Stained Glass

Good morning Blades. A couple of folks had asked me to show a step-by-step on making stained glass pieces so I will do a brief post(s) and if anyone is actually even interested then I will answer questions best I can.

I started doing stained glass quite a long time ago as a hobby. My best friend was building himself and family a beautiful Mini-Victorian home on some property his grandmother had left him in a little village and of course it needed some stained glass windows so we decided to take some classes. It’s actually quite easy - but it IS tedious and definitely time consuming.

We live in an antique farmhouse that I’ve been renovating for 17 years now snd I’ve no doubt that I’ll still be working on it as long as I’m alive. Anyone that has an old home knows what I’m talking about.

Anyhow lets get to it.

I’m starting out with two windows which sit above two large casement (crank out) windows. The first thing I did was to cut a piece of cardboard that would fit into the opening and then I sat there and designed the window using a ruler and some assorted sized bowls out of the cupboard.



once you have your design, each piece must be numbered and then cut out so that you can take the pieces and, using a black permanent market, trace/transfer each piece onto the glass you decide to use. There is a massive array of different types (and prices) of glass that can be bought in sheets at your neighborhood stained glass supply. They usually are purchased in 12”x12” pieces but it can be different.

Think about this as if you were building yourself a puzzle - you draw it out and then cut the individual pieces out. Dont forget to number them and take a picture of the numbered cardboard so that you know where each piece goes!

i’m going to do this in several/multiple posts.

j

 

Once you’ve transferred (traced) the cardboard onto the glass you need to cut it! Cutting glass is very easy - but please use safety glasses.

You use a glass cutter which has a little carbide wheel, pressing down steadily. This scores the glass.



Once the glass is scored you need to break it. A special type of plier is used that puts pressure on the scored glass and it cracks it - right on the score that you made with the glass cutter.




See how these pliers put pressure on the center?

Again - safety glasses. No one needs little shards of glass in their eyes.

Once you’ve got the pieces cut, they’ll still have rough, sharp edges. You’ll need one of these handy little glass grinders to smooth the edges.



This one was around $150. The glass cutter was less than $20 and the breaking pliers around the same.

J

 

Laying out the pieces on your work surface -



after you start laying out your project, tye individual pieces of glass need to have their edges wrapped in copper foil. Again, purchase this at your stained glass supply house.



Edges wrapped in copper foil. You need to make sure its centered well and then it MUST be rubbed in very well. They sell a tool to rub it in but I just used a smalllpiece of wood.



The edges of each piece of glass is wrapped in the copper foil so that when they are butted up against each other you now have something to solder!
J

 

Pieces wrapped in copper foil and butted up against each other. I use pins to keep it from moving until its soldered.



Soldered pieces - and the little digital soldering station I use ($50. On Amazon)



I’m not a fan of the bright silver look of the solder so for $6.00 I buy a little bottle of patina which changes the color of the solder instantly thru a chemical reaction.



Way better, IMO.

j

 

Progression...



J

 

The completed panel.

I believe this took me about roughly 50 hours.



Now I’ve got to get on the second panel!

thanks,

j

 

I want to say you could get set up with the tools needed for between $200. to $300. - but theres no reason they shouldn't last a very long time. Might even be able to find some on craigslist or some thing.

Its not just window panels that can be made - glass lampshades are fun, jewelry boxes etc.

Maybe I’ll whip up a box later. Those are quick and easy.

I’ve got some great “clear” glass that has tree leaves stamped into it that I want to do something with - would make an excellent box!

Copper wire can be soldered onto the glass edges to make hinges and clasps.

You can also find all kinds of neat patterns online for free!

j

 

So this project here used foil. For a bigger project or one that might get jostled more, or some lamps I would go with the lead came.

For anyone that might not know, “Lead” (and zinc) “Came” refers to a manufactured strip of lead or zinc shaped like an “H” which two pieces of glass can slide into or a “C” which would wrap around the outside of a project.

This is a different method vs using the copper foil.



J

 

Nice!

I know theres some that still do it, it seems theres less and less as time goes on - its becoming more of a lost art which is too bad because it can be beautiful in the right place.

Love to see any of your work if you’ve got any pics.

j

 

Hello @Digga

Naw - thats a whole different ballgame. Some of the glass slab pieces I buy, though, do have the melted edges still left on them.

A good pal of mine is a glass blower. He has all the equipment but not for making slab type of glass. He has the high end torches and oven/kiln.
He made us the knobs for our kitchen cupboards and drawers. We love them.

 

Yesterday’s work - window panel No. 2.

I had to use a slightly more “seeded” variety of clear glass (what I had) so it may look slightly different than the first panel but should be fine being the same pattern and blue color.



The thinner piece on the right side is the “clear waterglass” that I used on the first panel and the wider piece on the left is the “heavy seeded” glass I’m using now on the second.

 

I also just ordered a Diegel Stained Glass “Foiler” oh which I’m hoping will cut my foiling time in half. It helps to center and apply the copper foil to the glass edges while peeling the backer paper at the same time.

$75.00

 

Worked all weekend on the second duplicate panel - damn I’m so glad its done.

of course it looks like the one I already posted lol - but its supposed to.



Hope y’all had a nice weekend. I’m gonna go make a couple greasy cheeseburgers.

j