stained glass help please!

[ellie]

My other half has decided he'd like to give stained glass a go, and has been reading and reading, and researching, and reading... so now i need to get a few bits and bobs for him to play around with, i've made my list, but can anyone recommed a supplier thats ok? I've been looking on "creative glass guild" which do some great things... has anyone else used them before!? HEELP PLEASE!!

thanks! x

[swirlyarts]

I think Beadsbydesign did a design for a stained glass window - not sure if she was involved in the making of it though. You could wait and see if she replies. Other than that I'm afraid I can help you but some of the glass workers may be able to help.

[dhumphreysd]

Hi There

Stained glass is my bag and I have a couple of suggestions to keep the costs down.

There are two methods for working with glass

First there's foil which you wrap around the glass then solder everything together. You see this technique in tiffany lamps, mirrors, sun catchers etc and I suggest starting with this

Then there's lead came which you see in windows and is a bit more exprensive to start off

Which one is of interest to you?

To keep the costs down and see if you might like it I suggest getting a panel of clear glass to start with (picture glass or greenhouse glass is nice and cheap) A common glass cutting tool is inexpensive - the tips cost the money really but keep it oiled up and it shouldlast a while. Tape solder and flux I'll be able to give you a couple of samples. The only other thing is something to rough up the edges of the glass with and a little diamond file from B&Q should do the trick. Anything else you should be able to find around the house.

Just let me know if you need any advice

Good Luck

Dave

[Seahorse]

I got all my goodies form Creative glass guild, they are fab!!

dhumprheysd helped me out alot when I was starting out, he's the man to listen too.

[ellie]

Thankyou all for your help!

dhumphreysd, many thanks! It is the foil that paul has been wanting to try.. sorry if this is a really stupid question, but what kind of cutting tool do you think would be best for him to play around with? (he's never shown an intrest in anything remotely arty before, so want to encourage him as much as posibble... ooops i've now made him sound like a child... heehee!)
Is there any place in particular you'd recommend for buying bits and bobs from? many thanks, hope it's ok me asking so many questions, there are so many things on the internet i've been reading, each saying you need different things!

[ellie]

sea horse... i looked on their website and was completely distracted by all the pretty glass! I'm going to get nothing done if hubby ever ordered anything like that from them... its shiny and pretty i'll want to just keep it as it is!

[dhumphreysd]

Hi Ellie

I haven't used may internet suppliers as I have a guy local to me. It may be worth visiting a stained glass supplier in your area. I found a couple in Plymouth using yell.com.

They should be able to supply most things but the bits I would recommend you need to get started are ....

Glass cutter - keep it cheap and nasty until you are sure ou want to get in to this.
Copper Tape - Comes in a range of widths so stay wide for the early days
Carborundrum Stone - this roughs the edges of the glass and helps the tape stick. A small diamond file from B&Q should do. If you like it then the biggest investment you will make will be a glass grinder at about £130
Small Pliers - The squarish ones rather than the pointy ones. These help to break the glass away from small areas when it hasn't broken cleanly.
Fid - this smooths the tape on to the glass but the handle of an old toothbrush should be OK to start (top Tip Seahorse !!!)
Soldering Iron - this has to be quite hefty (70Kw or more). The small ones that are used in electronics just won't do the job
Flux - cleans the tape just before you apply the solder
Solder - does what it says on the tin! I'll send you a sample if you have to buy in bulk

That should be enough to get you started.

Let me know if you need any more advice

best of luck

[artistsresource]

Lead and Light in Camden, London are fantastic. Really friendly and helpful and fast delivery service if you dont live nearby.

www.leadandlight.co.uk/

I have a great free stained glass picture frame VIDEO project on my website if you want to have a look.....and I've also got a 'how to make a glass box' project in the PROJECTS section. Enjoy!

www.artistsresource.co.uk

Leona.

