I made that piece for my friend who is doing amazing things with the pipe fitters and women in the trades! She is a true inspiration.
I only really use YouTube to watch the ISS feed haha other than that I don’t know much about it! I’ll film some more as I work and they could end up as a short, thanks for the tip!
The steady hand has come with time, I believe… they don’t always feel too steady when I’m working hahaha
Bingo! I always had the conception that molten glass was involved… not the case lol.
T-shirts and podcasts are fun as well! I always need something to listen to while I’m working if you’re interested in sharing at all :)
There are glass paints that cure in a kiln, I haven’t got that resource yet… I used glass paint that just dried normally on one piece and it still looks good over a year later. More recently, I used my UV curing lamp and gel nail polish to finish some lettering on a piece… so far so good! Make use of what’s on hand hahaha literally
This is another piece, but you can see pretty clearly here. The brush is applying flux, that helps the solder adhere only to the copper foil. Without flux, nothing happens!
Yeah I did not get to add the soldering part to the video… with a soldering iron, I use 60/40 (lead/tin) solder and go over the front, back, sides, then the back again and finish the front as smooth as possible.
On this piece you can see the solder work is black, that’s a patina that’s applied after roughing it up with some steel wool. There’s black and copper patina, or you can leave it silver.
After cleaning it all up, I finish with a microfibre cloth and some car wax to protect the piece and keep the dust off. I’ll see if I have any soldering clips I can upload.
It’s fun! With all art, sometimes projects get bumped for a commission or because I working on something new is more exciting haha… I am down to one glass project on the go right now… I can’t wait to share it!!
Hey thanks! And we totally do need a community here… I was hoping I’d find a fellow glasser by sharing this :) More of us will migrate over this way, hopefully someone more capable than myself can create a community for us, haha!!
It’s fast and tiny and you can’t see too much of the cutting… but it’s my first time attempting to share the process. Enjoy!
You’re welcome! It’s definitely stressful and the reason it took me so long to quit smoking… but totally worth it when the sun shines through that glass.
Essentially, yes. I can say that for curves I’ll do more tapping and hoping than smacking lol but there are different pliers (grozer and running pliers) that help the job along. For deep curves, I’ll score a bunch of lines in the space that I’ll be removing, tap, and use the grozer pliers to work away the bits… I actually made a video of the process with this piece, if I ever post it, I’ll tag you!
Thank you!
Yes, cut and grind it smooth. Then copper foil tape around the edges and solder… voila!
Thank you so much!
I was hoping there would be a r/stopdrinking adjacent here… damn! I’ve been off Reddit for a week and definitely miss the love and support that the sub shows for each other.
Thanks so much!
Glass is fun! If there is a studio near you, I recommend a class to see if you like it.
My husband surprised me with a starter setup, we are fortunate enough to have a garage to work in. Cutting glass means flying fragments and soldering creates toxic fumes, requiring a well-ventilated area. I think he spent around $300 total. There are examples of kits on here. I have not had to upgrade any of my supplies.
Good luck if you get into it, it’s tedious work but super rewarding.
Edit to add: I don’t shop from the linked site, I am in Canada and unsure of where to source my supplies now, as most stained glass is cast in the US, and I am shopping Canadian. I know Oceanside is from Mexico… If anyone has suggestions, I’m open.