Stained Glass Starter Kit

Stained glass is glass that is colored by adding metallic salts to it while it is being manufactured. Windows, sun catchers, lamp shades, and so forth are made up of this stained glass; cut into small pieces, arranged to form pictures, attached to each other with metal strips, and held together by a secure frame. You can also stain glass by painting colors onto clear glass and then fusing it to the glass with high heat in a kiln.

Stain glass art is a very rewarding, but somewhat pricey hobby. There are a number of tools needed if you want to have a professional look when you are done. If you are planning on staining your own glass, you will need plate glass, paint which contains metal oxide, and a kiln. You brush on the paint and heat it to bond it to the glass.

You can also use a glass enamel, which contains ground particles, such as lead oxide, calcium carbonate, or silicon oxide, combined with a metal oxide. These particles are now placed, in a pattern or design, on the sheet of glass. When heated in the kiln, the particles melt and bond to the glass.

For a beginner, it is wiser to buy your colored glass and get to work on your project directly. The tools you will need are:

- A pattern- Start with something simple, which doesn't have too many small pieces to it.

- The colored glass sheets you will need to execute the pattern.

- Lead or copper for soldering, copper foil, and flux.

- Glass cutter- This is your most important tool. Each piece must be cut into the shapes required by your design.

- Breaking pliers- Used for snapping the glass after scoring it.

- Pliers- This tool is used both to bend your solder and to lift and move the small pieces of glass.

- Grinder-You can use a variety of sanding tools to smooth edges, or correct shapes that were incorrectly cut.

- Soldering Iron- Used to melt and shape the solder for binding the glass pieces.

- Grozing Iron- This is optional. It uses heat to smooth the edges of the glass.

- Lead and Copper tools- These include vises, metal cutters, and metal knives, used to bend the foil into the correct shapes.

Are you ready to begin?

The first thing you have to do is choose a pattern. You can look online and pick one of the many free patterns. Or you can create your own, with paper and colored markers.

Your pattern must be the same size as your finished project is intended to be, and should be colored the same way you want it to look when you are done.

It is best to begin with straight edged shapes, such as squares, rectangles, and triangles. If you have mastered that, you can move on to circles and other curving shapes.

Next you need to purchase the colored glass you will be using to complete your pattern. You have to cut apart each of your individual pieces from your pattern to use as templates for cutting your glass pieces. A pattern shears is your best tool for that purpose.

Have another copy of the pattern ready to use as a guide when replacing the cut pieces to re-form the pattern. You can hold your paper in place by simply running a glue stick over the underside of the template, and pasting it down on the colored glass.

The third step is to cut the glass. A glass cutter does not actually cut the glass. It scores it, and then you use a breaking pliers to snap the glass off. Holding your glass cutter like a pencil, follow the pattern, not pressing too hard. The flat jaw of the breaking pliers is placed on the top of the glass, along the scored line. Bend the glass with a downward motion and it should easily break along that line.

Now you need to sand or grind the edges of each piece to make them smooth, and then apply the copper foil to them. This material helps the solder adhere to the glass. Rubbing the edges with the side of a pencil after placing the foil, will assure that there are no gaps. Place them carefully back in place on the pattern.

Apply flux to all the edges, covering all of the copper foil. This oily substance is easy to dab on with a brush, but be careful not to get it all over you.

You are now ready to solder the pieces together.

Practicing on some odd pieces before you start the project, is a good idea. The nice thing about solder is that it can be reheated by simply touch the soldering iron to the soldered seams, enabling you to eliminate any blobs, or smooth a rough spot.

Solder a zinc frame onto your stained glass piece for stability. Remove the excess flux on the glass with solvent and a brush, then wash it again with detergent. You must let it dry thoroughly before adding patina and polishing it.

As you get more proficient, you will be able to handle more complicated patterns and more ambitious projects. Don't expect to be perfect the first time you do this. There are many steps involved, and with practice, you will be turning out stained glass art that you will treasure!