How to create stained glass art.

1. Stained Glass from start to finish
By
Jay Reavis, owner/artist
Stained Glass Basement

2. The first step to creating stained glass is to find an object and then
create a pattern. For this demonstration I have selected the first letter
of my last name.

3. Once I have the decided on the pattern, I create another copy with tracing
paper. This is used to create a duplicate on paper I will use to cut apart and
place on the glass to be cut.

4. Here I place the tracing paper on the glass to verify there is enough glass to
cut out. As you can see, I have another pattern on the paper and some of the
pieces cut out and glued to the glass.

5. Here is where you number the pieces of the pattern and select the direction
of the grain. (Yes it makes a difference!)

6. In this slide you can see the pieces are cut and I used rubber cement to glue
them to the glass. As on the previous slide, I place the pieces according to the
grain of the glass to match the arrows.

8. “Desktop” view of works in progress.
(Pictured are: clockwise, blue painter tape, flux brush, various pieces of lead came
for other project, pattern pieces on glass, more flux and last solder.)

9. The next series of slides I will demonstrate how to cut curves. On inside
curves, you will make several smaller cuts to slowly ease into the curve. The
black lines are drawn for reference and I will cut and break each piece.

12. Now each piece has been cut and the edges have been ground smooth to
prevent sharp edges. I’ll post another set of power points later on the actual
cutting and grinding.

13. With all pieces ground, the next step is to apply the foil. Stained glass
foil comes in various widths and backing. The different backings are
copper (standard), silver (for clear glass), and black (why not?). As the
foil is applied you will burnish it (smoothing and adding adherence to
the foil back.

14. Next, the edges are ‘tinned’, meaning a very light coating of solder.

16. Next, line the pieces according to the pattern and tack the seams only.

17. After the pieces are tacked and you are satisfied with the alignment, a light
bead of solder is applied to the seam.

18. With the ‘positive’ space created, now it’s time for the ‘negative’ space. Using
the pattern, lines need to be drawn to extend out to the edges so it can be
soldered to the framework. (again another pattern of my favorite state!)

19. I place the clear glass on top of the first part to trace around for my cut lines.

21. Again, the glass is cut and the edges ground smooth, foil is edged and burnished. I
then place the pieces to match. The pieces are tinned as before, tacked in place then a
thin bead is set on the seams. Once all this is complete and you are satisfied, you can
finish solder the seams.

22. As a last step, you may add any kind of frame you wish. This may be anything
from wood to lead came to anything you want. For this project I used a zinc H-
channel came. This allows the piece to be re-enforced and add some color.

23. Now you have seen the basics of creating a stained glass piece of art that you
will treasure for years to come. Thanks for watching and stay tuned for
additional presentations.
Jay Reavis
Stained Glass Basement.