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Cadence · 14-09-2017, 10:45

I'm no expert. Polycarbonate is bullet proof but scratches easily. Tempered glass will spider web with the slighted lateral pressure and turn into chips. If you can get it with safety glass, eg: car windshield with the membrane inside, I would opt. for it

carlo de leo · 14-09-2017, 12:42

Lots of good stuff! Thanks
Some general comments on all of information:
I'm not planning make a flat glass, but curved in one single axis (horizontal).
I'll need to beef up the top wood sustaining the inside as Unciv said but I'll add a reinforcement Just below the actual ones.
The reason i'm doing is because the leaking (thermal expansion).
I've consulted a glass expert in a shop and the full tempered glass is 5 times stronger than the car type windshield laminate glass, the late one is safer in case of breakage, but brakes easily.
As I said before, this expert said factory does any Constant curve in one single axis. I just have to be sure my curve is a constant one.

UNCIVILIZED · 14-09-2017, 13:38

If you're going to be rebuilding the support structure, which probably is the smart thing to do, then it's worth getting together with an NA & having him evaluate what's there & then come up with a plan for the rebuild. That way you'll know for certain that the structure is more than strong enough.

The other thing is that there are more types of glass than there are flavors of ice cream, so it's worth doing a good bit of research on the topic. I say this not just for the OP, but for anyone else considering new glazings. And the resources I mentioned earlier are a good place to start. As one article on glass for maritime applications in Professional Boatbuilder was about 15 pages long, & FULL of good info. It was early in the 2000's IIRC. Plus they always have great bibliographies for most of their articles, with POC's for the article's references, ditto on anyone that supplied materials for the articles. And their authors are top notch.

As to Acrylic, or Polycarbonate for that matter, there's a huge variety of grades & types of them too. Of wildly different; optical qualities, impact ratings, & scratch resistance. Ditto on their coatings. So if you buy the right grade, preferably with quality coatings, the optical qualities will be top notch, and will remain so for many, many years.

For example, over the years most of my prescription glasses have had lenses made of various types of plastics, paired with quality coatings. And there was no real discernable optical differences between them & glass lenses. This along with the fact that they were shatter proof, & actually more scratch resistant than glass.

Bottom line, the end result & the quality there of is determined by buying the correct grade of material, & treating it properly when machining & forming it. Along with giving it the proper care throughout it's life. As all of the materials mentioned have pro's & con's. And properly sealed, most all of them will remain leak proof for years.