Stained Glass: Cabinet Doors 3 and 4

The second set of cabinet doors are complete.

I'll be adding lights and crown moulding after all of the cabinets are complete. There are two more sets to go. Please stay tuned...

How to convert a cabinet door to accept stained glass

Here's a short tutorial on converting a cabinet door to accept  a stained glass panel. First remove all the hardware. The door may have a finish already applied. Just be prepared to do some touch up to the finish. 

The door is ready for marking where the glass panel will go. Center the panel over the back of the door and mark a line around the perimeter. Allow about an 1/8" for caulking/ glue.

It's better to make the cutout slightly larger rather than smaller.

I use a dremel tool with a diamond saw, but a router will work. If you are good with wood, you could use a very sharp chisel. The whole idea is to remove the center panel without causing too much damage.

Here's my cutout after using the dremel tool. Remember this is the back of the door! Any flaws (mistakes) can be filled and painted later. Just make sure the cutout is large enough to fit the glass panel without binding. You want the panel not to touch the sides of the cutout. It's best if the panel is "cushioned" by the caulk. That way if the door is slammed shut the glass won't break. Be sure to use soft close hinges. 

After you complete the cutout around the perimeter, use a sharp chisel to remove the lip holding the center panel. Just a few taps with a hammer on each side will remove the lip.

Here's a picture with the lip removed. Continue to remove the other three sides.

With the lip removed, the center panel is easily removed. Either the panel will fall out or a few light taps with a hammer will remove it.

With the panel removed a little bit of residual would needs to be chisel out so the glass can lay flat.

Just make sure your chisel is sharp and remove the rest of the wood. Don't use too much force or you'll damage the wood frame.

After about 10 minutes of chiseling the job is done.

The wood surface can remain rough as the surface will be primed, painted, and then a thin coat of caulking/ glue will be applied. This provides a cushion for the new glass panel.

The slight gap will be filled with caulking/ glue to provide a cushion for the sides of the glass panel.

Place the panel in the door and make sure everything fits. 

Here's the front of the door. Note how flush the glass panel fits in the opening.

I'll remove the glass panel and prime/ paint the door. The door will then be ready to mount the glass panel. This concludes the short tutorial on converting a cabinet door. Stay tuned for the finished cabinet door installation.

It's been a busy month

Here's one of the finished cabinets. I'll be adding crown molding and lighting as soon as I'm finished with the other cabinets.

Here's the next cabinets for stained glass. I like to call this my baking area.

This is one of the six panels in the mosaic for the kitchen.

This is the second panel and will compliment the first. Stay tuned...

We took an unexpected trip to Kuju in December. If you look closely you will see that Erika and Lucky are the only ones pictured. Kiley, our beloved little girl, passed away on December 21st. We soon took a trip to Kuju in remembrance of our girl. We are still struggling with her death and I know it will take some time to come to terms with it. We dearly miss her and we think of her always.

CRACK!!! Repairing a stained glass panel

The next step (for most) in making a leaded panel for a door or window is cement. This step is optional, but I find it keeps the glass from rattling when the door is open and closed. It's a must if the glass is exposed to the elements. The cement in Japan comes as a black putty. 

This is new to me as I'm used to using a cement that is wet and brushed on. As I understand, the putty is softened by the heat of my hands and applied with a putty knife. The putty is forced under the lip of the lead came. 

The excess is scraped off and the whole glass is then cleaned with whiting (a white powder that easily removes any residue left from the putty and flux (from the solder). Easy enough. 

Well, I made a mistake by applying too much pressure when I forced the putty under the lip of the lead came... CRACK!

Instead of panicking and throwing a temper tantrum, I quickly decided that this would be an ideal opportunity to relearn how to repair a stained glass panel. This mishap gave me a chance to do some copper foiling along with improving my soldering skills. Good thing! The most important benefit was the confidence it gave knowing that if a glass does break...I can fix it. Lets' get started. Get over the shock of breaking a brand new panel. If I had used a lead came with a wider lip then I could bend the lip up and install a new piece of glass, bend the lip back down, cement and clean. This was not possible with the lead came I'm using. Plan B was to remove the broken glass, cut the lip of the lead came, cut a new piece of glass, copper foil the new piece, solder the whole thing together, patina to match the existing came. Piece of cake! Make sure the back side of the panel is facing upward. You want the face side (lead came) to remain untouched. Remove the broken glass by scoring the piece and gently breaking it. 

Be careful not to damage the face side of the lead came. After the glass is removed, clean any residual cement from the lead came channel. 

Using a brand new razor blade, cut the lip of the lead came around the entire perimeter. Lead is poisonous so be sure to wear gloves. It's a good idea to scrape the lead came with the razor to leave a shiny, clean surface for the solder. After the lip is removed, use pattern paper and draw a template for the new glass. The template must fit the "compartment" for the new glass accurately without any gaps. Be patient with this step. Take your time. Remember the glass won't bend like the template.

Use the template to mark and cut the new glass. If everything goes right, the new piece will drop right in. If not, keep grinding. Use a fine grit grinder head because you want a smooth edge for the copper foil. 

Once the piece fits without any gaps, go around the perimeter one more time with the grinder and slightly remove (1.0mm) of material to allow room for the copper foil. 

Copper foil is a copper tape with a sticky back. 

Wrap the tape around the perimeter of the glass. 

I won't go into details here. Just make sure the tape is pressed firmly to the clean glass without any air pockets. Don't worry. If you make a mistake, rip the tape off and do it again. 

Once the tape is applied, place the glass in it's compartment for the last time. Take a peek on the face side and make sure no copper foil is showing. Also check on the back side and make sure the foil is not wider than the lead came. It will look strange if the solder lines are wider than the came. 

Apply flux to the came and foil and have fun soldering. Again no details about soldering...that's another post entirely. 

Clean and patina to match the came. Congratulations! You just repaired your first stained glass panel. 

On to the next panel...I drew this with a slight variation to the leaf placement. 

I'm looking forward to getting started. Once both panels are completed it will be time for installation. Please stay tuned.