?? what tool for plexi and shatterproof glass??

L

lmalterna

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Dec 12, 2002
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Building super at work let me know our windows are all "bulletproof glass" on the ground floor.... great idea, especially if trapped by fire/building failure. So looking for suggestions on a hand tool to get through them in emergency.
Not a post for best tool to break into a building undetected here.... just getting my fat butt out of my office building IF normal building evac routes are blocked.
Thanks,
Bill
 
You'd have to figure out whether it's just Plexiglass or actual Bullet-resistant glass (layers of different types of glass).
Not sure about the latter but I've used Plexiglass to build certain things before. I use a plastic & laminate cutter made by Olfa to score the Plexiglass multiple times and then snapping it. Here's what the cutter looks like:
P-800.jpg
57477-1800-23ww-l.jpg

Model P-800

Not the quickest way out I'm sure but I don't know of any other tool for Plexiglass. I would imagine if you score the window in several places and hit it with a heavy object, the Plexiglass will give.
 
lmalterna said:
Building super at work let me know our windows are all "bulletproof glass" on the ground floor.... great idea, especially if trapped by fire/building failure. So looking for suggestions on a hand tool to get through them in emergency.
Not a post for best tool to break into a building undetected here.... just getting my fat butt out of my office building IF normal building evac routes are blocked.
Thanks,
Bill
Click to expand...

This is actually a good question. I wonder how many people are at work everyday not realizing that their windows may be shatter proof. If I were a office worker my plan would be to get out the window in case of fire. Do your windows not open easily? if not I would consider this a work place hazard.
 
Windows do not open at all. I am thinking to take a ball peen hammer and slowly grind the ball die to a pointed end that tapers form the narrow down so it could not become trapped in the glass. Super said it was bulletproof, but many consider shatterproof to be bulletproof. So I want to plan for the worst. I KNOW bulletpoof WILL fail after numerous impacts but it will also trap instruments.
Bill
 
Hi,

Unless the building is a bank, it would be very unlikely to be "bullet-proof". The stuff is generally too expensive for general use. Shatter-proof or shatter resistant glass is most likely what it is. In any case, a quick inspection will tell. Real bullet proof glass is very noticeably thick, far, far more than normal.

What to do in case of emergency? Use the door. No seriously, use the door that's what it's there for. Most likely the emergency you may face is fire. And the fire department will want you to "shelter in place". If the emergency is above you, you have nothing to fear and can leisurely stroll out. If you are above it, you ain't jumping anyway.

What we use at MVA's to remove safety/shatter-proof glass is a SawzAll. It's pretty easy to saw out.

dalee
 
If the "glass" is Plexi-Glass/Acrylite, it shouldn't be to hard to get through, it's stronger then standard glass but not even bullet resistant. I've shot through it with a .22 before. Lexan on the other hand is bullet resistant and you are going to have a hard time breaking through a 3/8" thick sheet of it in a window pane. Use the stairs and doors.

In High school I worked part time at a Jewelry makers in their cabinetry shop. Would make wood displays for their Jewelry, a glass window would either get broke in transit or just cost to much to give away with a 100 piece order, so we used Plexi-glass. Even they would sometimes break. Lexan on the other hand survived the worst that UPS and customers could through at it. :)
 
Odds are its not even plexiglass, due to its ease of scratching. It may however be laminate glass, which is just like your front-windshield of your car. It very well may 'spider-web' when hit, but will not drop and fall, the way you see tempered glass (that on your passenger car doors) into little, somewhat safe pieces.

Or it could be shatter-resistant glass. But as others have reiterated, the number of doors and the size of the exit airways are mandated by local code to ensure proper egress standards per the building occupancy numbers. Any official is going to prefer you help mandate and control the crowd to leave in a safe and orderly manner, preferably on a hard surface, such as the concrete, to accommodate any handicapped individuals or those with aesthetic impediments.

All in all, leave the 'break and rake' to the fire-department.


(by the way, I usually carry a knife with a glass break as well. Never used it, most likely never will, but I prefer the option)
 
From what little i know about windows and different plastics, i'd have to say.. Generally, the weakest spot on any building, is at the seams of windows and doors. It doesn't take that much leverage, to bend and pry a door out of its frame. So, rather than cut your way out, and risk an explosive cascade of oxygen flowing into the building, i'd get something that'd allow me to pry doors open. Or possibly windows, if such exists. That's my two cents.
 
Thanks for the brainstorming guys. Windows are double layer and not overly thinck so I am thinking more shatter resitant- definitly not as thick as classic bank bullet proof stuff. I am a computer operator and work in one of two very large rooms, very noisy and well sealed. One way in/out, thick solid doors set in heavy steel frames- no bending or prying here. Small glass in doors with embedded wire mesh. Fire suppression is sprinkler NOT Halon.... I am not going to drown if trapped but there is entrance via building circulation for smoke. One room is interior to building- NO windows or exterior walls. Othe room has above set of windows.

I am well practiced on normal building evacuation. In normal situations, the alarm goes off and people exit in an orderly fashion to the safety of the parking lot. I kind of like to think about "out of the ordinary" situations. If I think about them in advance, I will not have to figure out what to do in the heat of the moment.

We have a raised floor and limited access from visitors, so I think I will store a glass/plexi scoring tool, sledge and fubar/pry bar under the floor in each room. Can pick the bar and sledge up cheap at the local flea market... no harm in them lying under the floor just in case. By the way, there is already a MSA mask with filters under the floor to keep the smoke out of my eyes and somewhat my lungs so I can assist others in exiting in an orderly fashion. Can be picked up pretty cheap on fleabay.
Thanks,
Bill

Forgot to add, windows are one peice set in steel frames.
 
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:) I frequently stuff CATV, Fidi, low and high voltage AC under there but I understand your meaning and any "extraneous" items would be at the perimeter against a hard wall. In areas, there is so much cable there is a wonder any ventilation passes but Leiberts put out some air pressure.

My old Comp Room had 3 levels and zone controlled air chimneys with diaphrams for ventilation. Much better option.
Bill
 
First of all, I doubt that the building Super was around or consulted during the building's construction, so take whatever he says as merely hearsay.

If your windows are thin or of the double-pane variety, it may just have shatter-resistant film applied to one or both sides of the glass. And if done right, it will have been bonded to the frame edges so you can't just kick the entire pane out.

If there is a real emergency, I doubt that you would have the time to break and then cut a hole big enough to get out, but tools you may consider useful would be a spike tomahawk to shatter the underlying glass and to puncture some holes in the material and then followed-up with cutting a hole big-enough to get out of by using a serrated saw like this.
5KRF7_AS01.JPG


Remember that this stuff was designed to take a long time to get through. think that the emergency exits would be your best bet.
 

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CWL said:
If there is a real emergency, I doubt that you would have the time to break and then cut a hole big enough to get out, but tools you may consider useful would be a spike tomahawk to shatter the underlying glass and to puncture some holes in the material...
Click to expand...
That's sort of what I was thinking...But if I couldn't break the glass itself, I'd somehow weaken the window frame so that I could shove a table or something else through it.
 
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