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One of the great things about stained glass crafting is just about anyone can do it. It only takes a few tools, a few hours of instruction and a little practice. Before you know it you will be producing your first stained glass piece. Unlike many other crafts, the excitement doesn’t stop after a couple of introductory projects. As your craftsmanship and skill level increases, the possibilities and challenges continue to grow with you. Some crafters choose to specialize in windows, lampshades or gift items like boxes, planters, mirrors, suncatchers etc. Other crafters strive to become a “jack-of-all-trades” and take on all types of projects.

Main Glass Type Categories

Cathedral Glass: This glass is transparent or semi-transparent, and available in single or multi color mixtures. A combination of two or more colors is called a streaky cathedral. Often this glass is given a surface texture, which can range from rain drops to fern patterns or it can have small bubbles or large swirls within the glass.

Opalescent Glass: This glass is easily identified by a milky or opal-like appearance. It is available in a wide range of styles, from a solid single color to as many as 5 or 6 colors swirled and streaked throughout the sheet. When an opal color is mixed with a transparent cathedral color on the rolling table, the resulting glass is called wispy or streaky opal.

Full or Sheet Antique: Produced in the time honored mouth blown method, this glass features brilliant, transparent colors with a distinctive fire-polished finish. Typically irregular sheet thickness result in dark and light areas within a single sheet creating opportunities for shading and other subtle design possibilities.

Tools and Materials for This Trade

Tools	Materials
Glass cutter Glass pliers Soldering iron Glass grinder Workboard Lathekin or Fid Glass pattern shears Glass marking pens Push pins/Layout kit Drawing equipment Straight edge/Glass square Safety glasses or goggles Bench brush or Whisk broom	Copper foil tape Solder Flux & Applicator brush Antique patina Pattern paper, Pattern card, Carbon paper Standard clear glass - for practice - 3 square feet (.3m2) Stained glass - for your project, refer to the project pattern specifications. Glass cleaner & Soft rags

Glass Safety Handling

Almost every craft or activity has its share of possible hazards and The Craft of Stained Glass is no different. However with a little common sense and organization these hazards can be minimized.

• Always carry glass in a vertical position.
• Never pick it up or move it in a horizontal (flat) position. The correct way to pick up and carry a glass sheet is to grasp it with both hands by the top edge or, for a larger (heavier) sheet, pick it up with one hand on the top edge and the other hand supporting the weight on the bottom edge.
• Never run your hand along a glass edge. Always release your grip to move your hand to a new position.
• Just prior to moving a glass sheet, check it for cracks. First, check visually, then lift it slightly and tap the sheet with a finger tip and listen for a crisp ring. If you hear a
  dull clank, it has a crack. Do not attempt to move a cracked sheet.
• To place a sheet safely on your work bench, carry it with one hand on the top edge and the other hand on the bottom edge and place the center of the sheet against the bench edge. Then roll or hinge the glass onto the table top, and slide it on fully.

Scoring the Glass

For practice in scoring and breaking, use standard clear glass as mentioned earlier. Try shorter length scores at first, as they are generally easier to break out. Continue practicing until you get the feel for scoring and breaking.

Hold the cutter in your favored (tool) hand and place the cutter wheel on the glass about 1/8″ (3mm) in from the edge closest to you. Now, place the thumb of your other (guide) hand behind the cutter head to prevent it from rolling back off the glass edge. Apply a firm, constant pressure straight down onto the cutter with your tool hand and push it away from you, all the way across the surface of the glass, with your guide hand.

Breaking out the Score

After having made your first score, it is time to run the score. The break starts at one end and should run (follow) along the score line to the other side.

Breaking with Hands only: Form both hands into fists and place the glass between your thumbs and index fingers with the score line between your thumbs. Your fingers should be clenched underneath the glass with knuckles touching. Hold the glass firmly at the end of the score. Apply a quick even “snap” pressure by pulling outward, and roll your knuckles by spreading your thumbs apart.

With Breaker-grozer Pliers: Form one hand into a fist, placing the glass between your thumb and index finger and close to the score line. Position the flat jaw of the breaker-grozer pliers on the top side of the glass with the jaw 90° to the score and as close to the end of the score as possible. Hold the glass firmly in your hand and apply a quick, even pressure by first pulling outward, then snap down with the pliers.

