Stained Glass Procedures and Facts

The Glass Menagerie's stained glass creations start with a large sheet of glass and a pattern. Our pattern is traced onto a piece of glass. Once traced the glass is now ready to be cut. A glass cutter is used to score the glass and a pliers is used to extend the score and break the glass along the scored line. When cut, the glass edge is rough and needs to be sanded. This is done with a diamond headed grinder.

Once the edge is smooth, there are two ways to solder the glass together. One way is with lead came. A length of came is cut that has a groove for the glass to fit in. Solder is then applied at the joints. The way we do our work is using copper foil instead . The foil is applied to the edge of the glass and solder is applied along the edges of the foil. If a clock or mirror is in the works, the glass may be placed in an oak wood frame. If a picture frame is being made a backing is made for the glass. In the case of a panel, the glass is finished with wire for hanging.

glass cutter	pliers	copper foil	lead came	soldering gun	grinder

Interesting facts about glass

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• It is not known exactly when or how glass was discovered, but if glazed tile is a precursor to glass, we can trace it back to prehistoric Egypt
• Glass and glaze have almost identical chemical content
• The ancient Egyptians understood the processes of glass cutting, engraving, and grinding
• The ancient Greeks weren't at all interested in glass and didn't even have a word for glass
• Archeologically, beads are the most frequently found of all glass objects
• Metal was, and still is, used extensively as a glass coloring agent
• Glass is not considered a true solid, it is a vitreous substance, when cooled it does not crystallize