Stained Glass: fun to work with...and a profitable home craft

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BASIC TOOLS

Colored glass is scored with a Fletcher No. 6 or 7 glass cutter, your basic working tool ... which costs only about $1.10!

Besides the cutter, you'll need an inexpensive soldering iron and one or two pairs of pliers. A 40- to 80-watt iron works best. If you happen to have one with a higher wattage, however, you can use it if you either unplug the utensil when it gets too hot, or put a rheostat in the line to control its temperature. As a last resort, you could even get by with a woodburning iron, but this requires a finer solder than is normally used.

SOLDER AND FLUX

When you go out to buy solder, pick up the 60/40 type ... which means 60% tin and 40% lead. This combination of metals melts quickly, yet produces a strong bond. (50/50 will be your second choice when the first is unavailable.) A one-pound spool will get you started, and should cost around $5.00.

While you're at the hardware store, purchase a four-ounce bottle of liquid flux (about $1.50), too. It is absolutely essential that you brush this fluid onto the lead that you'll be mounting your pieces of glass in just before you solder each joint (otherwise the solder won't adhere properly). There are several kinds of flux, but you should buy either oleic acid or zinc and ammonium chloride.

LEAD

The only other supply you'll need is lead came, which comes in various sizes and shapes and which is used to surround the edges of each piece of glass-with the lead joints soldered together-as the assembly grows.

Since your beginning stained glass pieces will probably be rather small, the first came you buy should be no larger than 1/8" . . . preferably 3/32" (which is easier to handle and looks especially good on the smaller items).

Wherever you buy your supplies of glass, ask for a six-foot length (about $1.00) each of 1/8- or 3/16-inch "H"- and 1/8- or 3/16-inch "U"-shape channeled lead came and the dealer will know exactly what you mean. The "H"-shaped strip is used as a common border whenever two pieces of glass are butted together, and the "U" channel will be run around the outer edges of the whole project (Fig. 1).

HOW TO CUT GLASS

There was a short but very complete article on cutting glass in MOTHER NO. 38 (see pages 9495). Get the issue and look it up. In the meantime, here are some additional tips.

Before you begin, lay a piece of heavy cloth (I use a hunk of old velvet) on your worktable to cushion the glass and catch any splinters that might scatter. Then hold the cutter between your first and second fingers with your thumb positioned along its back (Fig. 2).

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