Stained glass windows

paul269 · Post by **paul269** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:37 pm

I started two projects and decided to merge the two. I have 5 weeks of vacation in the next 7 weeks. So between hunting I thought I could also find time for a couple of projects.

For the first project, work purchased Nikon D90s to replace the D70. FYI, if you own a D70 expect the shutter to fail with 50K-65K exposures. Since the D70’s were 5 years old and in the range it was time for a replacement. So with a new camera, I needed to use it to try out the new features.

The second project is to build two stained glass windows to cover the skylights in the family room. I inquired at a local art shop and was quoted $600.00 per window or $1200 for the project. I have never done any stained glass work so I looked on the internet and found several sites with instructions. One of the best is here. http://www.freepatternsforstainedglass.com/index.html

AND YES, the SS will be used in the process.

I live about 1 hour from Kokomo, Indiana, the home of the oldest opalescent glass manufacture in the US. You can see their products here: http://www.theopshop.com. So I drove to Kokomo and purchased the supplies I needed. Michaels carries opalescent glass but it was about 5x more expensive than Kokomo’s price.

Also my neighbor recently installed new windows. I could not see the old glass going to waste so I am using the clear glass from these windows.

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The supplies I purchased:

Glass cutter
Colored glass (Clear glass was free)
Copper foil
40 watt soldering iron
Flux
50/50 solid solder
Zinc edging
Zink rebar

About $175 worth of supplies

I have attached a before photo of the sky lights

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The goal for the windows is to add some color AND still let the light into the room. Since this was my first stained glass window I selected a simple geometric design of mostly squares and rectangles. This means my cuts will all be straight. I made a pattern an taped it to the work bench. I cut two boards for a 90 degree angle as a frame.

FIRST MISTAKE I made was purchasing the $20 glass cutter. The replacement heads are $15.00 each. It does not cut any better than the RED $3 cutter. I purchased from Menards.
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When you cut glass little slivers are created that you can see in the above photo. I keep the shop vac close to clean these up after each cut.

The framing square helps to keep the cuts straight. Some hot melt glue on the back of the square keeps it from sliding on the glass.

I mark the glass with a sharpie and I can remove the ink later with denatured alcohol.

Because of the way glass breaks concordial fractures can cause irregularities. The quickest way to remove this is at the strip sander. Yes, I am sanding glass with 100 grit. This will take the sharp edge off.
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OK, Have to go, but I plan on adding more later.

beeg · Post by **beeg** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:59 pm

Hey that looks like a GREAT FUN project to do. Good luck with it.

horologist · Post by **horologist** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:25 pm

Paul,

Nice project, keep us posted. Interesting use for the strip sander and one I didn't expect. Is the glass dust a problem? Getting glass to fit clock doors and bezels can be a problem.

Troy

dwevans · Post by **dwevans** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 2:49 pm

Actually the expensive cutter does cut much better, The trick is to use kerosine to lubricate the cutter. I've been doing stained glass for over 30 years, and that is the cutter I use. The oil lubricates and clears the glass chips, no need to vacuum up the glass chips as they are contained in the oil, just wipe them up with a paper towel. If you have any m,ore questions, please PM me and I will be happy to help.

fjimp · Post by **fjimp** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 7:07 pm

dwevans wrote:Actually the expensive cutter does cut much better, The trick is to use kerosine to lubricate the cutter. I've been doing stained glass for over 30 years, and that is the cutter I use. The oil lubricates and clears the glass chips, no need to vacuum up the glass chips as they are contained in the oil, just wipe them up with a paper towel. If you have any m,ore questions, please PM me and I will be happy to help.

Oh please don't do the Glass Cutting Questions/Answers via PM. I know I desire to learn more about glass cutting and suspect others do as well.

Jim

dwevans · Post by **dwevans** » Fri Nov 13, 2009 10:29 pm

OK, what do you want to know about glass cutting/stained glass?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 2:06 am

paul269 wrote:I started two projects and decided to merge the two. I have 5 weeks of vacation in the next 7 weeks. So between hunting I thought I could also find time for a couple of projects.

For the first project, work purchased Nikon D90s to replace the D70. FYI, if you own a D70 expect the shutter to fail with 50K-65K exposures. Since the D70’s were 5 years old and in the range it was time for a replacement. So with a new camera, I needed to use it to try out the new features.

