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It's Just All on Stained Glass Art

If you want the proper cutter for stained glass, it is best to go to a stained glass supplier. Cutters in hardware stores are generally made specifically for cutting clear glass.

Stained glass cutters come with different handles which make the choice one of preference and fit. Once you have chosen your favorite cutters, it is best not to let other people use your cutter. They will put pressure on it differently than you do which changes the balance of the cutter.

Special "running" pliers are made for breaking straight lines. Some glass pliers have smooth gripping surfaces. Others have teeth for scraping off rough edges or shards of stained glass. Gripping one side of the glass firmly with your thumb along one side of the score gives the glass some stability. The breakers are used on the opposite side, pointing toward the score. You use a quick pulling away and down motion.

Stand up when scoring stained glass so that you can apply even pressure using the weight of your arm and leave your wrist free to follow curves. A metal ruler can be used to assist in cutting straight lines.

Using a soldering iron with too high a wattage can also present a problem. Soldering irons over 200 watts will heat the solder too quickly, causing drips and possibly burning or melting the metal cames and irrevocably damaging the stained glass project. Turning the iron off periodically may help this problem, but all too often one forgets to turn it back on and is left with a cold iron or the same problems as using the too low wattage iron with slow, sticky solder.

If the solder is too sticky you should wait for the iron to heat up a little more, if it is too runny your iron is too hot. You want to be careful to ensure a smooth finished look, but do not worry about the heat of the iron cracking the glass since stained glass is kiln fired at temperatures about 1000? F, there is little chance of that! Soldering your stained glass project well will give it a more professional look and ensure that it will last for many generations to come.

One process that is used for making Cathedral glass is done by rolling the molten glass into flat sheets. Then there are the "Norman slabs" which are created by blowing the molten glass into a rectangular box shaped mold. The sides are then sliced apart and formed into slabs which are slightly thinner at the edges and thicker in the center. Larger manufacturers use much the same techniques, but the mixing and shaping processes are done with large machines instead of by hand.

The beautiful pieces of stained glass are turned into beautiful stained glass windows and other beautiful artwork in a variety of ways. The oldest way is by (in simple terms) cutting out a design and then assembling the pieces together using "lead cames" which are basically made from strips of grooved lead which is then soldered to the glass. Different metal bars and loops are soldered to the lead in order to allow the stained glass window to be installed in a church, home or other building. This is the whole beauty of stained glass.

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