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- 1). Decide on your design. For your first project, do a simple design using only a few large pieces of glass. As you become more familiar with the craft, you can integrate more intricate details into your designs.
- 2). Trace the shapes of glass you need for your design on a thin sheet of tracing paper and lay over your piece of glass.
- 3). Score your glass using an oil carbide glass cutter. These cutters are available in most craft stores in varying sizes and strengths. Simply follow the shape you traced from edge to edge, being careful not to apply too much or too little pressure.
- 4). Pull your glass apart along your score lines. Rescore any edges that will not pull apart easily. Wear gloves and eyewear in this stage to protect against glass that may pop out of place.
- 5). Grind down the edges of your pieces of glass using a 1/4-inch to 3/4-inch grinder head, depending on the details of your design. Hold your glass piece against the grinder head and slowly let the grinder smooth out the edges to create a cleaner line.
- 6). Foil the edges of your pieces of glass. This is what gives your stained glass a cutout and classic look. Use as thin a foil as you are comfortable with, since thicker foils can be difficult to work with. Simply wrap the self-adhesive foils along the sides of the glass and fold over the edges.
- 7). Arrange your design in place, face down on your workspace. Use an ordinary paintbrush to apply thin amounts of flux to the foil edges that you plan to solder. Avoid using excess flux--the less, the better because you can always add more if necessary.
- 8). Drop beads of melted solder along the corners of your foil lines. Then continue by soldering your glass together in smooth, even lines with a 100 W soldering iron. A 60/40 solid core solder is customary for stained glass projects, but there are also lead-free solder options available that are more people-, animal- and environment-friendly.
- 9). Use your soldering iron to create any hooks or hinges that you need, depending on how you plan to use your stained glass art.
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