Glass Suppliers in Sydney?

[the_goldie]

Can anyone help me out here?
I am in the process of building a cabinet for my collection and I am after some glass shelves. Diameters as follows: 398mm deep x 1048mm long. The recommended thickness is 6mm and I have been quoted $39.60 each. I need 5 shelves which makes it $198.
Now I can't wait for it to be finished but was hoping the glass would not be quite this expensive.
Does anybody know where I could possibly get glass cheaper than this for my cabinet in Sydney?
Also would perspex do the job for the shelves?

Thanks.

[Aussiecollector]

To get the same strength in perspex you would need double the thickness and I believe that would be more that glass in cost.

Glass is not cheap no matter were you go.

Do you need glass, I have recently converted most of my glass shelving to solid colours with vinyl contact. Black makes most of the models really standout, I have also done some with the black suede contact.

Using MDF and contact you will save a fortune for more models or special lighting.

Glenn

[thekid_600]

glass is quite expensive. one way you can go abouts, is to shop around at garage sales for cheap old furniture.
once you have the glass, cutting it is easy.
or try getting, like glenn said, perspex. they're nice and strong, reasonable in price, and if they get damaged, it doesn't hurt your wallet as much!! :)

[perry]

Perspex is useless. It costs more, and is easily scratched. And, like aussiecollector said, it isnt as strong.

Contact the largest glass supplier in your area for the cheapest price, although the prices you've been quoted dont seem unreasonable for the size and thickness.

[thekid_600]

? I seem to have no problem with perspex..... Half my additional "levels" are perspex.
but then again, they all support 1:43 cars, not 1:18.

[chups]

for the size you want, you could goto garage sales like thekid_600 said, pick up an old 60s style cabinet. or you can look for an untinted glass top table at a swapmeet for $60 to $110 as it has thick tempered glass on it, and you should get all 5 shelves out of the table. another alternative is using mirrors, cheap old bathroom mirrors, if you goto a demolition site of like a house or or office they usually let you take whatever hasnt already been stripped, theres always some good finds in there.

theres plenty of places to get cheap or free things if you know where to look
-Chups-

[the_goldie]

Thanks for the replies... I will try a few other glass places and see what sort of price I can get. If you guys think that is quite reasonable then cool. Just wasn't sure how much to pay - although it did sound expensive to me.
I thought about perspex but because it can scratch easy I decided against it.

Glenn - do you have any pics with the MDF and black? I would be interested to see what it looks like. The other alternative is to just continue with the wood look and use wood shelving (pine).

Might hunt around a few garage sales and see what I can find.

Thanks again.

Cameron

[mustang1966]

goldie, where in sydney are you. I cant make any promises but I maybe able to help you out. I have a friend who makes cabinets and also gets glass done. Let me know and I will give him a call and find out for you ok.

[the_goldie]

mustang1966 - thanks. I am in the Penrith area. I have found another supplier that was $50 cheaper. From what you guys have said I am gathering I won't find it much cheaper than this.

I might be ordering the glass today after lunch sometime. So I will check back to see if you have any news....

Thanks for your help.

[mustang1966]

Goldie cool , I am from the Penrith area as well. I have a friend who has made a few cabinets and also is in the know with glass and getting it cut. Good luck