"Bulletproof Glass" (Is it ?) Find out here

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Turn Key

Member
Joined
Dec 21, 2009
Messages
72
I found the following posted in Cope's home group, he's a very wonderful gunsmith and well known for his work on the Glock pistol.

Please share with anyone that may use this "Bulletproof" glass. I know his demo is with the 3/4" product and stronger is made but pricey.

~ (Cope's post)
Did you ever wonder just how bulletproof “bulletproof glass” is...
________________________________________
So did we.
Check out this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh2EzOl10us
__________________
Colts and Kimbers are what you show your friends.
GLOCKS are what you show your enemies.

The GLOCKsmith
Cope Reynolds
Suarez International Staff Instructor
 
There's a ceramic product that the military is testing that's supposed to stop a .50 cal bullet.
 
What is not shown in the video is how much velocity is lost even in rounds that go through.
Turning devastating rounds without the barrier into relatively mediocre rounds if they hit someone on the other side.

Another major benefit provided by the barrier is someone can duck behind more solid cover while retrieving their own firearm and the bad guy can have a very difficult time getting a firing angle. They cannot jump over the counter, or reach over like they can without the glass, and fired down at an angle to the flat surface of the material it provides even more protection from bullets.



So certainly don't expect to stand there and be impervious to rounds, but the benefits it provides are still significant in high risk businesses.


There's a ceramic product that the military is testing that's supposed to stop a .50 cal bullet.
Click to expand...
That is completely transparent and related to the OP, or just in general?
If it is not transparent and suitable as a barrier someone can conduct business through it is totally unrelated. We are not talking about opaque SAAPI plates you wear in body armor.
There is much cheaper building material that will stop most rounds, but it is too heavy to wear, and is not transparent giving a clean crisp view of what is beyond and suitable for cash related business transactions with the public.
On a person and in vehicles pounds matter. When building a ground floor barrier in a building an extra couple hundred pounds is nothing in a structure and matters much less. You don't have to buy expensive materials to stop rounds if weight is not a concern.
 
Last edited:
plexiglass and lexan are bulletproof, depending on the thickness, and caliber fired at it.

lexan is stronger.

both are fairly cheap.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. "Plexiglas" is a Arkema brand name and "Lexan" is a Dupont brand-name. Plexiglas is acrylic plastic and not "bulletproof" as it cracks easily. Lexan is polycarbonate plastic and much tougher, and costs almost double (apx $390 for a 4'x8' sheet in 1/2").

I've shot 1/2" polycarbonate with a .45 ACP and it left a 1/4" deep dimple and a 3-4" diameter haze mark surrounding. I suspect a 30-06 would go through with no problem.

Les
 
Last edited:
There is no such thing as 'bullet-proof.' All that a bullet-resistant product does is buy you some time to get off the x.

attachment.php


As you can see in this image, an insurgent tried, and didn't suceed, to kill the driver and disable this Bearcat in an ambush (Aug 2006, Basrah, Iraq.) Had he gotten his entire magazine off, he may have had rounds start to penetrate the windshield. As it was, the driver simply floored it. Insurgent was taken care of. :)
 

Attachments

  • bearcat.jpg
    bearcat.jpg
    39.1 KB · Views: 318
^^^
Yep. 1-1/4" thick and it still failed. That's why acrylic isn't used as so-called "bulletproof glass". Too brittle.

Les
 
I did work for a company that sold to banks. The owner told me everything they sold was "Bullet Resistant" not bullet proof. Liability as much as bullets come in all shapes and sizes. That was in the 80's.

I did shoot some bullet resistant glass, but only with a pellet gun in the back yard of a guy that worked for a glass company. It was in the 70's. I don't know where the glass or that guy ended up but our pellet guns had no effect.

Lexan and plexiglass are 2 different products. Plexiglass can either be cast or extruded which makes a difference in certain applications.
 
What is up with the shooter's left hand in the pic above? Looks like the guy is missing the original equipment. Maybe he was on the dumb end in the past.
 
