Replies

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Nov 10, 2009 08:14pm | #1

   Look up any local glass supplier & ask for tempered glass. They can bevel the edges, cut various shapes, etc, prior to tempering.

   Cheap it ain't. ;-(

   Mike Hennessy
   Pittsburgh, PA
   Everything fits, until you put glue on it.

1. 
   cowtown | Nov 11, 2009 07:02am | #2

   my glass supplier recommended against tempered glass for a conference table top, one hard bang on the edge and you've got a tabletop of shards.

   Used regular glass with a ground edge, and ain't had a complaint.

   Eric

1. 
   MikeHennessy | Nov 12, 2009 03:33pm | #11

   I agree that for applications where the top is placed over a wooden top, tempered glass is not ideal. However, it was unclear from the OP whether the glass itself was to function as the table top in any of the uses. In such cases, tempered glass, or saftey glass, is the best solution. A child falling onto a coffee table with a standard glass top could lead to a very bad situation.Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.

2. 
   forestgirl | Nov 11, 2009 07:11am | #3

   If the price sends you searching for the nearest emergency room, consider grinding the edge yourself -- they charge alot for that.  Can't give any details for something as nice as high visibility furniture, but somebody here can.  I've only done it on a couple utility pieces, a long time ago.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
3. 
   Dave45 | Nov 11, 2009 06:03pm | #4

   One possibility might be to buy something from Ikea that has a glass top that is the right size (or close enough). Use the top and toss the rest.

4. 
   doorboy | Nov 11, 2009 06:33pm | #5

   Yep. Tempered is usually not used for furniture tops. The edge treatment can get expensive--they charge by the linear inch--but it's absolutely necessary.
   Any good local glass distributor should be able to help you.
5. 
   James_Buxton | Nov 11, 2009 06:34pm | #6

   I've found that my local glass shop can get tops made to order, but it is expensive.  There are places on the web that offer pre-made tops for much less.  My last top came from http://www.glasstopsdirect.com/ .  They charged $40 for a top that my local glass shop quoted at $175.   The tradeoff is that you can get any shape you want if you go the full-custom route, while the pre-made places only sell stock shapes.   I bought the top first, and tweaked the design to fit it, rather than vice versa.

1. 
   robertrhault | Nov 11, 2009 07:00pm | #7

   James thx for the referral
   Bob Rhault

1. 
   wotnow | Nov 11, 2009 09:11pm | #8

   Hi RobI used a fair bit of plain glass as shelves in a small display cabinet.
   After I cut them I cleaned up the edges and put on a small bevel ok with a DMT diamond stone and some elbow grease.wotI started out with nothing...and I still have most of it left!

6. 
   JerryPacMan | Nov 11, 2009 10:35pm | #9

   Pier 1 Imports has a limited selection of reasonably priced ogee edge glass tops.  The World Market might still sell some.  I think Ikea has some also.  Maybe you will get lucky and find some sizes you could use.  

    

   Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans.

   When your ship comes in... make sure you are not at the airport.

7. 
   Omah | Nov 12, 2009 04:04am | #10

   One more drawback to using tempered glass is that the surface seems to scratch more easily than regular glass. You don't always need to bevel the edges to get nice results. I usually leave a 1/4" rebate on the top trim that the glass sits in and then tell my glass guy to cut my glass out of 1/4" plate and sand the edges. O.

8. 
   mrfu | Nov 13, 2009 09:48pm | #12

   I've always found that my local glass supplier has the best price on table tops. Most just order them from large regional fabricators that have cnc type equipment to do the grinding and polishing.
   One word on glass pricing it really pays to call a couple of different shops as pricing can be all over the place even though they are all getting it from the same place.
   Tom

9. 
   geppetto425 | Nov 14, 2009 02:43am | #13

   I needed an oval glass top for a coffee table, new ones with a bevel are around $130. I found someone selling a cheap coffee table with a nice glass top for $25. Kept the top, trashed the coffee table . Just an idea....