Clear Glass

3/8 pencil & 1/2 flat polish	3/4" Clear	1" Clear

Clear Glass is the glass you see every day in windows, doors and table tops. It is one of the most used commodities in the world.

Clear Glass is made of silica and it allows all spectrums of white light to travel through it. The greenish tint is caused by iron, which is an impurity in the sand used to make the glass. In the glass iron ions absorb in the red (and infra-red) and blue (and ultra-violet) parts of the spectrum, making the glass look green due to the light that is left. You can see this more clearly from the edge because you are looking through a greater thickness of glass.

Custom cut 1/4"-1/2" prices are available on our price lists

Glass Thicknesses

If we know what the glass will be used for and you can tell us the dimensions, we can recommend the thickness and the edgework of the glass. Our recommendations are: For Glass Protector Tops we almost always use ¼. We love ½ for Glass Table Tops. For windows it depends on the frame but 1/8 and ¼ are very common. 1/8 through ¾ thick glass can be tempered but it easier to tempered that is at least 5/32 and ¾ is so strong it usually doesn't need to be tempered.

1/16 glass is also known as Single Strength. It is 2.5mm thick. It is used most often in windows and picture frames.

1/8 glass is known as Double Strength. It is actually either 3mm- 3.3mm thick. It is most often used in windows and picture frames. Glass that is at least 3.2mm thick can be tempered (see 5/32).

5/32 glass is 4mm thick. Most tempering lines are set up for a glass thickness of 5/32 or more. Pattern glass is often made 5/32 thick for this reason.

3/16 glass is 5mm thick.

¼ glass is 6mm thick. We make our Glass Protector Tops in 1/4 inch. ¼ is suited well because it is fairly rigid but not too heavy. For large size tables we don't recommend 3/8 because it's heavy. Instead we recommend tempering ¼ to be used as a Glass Protector Top.

5/16 glass is 8mm thick. It is rarely used in the United States. Sometimes 5/16 glass is available as a special order.

3/8 glass is 10mm thick. It is most often used in shower doors and glass railings when the edges are exposed. It works well for smaller Glass Table Tops. Sometimes it is used as a Glass Protector Top. On doors that are converted to be used as a table top and on very beefy wood tables 3/8 thick glass can look very good. For budget conscious projects 3/8 is often used instead of ½ because it costs about 20% less than 1/2.

1/2 glass is 12mm thick. It looks great, it is practical, and it is the most bang for the buck for Glass Table Tops, glass used in railings, and frameless doors. Use 1/2 glass with flat polished edges when a modern, thick look is preferred.

5/8 glass is 16mm thick. It is commonly used in Europe. We carry 5/8 glass but usually recommend ¾ because it is the same price.

3/4 glass is 19mm thick. It is very thick, very heavy, and very expensive. Use ¾ if you really need a thick look and don't mind spending the money. Remember ¾ is about 3 times the cost of ½.

1" glass is 25mm thick. It is rarely used because it is so heavy and expensive. 1" thick glass is about 5 times the cost of ¾. What's the point? But if you insist, we can fabricate 1" thick glass.