Plexiglass can either be cast or extruded which makes a difference in certain applications.
Click to expand...

Not to be a harpie here, but yes, Acrylic sheet does come in cast or extruded, and it does make a difference in certain applications: extruded is very consistent in thickness, if a half-milimeter or so makes a difference to the buyer, cast is inherently less consistent for thickness, but it machines a lot better, for folks that want that. I don't think it makes a bit of difference when it comes to impact resistance, which is relatively poor compared to polycarbonate.

FWIW,
Les
 
wrs840,
Sounds like you've work with the suff. I once had a customer bring some acryilc sheet that they had custom cast. The edges were not trimmed and were uneven. Kind of like a pancake edge. I think the cast is a little less brittle - but I could be off on that. I wouldn't think it would make much difference either way on bullet resistance.

RE you sig: Do you work in soy beans?
 
lexan bends pleix shatters noting is bulletproof there are allways bigger bullets and bullet resistance is measured in how many shots of size x will be stopped before terminal failure. heck you could stop a howitzer with pudding if you had enough.
 
WNTFW: Yes, I live on a farm and grow feed-crops ( I have two neighbor-partners in this), in addition to my day job manufacturing CNC machining centers, which is how I know about plastics, both in manufacturing some of our own parts, and by what some of our customers do with our machines.

Les
 
I'm not aware of any product that carries a bullet resistant rating (Class 1, 2, 3, etc.) that is only 3/4" thick. I used to run armored limos, and the glass was much thicker than 3/4". I would imagine that bullet resistant glass will perform as advertised.
 
The bullet resistant glass used in armored passenger vehicles is similar to that used in drive-up windows at banks. Usually two or more inches thick and a lamination of glass and polycarbonate(glass on the outside is easier to clean and a low-e coating can keep the poly from degrading as quickly as it normally would).

Drive-up windows at banks are generally three inches thick and the same type of lamination, usually 3/8" thick layers.

Be glad you don't have to replace that stuff. Four hefty guys to lift one piece about five feet by three feet.
 
I always thought some pieced of Moulded 3/4 inch Lexan would make a possibly not too bad poor-man's 'Bullet Proof Vest'...especially with some padding underneath.

Interesting pre-Weaver kinda Stance there in the image...wonder if it was his first and last time firing a 1911?
 
Plexiglas is acrylic plastic and not "bulletproof" as it cracks easily.
Click to expand...


most gas stations/liqueur shops in my area with bullet proof measures use plexiglass.

it bends readily, very difficult to crack.

i used it in one of my businesses, as it's much cheaper than lexan, and at the proper thickness (2inches or more) is quite good protection.
 
At the range, we shot a peice of bullet-resistant glass we got from a bank we did a rehab job at. It was about 2" thick, 2'X3'. At 50 meters, a 22LR bounced right off it, almost without a mark. A 357 Maximum, however, with a 215 grn SWC bullet, went right through, and still had enough "oompf" to do damage to whatever was on the other side.
 
Nothing is bulletproof. Hell, a tank isn't bullet proof if the right bullet is used. But things are bullet resistant. That resistance is based on the caliber, weight and velocity of the projectile being resisted, much like bullet resistant vests. Class II, IIa, III, etc. The materials are Polycarbonate (Trade names, RISTAR, LEXAN, CALIBRE, MAKROLON, Sinvet, Iupilon, Panlite, etc.)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

D
  • Locked
Inventor finding new ways to protect from bullets and RPGs
Replies
7
Views
814
DragonRider
D
Z
  • Locked
Got shot at...
2
Replies
29
Views
3K
Zach S
Z
D
  • Locked
No FN five seven's for Boston
2
Replies
43
Views
4K
Tory
T
J
  • Locked
Hip Hop Drug cop busted in Queens
Replies
11
Views
867
pax
P
Flechette
  • Locked
So you find yourself in a 10 x10 cage with an armed maniac and no way out...
2 3 4
Replies
83
Views
6K
old lady new shooter
O
Back
Top