Your First Project - The Copper Foil Method

Pattern Making: After you are confident with your glass scoring and breaking skills, choose a novice skill level pattern for your first project. You will find thousands of stained glass designs available in books and internet as full-size patterns, complete and ready to use. However, you still need to create the actual glass cutting templates and the assembly drawing. This is done quite simply by tracing two copies of the original design. Use carbon paper to trace one on standard paper and one on heavier pattern card. After tracing, number each piece to keep track of your pattern pieces. The final step is to cut the pattern card into the actual templates for glass cutting. Do this using the special glass pattern shears to make an allowance between each pattern piece for the foil and solder.

Trace and Cut the Glass: Trace one of your pattern templates onto the selected glass with a marker, remembering to transfer the code number. Cut that glass piece out by scoring on the inside of the traced line, not down the middle. Periodically check the accuracy of your scoring by placing the pattern template back on top of the cut-out glass piece. Continue scoring and breaking until all pieces in your project are cut out.

Assembly Jig: If your project is square shaped build an assembly jig around the outside line of your working drawing; if your project is free-form use push pins. Arrange all your glass pieces on the drawing inside the jig. Some pieces will require grinding to make them fit properly.

Fitting and Shaping: Starting with a corner glass piece, compare its shape carefully with the lines on the working drawing. Mark all areas that are over the line with your marker, then take that piece to the grinder and selectively remove the extra glass. Place the piece back into the jig, position an adjacent piece, mark the areas which are oversize, grind and replace it. Position the next adjacent piece, mark, grind and so on until all pieces fit as accurately as possible.

Foil Wrapping: Before starting the foil wrapping process, each piece of glass (and your hands) must be clean. Pull a length of foil tape from the roll and peel back 2″ (5cm) of the protective paper backing. Press the sticky end of the foil firmly onto the glass edge, leaving exactly the same amount of overhang on either side. Peel slightly more backing, move further along the piece and press the foil to the edge, peel more backing and press firmly as you continue around the glass perimeter. When you get back to the starting point, cut or tear the foil, leaving enough length to overlap the two ends at least 1/4″ (6mm). Crimp (fold) the foil down over the glass edges with your thumb and index finger by pinching and pressing toward the center. Wrap and crimp all glass pieces in the project.

Finally, burnish the foil tightly against the glass on both front and back sides using the rounded edge of your lathekin (fid) to ensure that the foil does not pull away from the glass. When all pieces have been foiled and burnished smooth, place them back into the assembly jig where they should be snug but not bulging. Do a final quality check and make any last minute adjustments.

Soldering: All foiled joints must be completely soldered (not just at the corners) to create the metal web which will hold the project together. Soldering begins by brushing flux on the foil seams. Now, with the hot soldering iron in one hand and solder in the other, place the iron tip directly on a foil seam and touch the solder to the top surface of the iron tip. The solder will immediately melt and coat the foil under the iron tip. Move the iron slowly along the seam, continuously adding more solder, filling gaps and covering the foil as you go. The idea is to build up solder on the seams until it forms a rounded bead. When you have finished one side, remove the assembly jig, turn the project over and completely solder the back side. All exposed foil must be coated with solder, including the outer edge.

Hanging loops: If you plan to hang your project in a window you should solder wire hanging loops (16-18 gauge un-insulated copper wire) to the top edge. Be sure to attach them at a solder seam only, a foil-only edge will not be strong enough to hold the weight over a long period of time.

Cleaning & Antique Patina: Thoroughly clean your project with glass cleaner & a soft rag. If you plan to “antique” the solder seams, apply the patina solution with a cotton rag immediately after cleaning. Patina is a corrosive chemical, so please use caution, “think about safety”, wear rubber gloves and carefully follow the safety instructions on the patina container.

How to Make Stained Glass

Step 1: Pick a pattern, glass, & tools.

Step 2: Number the pattern and cut it apart.

Step 3: Trace the pattern onto the glass.

Step 4: Score the glass.

Step 5: Break out the pieces.

Step 6: Grind the pieces to fit.

Step 7: Foil all the pieces.

Step 8: Solder the pieces together.

Step 9: Clean & finish the piece.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

source: Wardell Publications Inc. was founded in 1983 by Randy Wardell, who has been involved in the stained glass industry for more than 22 years. Wardell Publications strives to provide the stained glass community with the highest quality books. For more detailed articles, visit www.wardellpublications.com.

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