The Process
Initial Considerations
Before any pieces of glass can be cut an attractive, workable design must be produced and then the glass colours and styles need to be chosen.
Not only should the design and colour choice be pleasing to the eye but also suited to the final location of the window or panel where external conditions and natural light will be a consideration. Any personal preferences the customer may have with regard to glass colours, styles and overall finished effect also need to be taken into account.
Construction
There are 2 completely different methods by which a stained glass panel can be made, traditional came work or by copper foiling. Both methods provide a strong, durable finished piece but some locations, designs and sizes lend themselves better to one method more than the other.
Glass
There is a huge range of very beautiful glass to choose from be it hand or machine made, clear or opaque, rippled or flat and streaked or plain to name but a few. As no two pieces are the same choosing the glass to produce just the desired effect is very important and means that each finished piece is totally unique.
Cutting
Once all the glass has been chosen and the design finalised the cutting can begin by placing the chosen piece of glass over the corresponding section of design. Using a glass cutter a score line is made on the surface of the glass following the outline on the design template. The glass is then removed and tapped from underneath along the score line until the glass breaks. Using a diamond grinder the edges of each piece of glass are smoothed so that they all fit together neatly.
Once all the pieces of glass are cut and ground it’s at this point that the two construction processes take different courses:
