Windshield Repair Forum

practicing with my bullseye tool, well lead ball and the rubber band. now not sure what happend but when making a practice bullseye it came out the size of 1 inch. ouch! should i try to repair this for practice or is it a waste of time. i know newbie question. thanks jim

For practice fix everything it teaches you what can and can not be repaired so you can recognise it in the field

You may be pulling the ball bearing to far away from the windshield. Pull it away at various heights to see what results you get. Stretch the elastic between two fingers (while resting those fingers on the w/s) than pull up on the ball. Is this what you are doing?

yes dave thats what i did, i think maybe it being close to a curve in the glass may have something to do with it?? and g.s. was correct about trying to fix the large bullseye. it did fill but two small areas did not so i drilled into them and filled them. not a master piece by any measure but learning. and also as you said dave maybe a bit to much force. i had to hit it four times before it broke. sure is hot out there doing my practice in the sun where i will be working anyway. thanks for the input G.S and dave. jim

You can use a large flat screwdriver and smack the corner edge of the blade against the glass to give you some decent breaks to practice on... like stars, stars with air pockets, bullseys with cracks etc. I have not been able to get a perfect simple round bullseye without cracks from using a screw-driver. But hey, bullsey's with no cracks... those are the simple ones to repair anyway.

Try drilling a little spot on the shield before you pop it… You have to be a good shot, hit it right on the money.

If you are handy with a welder you can make an excellent tool for breaking glass. I use an automatic centre punch with a 1/4" ball bearing welded to the end. When used alone it creates a nice combo break. When used in conjunction with a shallow hole(drilled as per instructions above), it will give a great bull's eye. The punch is available at most hardware stores(or KBCTOOLS.COM search page 759, I use Starret model 18b), and has adjustable pressure, and a replaceable tip. If you use the original tip it will give you great stars.

Merci