mainarticles   mainarticles
mainarticles
mainarticles   mainarticles
mainarticles
mainarticles

Home | Home & Family | Babies | Crafts


What You Must Know On Stained Glass Art

By: Penny Maseko
 

Scoring and breaking stained glass is an art that you can achieve but not without some practice. All it takes is a little patience and you will soon be able to cut and break stained glass like a pro! The first thing to do when cutting stained glass is to relax when you are handling stained glass. It will make the work go much more smoothly.

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.

If your score is long, it is better to "rock" your pliers at one end to start a running break; then do the same at the opposite end of the score, then pull the stained glass apart.

Be sure to hold the stained glass cutter straight up and down. If your cutter is leaning to one side, it results in a beveled cut, causing the stained glass pieces to fit poorly. Make sure you glass is clean before you cut it so that nothing interferes with a smooth score. Cut on the smooth side of the stained glass.

Since stained glass making is such a fine art much attention is paid to the type, colors and quality of glass used and/or the quality of the paint used on the glass. The soldering iron, while absolutely crucial to the outcome of the project is often given little or no consideration and attempts to use one borrowed from a friend or found in the tool bin in the garage are often made. The right soldering iron and type of solder can make the difference in the overall quality of the finished stained glass window or other project, however, and should be given more attention.

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.

Stained glass is a beautiful and unique art form that has existed for centuries. Although many different techniques, such as painting on the glass, have been created over the years, the process of making colored glass, true stained glass remains nearly unchanged after all this time. The stained glass making process begins with some basic natural raw materials like sand (silica), soda or potash, lead oxide or lime and one of the various metal oxides to provide the different colors used in stained glass designs. These raw materials, in their proper proportions are then mixed in a large vat and heated to 2500? F turning the mixture into molten glass which can then be processed in a variety of ways depending on the effect desired for a particular piece of stained glass.

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.

Article Source: Main Articles

If you are interested let's access more information and reviews from this Official information guide by visiting the following website:Information Guide Online.

This article may be reproduced wholly or in part without written permission provided the byline, resource area, and any hyperlinks remain in order to give proper credit to the author.

Internet search engines and directory listings are imperative to your sites existence and success. Submit Your Website to the Searchen Networks directory and search engine to achieve authoritive inbound links.

Please Rate this Article

 

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Crafts Articles Via RSS!
mainarticles
Main Articles. All Rights Reserved. © 2005, 2006
Use of our service is protected by our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
mainarticles
 

Powered by Article Dashboard