Stained Glass Pictorial

This post is really just for me to document my steps for the stained glass process, so feel free to ignore. The older I get, the shorter my memory, so this will help me if it's awhile before I build another piece. However, I already have another piece in mind for the transom over the back door (Kim's idea).

I've been using the little house for my stained glass workshop. It's great being able to spread out and leave things set up.

Kim built me this lead stretcher for my 6' pieces of lead came.

Using a square, I nailed down two pieces of board over the pattern to ensure the piece stays square when putting it together. The glass is all cut and edges ground to fit inside the pattern lines. I always have to remind myself to score the smooth side of glass when cutting, even if I'm using the other side for the front. 

Begin at the square corner and work out from there, cutting lead to the required length. I use scraps of lead and horseshoe nails to hold the glass in place as I put it together. The metal pieces on the left of the wood are used along the other edges to hold the piece together until you start soldering the lead.

These two pieces have been leaded and soldered. I'm not very good at soldering but I'm getting better.

Puttying the glass. This is the most tedious (and my least favorite) step. It's quite messy and I wear out gloves getting the putty in between all the glass and lead. Thin the putty with mineral spirits if it's too stiff. It's much easier to work and dries faster since the mineral spirits evaporate.

All puttied and ready to clean up. Doesn't look too good at this stage.

This is my expensive little tool for cleaning the putty up before using the whiting. It's the flat end of a wooden skewer. It helps push the putty further into the cracks and does a great job of picking up the excess. 

The whiting has been sprinkled over the glass. I use the brush in the background to give it a good scrubbing. This cleans off the rest of the putty and helps it to dry.

Once I've scrubbed off all the remaining putty, I use the pointed end of the wooden skewer and go along all the edges again to clean up the rest. Repeat for the other side. Putty will squeeze through to the other side as you're working so be sure to keep flipping it over to make sure both sides are clean.

One piece puttied and three more to go. Some putty will ooze out as it sits, so I will let the piece sit overnight and then go over both sides again for final clean up. 

All pieces have now been puttied, cleaned and left to sit overnight.

If you think this pattern looks familiar, it's because I copied the design from the old windows we installed at the top of the stairs.

Old windows

...and the new cabinet door glass for the mud room, after final cleaning.

These will sit for several days to completely set up before we install them.