How To Arrange Glass Pieces for Stained Glass Art

Cutting stained glass for a picture or abstract design is a tricky and tedious process, but can be very rewarding once the project is completed. As with any project you undertake it is best to have all of your equipment and tools in front of you and in top working order. The proper supplies and tools needed for this project include: your stained glass pattern, (drawn on the glass and ready to be cut), one or two glass cutters, a soldering iron, some lead solder, copper adhesive stripping, a grinder, a pair of broad or flat-nosed pliers, eye glasses or a pair of safety goggles, and a bottle of solder stain, (optional). Before you begin cutting the glass, please be sure that all tools are cleaned and all equipment is in proper working order. Make certain that all of your glass cutting blades are sharpened and that there is plenty of water in the holding tray of your grinder. Also, you will need to make sure the soldering iron is plugged in and turned on and that it is free of debris and any loose paper to avoid a fire hazard.

Once the design or pattern has been transferred to the color of glass of your choice use a glass cutter to score along the drawn lines of the pattern, (depending on what type of glass you are using it might take more force to score the surface of some glass panels than others). You will want to apply a bit of pressure while scoring the glass, but do so without putting so much pressure on the surface that the glass cracks or breaks. This is not always an easy task and might require a bit of practice on a scrap piece of stained glass before you can work a design in. Remember also, that after each score in the stained glass you must take your flat-nosed pliers and remove the extra glass from around the edge of the actual shape each time before making another score. This will reduce any undesired and excess stress on the glass itself, so no additional breaks or cracks occur. The process of scoring and breaking the extra stained glass away with pliers will continue until all pieces of the stained glass design are freed from the main sheet of glass.

After all of the pieces for the design have been cut from the main panel the next step is to smooth the edges of each piece with the grinder. Before you grind the individual pieces of stained glass make sure that you are wearing the proper protective eyewear to avoid being hit in the eyes with bits of glass. Then, place the edges of each piece of glass against the grinding wheel to smooth them out, moving each piece of glass slowly and steadily around in a clockwise motion to ensure the best results. Next, wipe all of the pieces of stained glass off with a clean rag to remove the excess debris from the grinder. Apply the copper foil to each piece, using either your finger to smooth it out or a foil press, (which is a pen-like instrument with a flat head). Once all of the design pieces have been properly foiled it is time to put them together to form the design and begin soldering.

Make sure that you apply an even amount of solder between each separate piece, covering all traces of the copper foil. The soldering process must be done on both sides of the design but please allow the first side of the stained glass project to cool before soldering the opposite side. The soldering iron must also be used to connect the outside border of the entire design. When that is done you will have a finished stained glass work. If it is a frameable design you might also want to add a solder trim to the outside edges of your design.