The second project is to build two stained glass windows to cover the skylights in the family room. I inquired at a local art shop and was quoted $600.00 per window or $1200 for the project. I have never done any stained glass work so I looked on the internet and found several sites with instructions. One of the best is here. http://www.freepatternsforstainedglass.com/index.html

AND YES, the SS will be used in the process.

I live about 1 hour from Kokomo, Indiana, the home of the oldest opalescent glass manufacture in the US. You can see their products here: http://www.theopshop.com. So I drove to Kokomo and purchased the supplies I needed. Michaels carries opalescent glass but it was about 5x more expensive than Kokomo’s price.

Also my neighbor recently installed new windows. I could not see the old glass going to waste so I am using the clear glass from these windows.

[ATTACH]6537[/ATTACH]

The supplies I purchased:

Glass cutter
Colored glass (Clear glass was free)
Copper foil
40 watt soldering iron
Flux
50/50 solid solder
Zinc edging
Zink rebar

About $175 worth of supplies

I have attached a before photo of the sky lights

[ATTACH]6536[/ATTACH]

The goal for the windows is to add some color AND still let the light into the room. Since this was my first stained glass window I selected a simple geometric design of mostly squares and rectangles. This means my cuts will all be straight. I made a pattern an taped it to the work bench. I cut two boards for a 90 degree angle as a frame.

FIRST MISTAKE I made was purchasing the $20 glass cutter. The replacement heads are $15.00 each. It does not cut any better than the RED $3 cutter. I purchased from Menards.
[ATTACH]6538[/ATTACH]

When you cut glass little slivers are created that you can see in the above photo. I keep the shop vac close to clean these up after each cut.

The framing square helps to keep the cuts straight. Some hot melt glue on the back of the square keeps it from sliding on the glass.

I mark the glass with a sharpie and I can remove the ink later with denatured alcohol.

Because of the way glass breaks concordial fractures can cause irregularities. The quickest way to remove this is at the strip sander. Yes, I am sanding glass with 100 grit. This will take the sharp edge off.
[ATTACH]6539[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH]6540[/ATTACH]

OK, Have to go, but I plan on adding more later.

I would put a cushion(piece of wood or cardboard) between the glass and the strip sander table. Glass responds well to careful abrasion.

mickyd · Post by **mickyd** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:25 am

paul269 wrote:I started two projects and decided to merge the two........

FIRST MISTAKE I made was purchasing the $20 glass cutter. The replacement heads are $15.00 each. It does not cut any better than the RED $3 cutter. I purchased from Menards.
.........

Hopefully you'll see the saving in longevity. (glass half full thinking,,,):D I had a cheapy that worked great for only several cuts.

paul269 · Post by **paul269** » Sun Nov 15, 2009 9:20 pm

Went hunting but didn’t shoot anything.

Regarding the oil in the glass cutter, I saw a demonstration where a person was dipping the cutter into a small jar of oil. I cut the bottom of a soda can and placed two gun patches in the concave recess. Then I added a generous amount gun oil. I used both cutters and when scoring the glass it would leave a small amount of oil on the glass which is no big deal. But I still could not tell a difference between the two cutters.

I tried to fill the reservoir but found the cutter leaked too much.

What am I missing?

If you think the more expensive cutter will last longer, I can buy five cheap ones for the price of one replacement head.

paul269 · Post by **paul269** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:52 am

There is too much rain here to go hunting so I have been working on the window.

Horologist, I have not noticed an issue with dust from sanding the edges of the glass. I learned most people will use a grinding bit to smooth the edges. I am not sure how much dust that would produce. Perhaps dwevans could help out with this topic.

I was working with the macro setting of the Nikon D90 with the standard 3.5 18-105 lens. I am not too impressed with the macro abilities of this lens.

I removed the glass frame from the wood. Sandwiched between the glass panels is an aluminum track that the panels are glued to. I used a utility knife to cut thought the seal around the edge. I then had to scrape the excess from the glass panel with a razor. The exterior part of the glass had residual paint, and caulk left by previous owner. The All traces were cleaned with a shop rag and denatured alcohol. The aluminum track was discarded.

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