Stained Glass Preview

Here's the new stained glass workshop. It's a well lit area in the far corner of the garage. 

This bench will be used to cut glass and assemble everything together.

This bench is dedicated to grinding and "sawing" glass.

Here's some glass sheets that were purchased many years ago at Aanruku Stained Glass in California.

One of the cabinets contain a came bender, copper foil tape, solder, flux, polish, patina, whiting, and putty. I've collected a bunch of spare grinder heads, safety glasses, brushes, etc..

I recently received a large order of glass from Studio Yamano in Osaka. Many of these pieces will be used for the kitchen cabinets (Please stay tuned for that).

Here's some more glass I've collected over the years. 

As I mentioned earlier, the area is well lit. Last year I added a pair of florescent lights just in case I work into the wee hours of the morning ;O)

Some of the tools I use for creating stained glass include a soldering iron, solder, sal ammoniac (cleans the tip of the iron), and a small jar of kerosene. The kerosene works well as an oil for the glass cutter. Just dip the cutter into the jar. A sponge applies just enough liquid to coat the cutter. Reapply as needed.

Pictured here from left to right: Metal ruler with cork backing, glass cutters (straight and pistol grip), groziers and pliers for breaking the score line, fid for opening the lead came, lead came cutter, lead tacks and horseshoe nails for keeping the glass in place, and safety glasses. A piece of "H" lead came is pictured near the bottom of the photo. The two nishikigoi were made...a long time ago. I hope to be including them in a a very large project I'm designing for the entry area wall. Estimated completion date...2029? 

This is a glass grinder. The grinder heads are diamond coated and cooled with water. To the left of the grinder is a a small elevated work surface for grinding small parts. To the right is a tool for holding very small parts for grinding. A magnifying shield sits above the grinder and a plastic container keeps the water from splashing all over the place.

This is a wire saw for cutting very difficult curves in glass. The saw blades are coated with diamond dust and cooled with water. I only use this tool as a last resort. 

Here are some earlier projects Erika and I made in California and Washington.

This panel is rather large 130cm x 98cm. I mounted this glass in the dining room window in California. The buyers of our home insisted that we leave the stained glass or they would not purchase the home. Well, it was too big to move anyway. I miss that window very much. I checked Google Maps and the stained glass can still be seen from the street. 

Here's another glass that we had to leave in California. This panel measures 90cm x 90cm. Erika did most of the intricate glass work in the tail of the peacock. This panel was mounted above the entry door. We chose a peacock because we could often hear peacock's off to the distance in Green Valley. This panel and the other panel were done in copper foil with steel reinforcement bars hidden throughout the panels.

The kitchen cabinets were done in lead. I used diamond shaped bevels in the center of the panels. I also added glass shelves to the cabinets as well as lighting to highlight the glass. I'm really happy at how it turned out. This is in our home in Seattle. The home was sold in 2015. 

I'll be doing the kitchen cabinets doors in Tsukahara. I have planned a pair of iris beveled glass doors, and a mosaic of glass door panels with bell flower bevels. The mosaic will consist of six doors. Cabinet lighting will also be installed to highlight the glass panels. I'll try to explain the different steps to doing a stained glass cabinet door in future posts. If you have any questions just post them in the comment section and I'll do my best to answer them.

I found this photo of a panel that I was constructing for our home in Seattle. Soon after it was completed we moved to Japan. We made two identical panels for a skylight in our master bathroom. They were never installed so we shipped them to Japan. One of them made it and the other was severely damaged. I mounted the surviving panel in the guest bathroom.

The panel is 50cm x 50cm. I'm looking forward to getting started in glass again. It's been 10 years and I promised myself in an earlier blog that once the remodel neared completion I would start my hobbies again. I think it's time to begin. I have many ideas ready to be put to glass (and wood) and I hope you'll find it entertaining as well as informative. Please stay tuned.