stained glass

Stained glass goes back a long ways. What I want to do at first is let you know what tools you will need. A good glass cutter is essential, a pair of gloves for safety sake, at least in the beginning. I used one of those glass cutters that you can buy in the hardware store, you know the cutter with the ball on top and the teeth on the bottom. Get some cheap window glass or use a piece of a broken window. I don't think I have to tell you to be careful! Take a marker that will write on glass and make a straight line or a simple wavy line on the glass. That's your first pattern. If it is a straight line you can use a straight edge of some kind to hold next to the line. Usually you will start at the bottom of the line so you can see where it is that you are going. Hold the straitedge firmly rest your glass cutter against the ruler and, with a little downward pressure, move the cutter up the ruler. You will hear a kind of hissing sound as you move the cutter.along the line. Stop right at the edge of the line if you can but if you go over it won't be much of a problem unless you're using your mothers dining room table.

You can put on the gloves if you wish, I don't anymore but that's where I got the name, ";Easy Bleeder."; There are two ways to seperate this piece of glass. One is to line up the cut line with the edge of the table so that the cut line is just barely over the edge. One hand holds the glass down on the table the other hand grasps the edge of the glass sticking over the tabale and make a downward snap. You should have two pieces of glass now. The other way is to hold the glass away from your body a little, grasp both sides of the glass one hand on one side and the other hand on the other and make a snaping down mostion and at the same time give it a pulling away motion. There you are, you now have two pieces of glass, one in each hand. Hopefully not in many pieces on the floor.

The curvey line lends itself to the two hand snap down pull apart technique. It's kind of scary at first but with practice it can be done safely and quickly. Keep some band aides mear by.

Usually the first item in the books that talk about beginning stained glass gives you a simple pattern to follow. Make these first attempts out of cheap window glass. You have to learn to make clean cuts following the pattern as closely as possible. The reason that I suggest using window glass first is that stained glass is more costly than a window pane. In fact, the stained glass shop that I buy material from charges so much per ounce for the glass.

Now besides the cutter and gloves, you will eventually need a pair of running pliers, a grinder, and, depending on what you want to do, you will need foil or lead came. Yes, it can get a little expensive but for less than $100 you can be will on your way to make many sun catchers, and then larger window pieces and perhaps you will be doing the stained glass windows in your church. I wouldn't rush that though.

This is a brief intro but one that can give you some satisfaction and the start to a hobby that can last a life time. I'm 79 and still cutting glass and occasionally a finger or two. There are many glass supply companys that have catalogs that you can go through and get lots of ideas. If you have a glass shop nearby that is even better. We'll talk about foil the next time.