How To Make Stained Glass Artwork

 

Art can come in many forms, ranging from the sublime to the extravagant, and until the invention of the internet, learning the techniques for stained glass artwork required hours of training to just grasp the concept of cutting the glass. Here are a few pointers to assist you in that first stained glass project.

 

The first thing to address is the safety issue. when working with glass a person needs to be extra careful and use all safety equipment available. A large, well supplied emergency first aid kit is advisable, as is a leather apron, a good pair of gloves, and safety glasses. Click here for a stained glass supplier

The tools of the trade are an important part of this adventure. A good quality glass cutter that has an oil reservoir will be needed, as will a pair of glass pliers. A grinder for the edges is useful, but emery cloth and Carborundum stone will suffice, solder and soldering iron, perma-marker, and ruler. It has been observed that a gold marker shows up best for the scoring process.

 

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Once you have the tools available, the next step is to decide if you want lead or copper foil in between the glass door, if the glass you use is going to be textured, and the pattern you will use. It is recommended that a first time artist use a pattern with as few curves and difficult cuts as possible. Also recommended, is using glass scraps to practice the cuts, to get the feel of the glass cutting procedure. These same scraps can be used in a glass kiln to create glass slumps and designs.

 

As you are beginning to see, there is a lot to learn and know. This is why there is no such thing as "cheap stained glass".

 

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Marketing Your Stained Glass

Lay out the pattern you have selected on a good work surface, then set the glass you are working with on top of the pattern, if you are working with textured glass then the side to be marked is the textured side, and outline the pattern with the gold perma-marker.

 

Now turn the glass over to the smooth side, and using the glass cutter score the glass on one line at a time, always scoring the glass from edge to edge. To do this, use firm pressure on the glass cutter and mark along the line you intend to cut. The cutter will not cut through the glass, but will make a score that will allow breaking along the line. Another important thing is to never score the same line twice, this dulls the glass blade and will not accomplish anything.

Breaking the glass is a delicate matter that takes a lot of practice, but the metal ball on the end of the cutter is tapped along the scoring of a curve until the glass separates, and in the case of a straight line, just place the scored edge along the edge of the work table and press down firmly on the part that hangs over.

After you have cut all the pieces, it is time to smooth the edges, and apply the copper foil or lead came. Smoothing of the edges can be done with a Carborundum stone, and emery cloth. Once the edges are smoothed, apply the copper foil or lead came to the pieces, by pressing the adhesive side to the edges of the glass, and then press the excess around the edges. Make sure the edges are even and the ends overlap.

Once the glass is foiled, heat up the soldering iron, and apply flux all the way around each piece, on the foil or came. It is best when starting to solder your artwork, that all joints be soldered first, to prevent the work from moving. After the joints are done then complete the process by soldering all the edges, front and back.

The final steps are cleaning the art with soap and water, to remove any excess flux and material, then stand back and admire your work!