How to Attach Wire Hangers to Stained Glass Pieces

Stained glass should be displayed carefully.

Displaying a piece of stained glass can be tricky. Unlike a painting hung on the wall with a sturdy frame, most stained glass artwork is placed in a location such as a sunlit window and isn't framed at all in the usual sense. The idea is to hang the work securely yet unobtrusively, so the mechanical aspect of the display doesn't detract from the beauty of the glass. A method that works well for smaller, open-edged pieces of copper-foil or Tiffany-style stained glass is to use small wire hangers or rings placed at strategic points along the top.

Things You'll Need

• 2 wire ring hangers, 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch diameter, in silver or brass
• 25- to 100-watt soldering iron
• Soldering flux
• Pliers
• Solder
• Chain or clear fishing line

Instructions

1. Examine the piece of stained glass. Look at the top for two solder seams that exit the piece near the left- and right-hand corners either vertically along the top edge or horizontally on either side. Select a seam on each side as an attachment point for the wire rings. Check for even weight distribution of the piece by lifting it at the selected locations using your thumbs and forefingers.

2. Plug in a soldering iron and let it heat. Unwind a few inches of solder from a roll and set the roll on the work surface so the solder is sticking up. Place two 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch wire rings on the work surface. Apply a small amount of soldering flux to each ring. Grasp a ring with pliers. Apply heat to the ring with the soldering iron, then touch the ring to the solder to tin its surface. Set the ring aside and tin the second ring in the same manner.

3. Place the stained glass piece flat on the work surface. Apply a small amount of flux to the two selected seams. Grasp one of the tinned rings with pliers. Touch the tip of the soldering iron to one of the selected locations and apply heat to the seam until the solder just starts to melt. Quickly attach the ring by submerging one edge in the molten solder. Position the ring so that half is soldered to the seam and the other half either hangs over the edge of the glass or tilts up to provide an attachment point. Remove the heat and hold the ring in place for a few seconds. Attach the second ring in the same manner.

4. Attach chain or clear fishing line to the two rings. Hold the stained glass piece up to make sure it will balance properly when hung by the two wire rings.

Tips & Warnings

• Hang small pieces with a single ring.

• Put the rings on before you apply patina so won't have to touch it up.

• If your piece doesn't have any suitable seams at the top, make a frame for the artwork using zinc or lead and solder the rings to that instead.

• Don't try to hang a piece of Tiffany-style stained glass by rings attached only to a copper foil edge; the foil can tear loose, allowing the piece to fall and break.

References

• The Store Finder; How to Do Stained Glass; Randy Wardell; 1996

Resources

• Inland Craft: How to Solder Like a Pro