- Good tools are essential when working on stained-glass projects. You will need safety glasses, a soldering iron, scoring tool, running pliers and a grinder. Always use safety glasses when working with glass to protect your eyes. Purchase a soldering iron that has a built-in temperature control; this will help keep the temperature constant. Use a pistol-grip cutter instead of a pencil-grip cutter. These cutters are self-lubricating, have a comfortable handle and reduce fatigue. Running pliers are needed to break glass easily along a score line. A glass grinder will smooth cut sides of your glass project.
- When working a stained-glass project, you will need glass, solder, flux, flux brush, copper foil and a working surface to lay your pieces on. A piece of plywood will do fine. If you are a beginner, practice cutting out shapes on windowpane glass. This will give you the feel of your cutting tool and how to make good cuts. Once you have cut out a few simple shapes, practice foiling them with the copper foil. Copper foil comes in different sizes; the wider foil is used mainly for thicker glass. To make sure your foil will adhere to your glass, make sure it is clean and completely dry before applying the foil. Also, warm glass is easier to foil than cold. When ready, practice soldering the pieces together. Once you feel you have mastered cutting, foiling and soldering, move on to your chosen project.
- When first starting a stained-glass project, start with a simple design that has few pieces and shapes that are easy to cut. A rectangle is easier to cut than a circle. As you progress, you can advance to designs that are more intricate. There are many patterns that you can purchase or you can design your own. After you have cut out your design, lay your shapes out on your glass and try to use as little glass as possible, as some glass is very expensive. When you're ready to solder pieces together, use push pins to hold your pieces next to each other on your plywood. Make sure all pieces fit together nicely before soldering.