[ellie]

dhumphreysd thankyou so much for your help! I have half my bits, just waiting for my solder iron, solder, flux, glass cutter and other bits to arrive (quite lucky really, i would in the accounts dept of a mechanicial factory so was able to order alot of bits from our suppliers!) Will let you all know how it goes!

Leona thanks for that, i'll check those out!

[Enchanted Ceramics]

Hi There

Stained glass is my bag and I have a couple of suggestions to keep the costs down.

There are two methods for working with glass

First there's foil which you wrap around the glass then solder everything together. You see this technique in tiffany lamps, mirrors, sun catchers etc and I suggest starting with this

Then there's lead came which you see in windows and is a bit more exprensive to start off

Which one is of interest to you?

To keep the costs down and see if you might like it I suggest getting a panel of clear glass to start with (picture glass or greenhouse glass is nice and cheap) A common glass cutting tool is inexpensive - the tips cost the money really but keep it oiled up and it shouldlast a while. Tape solder and flux I'll be able to give you a couple of samples. The only other thing is something to rough up the edges of the glass with and a little diamond file from B&Q should do the trick. Anything else you should be able to find around the house.

Just let me know if you need any advice

Good Luck

Dave

Hey, I wonder if you can help. I have done a little bit of foil glass in the past, but when I have gone bavk to it I cant get the solder to stick on all the way around. It is patchy. What do you think I am doing wrong.
Julia

[dhumphreysd]

Hi Julia

The copper tape needs to be clean to get the solder to stick to it properly. To do this you need to 'paint' a flux onto it. It's a similar thing to what plumbers use when soldering copper pipes together but much much weaker.

It will be available from an stained glass supplier and needs to be painted onto the foil just before you solder. Also if you are going over old solder then it is probably best to flux again.

You can paint it on with a cheap kiddies paint brush but wash your hands and the brush out when you've finished working. Don't eat anything using your hands while you're working either as the flux is a mild acid and won't do you alot of good if it gets inside you !!

The only other thing I can think of is if the iron is a low wattage (you need around 65 / 70W for this work minimum) or if you are drawing the iron over the copper a little too quickly. The copper must reach the same temperature as the melting point of the solder for it to transfer properly. Check the wattage of the iron, the cleanliness of the tip (flux will help to clean this up also) and try drawing the iron a bit slower across the foil if you find the flux thing does not work.

Hope this helps

[cornbank]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and this is my first post.

I read through the responses to your question and saw that no one had suggested Tempsford Stained Glass. You should be able to google them, they are a great supplier and have an online shop or will send you a catalogue.

Hope this helps.:)

[biffvernon]

And Tempsford sell tallow candles - good if you are concerned about the slight hazard of using the other fluxes. Just rub the tallow onto the copper before soldering. Costs £1.20 and lasts for ages, tallow is edible but not for vegetarians.

[dddeeebbbzzz]

Hi!
I did a stained glass class at night school for a year and the one thing I learned was that I was rubbish at cutting glass and always needed more glass than I thought! I got used to adapting my designs when I'd broken a vital piece of the design! I loved the soldering bit - it was very therapeutic! A great sense of achievement when the bead was perfectly smooth. I got my glass supplies at Juno Glass in Earlsfield, South London.

[maggie b]

My other half has decided he'd like to give stained glass a go, and has been reading and reading, and researching, and reading... so now i need to get a few bits and bobs for him to play around with, i've made my list, but can anyone recommed a supplier thats ok? I've been looking on "creative glass guild" which do some great things... has anyone else used them before!? HEELP PLEASE!!

thanks! x


Hello.
I have found that tempsford stained glass supplies in Beds, are really good. They are very easy to find on the net, and they deal with your orders very quickly. Hope everything goes well.
Maggie

[heatntreat]

I got my beginners kit from Tempsford Glass - it had everything in it I needed to get started -its also delivered straight to your door. I am unable to give you the website as I have not posted 25 messages. I am sure if you google tempsford stained glass you will find their website.

Good luck.