DIY Network

Stained Glass Window A student learns the basic skills of stained glass. From "Trade School" episode DTRS-206

Figure A

In this episode of Trade School, we watch as Carie Igel (figure A), who has been working in the front office of a stained glass company for a year, heads back to the workshop and gets a hands-on initiation into the world of making stained glass windows.

She has no experience with stained glass until Ron Rayer, an accomplished glass artisan and teacher, starts her on a small window that provides all the basic skills she needs for future pieces.

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Basic Tools:

safety glasses
paper pattern for window
glass
glass cutter
grozing pliers
glass grinder
lead
lead nippers
glazing hammer
horseshoe nails
flux
soldering iron
solder

Safety Alert: When working with glass be sure to wear protective eye gear!

Carie starts by laying her simple pattern on a flat, well-lit work surface and numbering each piece with a marker. She then lays a piece of glass over the pattern. For this pattern, she will use a variety of textures of clear glass; the artisans at Scottish Stained Glass prefer to make their designs with clear glass because it runs less risk of ever appearing dated or out-of-style than designs with a lot of color.

The first real challenge lies in cutting the glass. Carie pushes a glass cutter along the inside line oheach piece in the pattern--pushing away from her body (figure B). A glasscutter doesn't actually cut glass but instead scores the glass. When done correctly, the glass will break along the line Carie scored.

There are several techniques she must keep in mind as she scores. First, it's important to keep the glasscutter perpendicular to the glass, and to not let it slip out in front of her hand, or tilt side to side (figure C). She must apply even pressure to the glass all the way through the score. The amount of pressure needed depends somewhat on the texture and density of the glass she works with.

Figure B

Figure C

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