How to Use Bottle Bottoms in Stained Glass
The bottoms of glass bottles present interesting textures and colors to use as rondels in stained glass panels. Use them as accents in the panel, as the main part of an abstract design or as a piece in a wind chime or sun catcher. They are usually thicker than regular stained glass, so they may require some shaping with a grinder so they can be fitted into the copper foil or lead came.
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Things You'll Need
- Pattern
- Glass grinder
- Lead came or copper foil
- Wood burnisher
- Solder
- Flux
- Soldering iron
- Glass cleaner
Instructions
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1
Shape the edge of the bottle bottom with the glass grinder to fit the pattern and remove sharp edges. Thin it down if necessary to more closely fit the width of the copper foil or lead came.
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2
Wrap the bottle bottom with copper foil. If necessary, the copper foil can be wrapped around the piece more than once to cover the whole edge of the bottle and wrap up around the edges a bit for soldering. If you're using lead came, bend the edges up with the wood burnisher to accommodate the thickness of the bottle bottom. Do not bend them up so much that they will not hold the bottom in place.
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3
Place the bottle bottom into the stained glass panel where it fits in the pattern. Make sure the correct side of the bottle bottom is on the side of the glass panel that will be facing the viewer.
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4
Brush flux on the copper foil or the lead came joints, and solder the bottle bottom in place once all the glass has been cut and fit together.
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Tips & Warnings
Use safety glasses when working with glass, and do not eat, drink or touch your mouth when working with lead. Make sure there is adequate ventilation when soldering.
References
- Photo Credit bottle image by Yuriy Chertok from Fotolia.com
