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Create a Stained Glass Studio in Your Basement

April 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Stained-glass-studio-kit

You might think that it would be difficult to set up a stained glass studio at home, but for most hobbyists, and even serious artists, you can set up a stained glass studio in your basement or garage fairly easily.

Many of the materials that you need to create small to medium sized stained glass pieces can be bought second hand or built yourself, and then all you need is the actual stained glass, soldering equipment, and cutters and a grinder.

Setting up your home stained glass workshop and studio:

There are really only a few key features that you need to work with stained glass at home.

  • A good solid table, wood is best, that you don’t mind messing up.  Most people like to buy wood from the hardware store or lumberyard and built it themselves.  It needs to be flat, and sturdy enough to take some pressure during cutting.
  • A light table, or this can be built into your regular table.  This means a section of the table needs to have a plexiglass top with a fluorescent light underneath to shine through the glass.
  • Room to work away from young children and animals for safety sake.

The rest of the items are tools that you can buy in a beginning stained glass kit like the one shown above or separately as needed.  This particular kit is sold by Delphi Glass, and is quite reasonable in price.  Sometimes it will go on sale.  The kit includes stained glass essentials:

  • 8 piece Wissmach English Muffle glass pack about 8″ x 10″ ea.
  • Wiz CG glass grinder
  • 100-watt Inland soldering iron with built-in temperature control
  • Supercutter dry wheel glass cutter
  • Delphi Stained Glass Made Easy DVD
  • Breaker/grozer pliers
  • Running pliers
  • 60/40 Solder
  • Copper foil
  • Flux pen
  • Marking pen
  • Safety glasses

With everything in this kit, you are ready to make stained glass pieces for your own home or for gifts, and the dvd included will get you started.  If you do buy products from Delphi, you will also have access to their expertise.  Delphi has a lot of stained glass experts on staff that can answer your questions on the phone or via email as you go along.

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Murano Italy: Home of Glass

March 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Murano glass blowers at the glory hole

For many people, Venice is Italy due to its ancient palaces, gondolas gliding through canals, churches still working after more than a half century since they were built.  However, if Venice is Italy, then Murano is glass.

There is something incongruous about this mix of romantic Gothic architecture interspersed with a touch of industry, regardless how old. But then, that fascinating mix is the story of Murano glass.

The glass industry has not changed much since its beginning.  Glass is made by heating piles of fine sand into its molten form, glass.  Depending on the chemical composition of the glass, it can be made into a wide spectrum of unbelievable colors.

In the studio, glassmakers still use ancient techniques alongside new technology to make glass.  Intense heat allows glassmakers to shape globs of fiery, molten, glass into objects of unique artistic beauty.  Using blow pipes, hands, and their strength, they shape the molten glass in the glory hole, heating it over and over, until their work is done. Murano glass blowers at the glory hole

Making glass is an art that requires very special training, determination, and perseverance.  Murano glassmakers have been passing this passion for more than eight hundred years, from one family member to another.  In past times, it was forbidden for glass craftsman to leave Murano, in order to preserve the secret of Murano glass. The secrets made Murano, Italy glasswork famous, only affordable to the wealthy.  Many objects of breathtaking beauty came from the glassmakers’ furnaces in Murano that now decorate museums and palaces.

Today, Murano glass is accessible to the rest of the world. Small pieces of glass art, or glass jewelry, find their way from Murano, Italy furnaces to shops and galleries, and to the hearts of those who appreciate the beauty of glass.

Image credit: Glen MacLarty

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Bring Focus to Your Stained Glass with Patina

March 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Stained Glass Lamp Shade Needing Repair

Patinas are used to color or darken solder lines on stained glass. The most common patina colors are black and copper. Using patinas brings the focus to the glass and the design of your stained glass piece and away from the solder.

Before you apply any patina, be sure all flux residue is removed. This can be done using a commercial flux remover or washing the stained glass piece with dish soap and baking soda.

Steps for Applying a Patina

• Use a brush, rag or cotton ball to dab patina onto the zinc frame. Do not use a brushing action, as this can leave streaking or patchy coverage.

• Next, apply patina to solder lines. Be sure all edges of solder lines have been covered.

• Then, turn project over and repeat the process on the second side.

• Lastly, thoroughly rinse the patina off the stained glass piece. After it is completely dry, no less than a minimum of 24hours, finishing compound can be applied.

 

Tips and techniques for Applying a Patina

• Safety – Always wear rubber gloves when applying a patina to protect your hands from the chemicals.

• If the patina appears spotty, use super fine steel wool to clean the area, and then reapply the patina.

• To avoid oxidation, clean and apply patina immediately after project is soldered.

While patinas will mask some inconsistencies in solder lines, others will still be noticeable and take away from the professional look of your Stained glass piece. With patience, practice and the correct tools and supplies, you can have professional solder lines.

Most patinas come in an 8 oz bottle. Avoid contaminating the liquid in the bottle by never dipping your applicator back into the bottle. Pour out a lid full of patina, and use this as your dipping tray.

You may experience different end results with the use of different brands of patinas. One common brand is Novacan. It is available in different formulas for different metals.  As you experiment with different brands, you will notice that the varying brands will give you different results, and some will be more to your favor than others.

Most patinas can be removed by using steel wool, if you feel that you do not like the look, or the result of applying the patina.  With experience and time, using patinas will become a natural part of making stained glass, and will enhance the look of every piece that you make.

Image credit: kww048

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