Dear Stained Glass fan,

The stained glass business has been very good to me. It provided the satisfaction of making things I'm proud of and selling enough of them to comfortably support my family. It allowed me to live wherever I wanted, and to work only when I wanted.

Over the years, many people have helped me build my little business. I now want to extend this help to others - to help those of you just learning stained glass, those that want to improve their techniques, and those that hope to advance into selling their work as professionals.

These articles are for you. If you have any comments, or any ideas for articles that you think would be helpful, I hope you will contact me.

Dennis Brady

To go directly to an article click on its title below

Template cutting involves first cutting the desired pattern shapes out of paper or cardboard. These "templates" are then held on the glass, or attached with glue or tape. The cutting score is made by running the cutter along the outside edges of these templates.

Stencil cutting also includes cutting out templates, but instead of scoring along the template, the pattern is drawn onto the glass using the template as a stencil. The cutting score is then made on the lines drawn onto the glass. A variation of this method is when the glass is put over the pattern and the pattern lines drawn on the glass.

Trace cutting involves placing the glass over the pattern and scoring by using the cutter to trace the pattern lines seen through the glass. For opaque or dark colored glass, it is usually necessary to have a light below the pattern to make it easier to see the pattern lines. This is usually done with a "light box".

Kinds of cutters

The "Toyo" pistol grip cutter has become the favorite for most artisans, but there are several different styles that are becoming increasingly popular. You should test as many different as you can before deciding which you prefer. The best guide for selecting a cutter is the same as for all other tools. Buy the best one you can afford.

Cutter position

The cutter should be held with the cutter head as vertical as possible. It should not angle forward or back, nor should it tilt from side to side.

The stance

When cutting glass, you should bend forward far enough that you look down at the glass in front of the cutter. Your eye should sight down the front of the cutter in the same way a shooter would sight a gun. Use your body position to determine the pressure on the cutter. By leaning forward, you will increase this pressure - by leaning back you will lower it. Do not try to use arm strength to do this. Instead shift your body weight back or forward.

The cutter should be held firmly with the lower arm stationary and with the elbow held firmly against the body. The wrist and forearm should NOT move when scoring. Move your shoulder, shift your weight, step back, or just shuffle your feet if you like - but don't move your arm any more than you absolutely must. The most important factor in getting a score that results in a clean break, is to be sure the score is made with a smooth flowing stroke that maintains a consistent unchanging pressure. This is best done by leaning over the cutter and keeping the arm as stable as you can.

It's the same idea as hammering nails. A beginner will swing the hammer with the wrist. A professional carpenter learns that it works much better if you lock the wrist and elbow in place, and swing with the entire arm. It's the same with scoring glass.

Listen to the sound the cutter makes. It should be a smooth and constant tone. It should not start and stop, and it should never change pitch. If you learn to cut by sound, you will always know when you have a perfect score.

Making the score

- It's essential to apply a smooth consistent pressure. It should not exceed 6 lbs. The more the pressure, the more likely you score will fail to break accurately.
- Start the score as near the starting edge as possible and run it completely off the finishing edge.
- Keep the cutter head perfectly vertical.
- Exhale while scoring. Use the same technique used for shooting a rifle. Inhale, then exhale slowly and steadily while running the score.
- Stand with one foot about two feet behind the other. This allows you to step forward or back as you make the score.
- Lean forward using your upper body weight to apply the necessary pressure. Adjust pressure by bending up or down at the waist.
- It's easiest to maintain a consistent pressure if you minimize the movement of your arm. Instead of moving your arm, try to instead move your entire body.

Breaking the score

- Do not try to break the piece off with one movement. Do it in 3 separate movements and pause between each movement.
- First, start the score by using breaking pliers or breaker/grozers to just initiate a crack using a straight downward rolling pressure with one hand. This hand motion is as you would for using a bottle opener to pop the lid off a bottle.
- Second, use a gentle pressure to run the score. It isn't necessary to run it the full length – doing it in increments is safer. Run the score until it has cracked its full length.
- Third, break the glass apart.

General

Installing a stained glass panel into a frame opening is simple. Just position it in the frame opening and hold it in place with either mechanical fastenings or molding. Anything that keeps it in place works. It's not a good idea to glue or caulk it in. You might someday want to remove it for repairs or take it with you when you move.

Unusually large windows are usually fabricated and installed in sections. The seams between sections is a convenient place for reinforcement.

Installing a stained glass panel into a window frame against an existing window is more difficult. It should be AT LEAST ¼" away from the other window and should not be caulked or sealed in place. To ensure that condensation won't build up between your panel and the other window, you must provide for ventilation between them. The panel can fit fairly snug on both sides, but should be AT LEAST ¼" up from the bottom sill and ¼" down from the top. This will allow for air to flow in the bottom, up behind your panel, and out the top. The easiest way to finish off a panel installed this way is with wood molding. Drill holes or cut saw kerf notches in the molding on top and bottom to provide the needed ventilation. I suggest either drilling ¼" diameter holes every 3 inches, or make a 1/8" wide x ½ inch deep saw cut every 2 inches.

Dab method is using the hot iron to pick up solder than dropping it onto where you want to solder. This is used for soldering seams on lead came, zinc channel and for attaching wire. It's also a great way to fill in gaps. Dabbing is also used to spot solder foiled pieces together and to deposit solder on foil seams to be spread out with the trowel method.

Trowel method is using the iron to push molten solder along like a trowel is used to push plaster. The iron can be held vertical (straight up) or horizontal (sliding sideways). This is one of the easiest ways to learn to solder but is extremely difficult to control the amount of solder applied. It usually requires several passes to produce a finished bead. Whenever you have applied too much solder, you'll have to trowel it out of the way. You can vary how you trowel by using different positions on the soldering tip. That flat face is hotter than the edge or tip.

Draw method uses the iron to pull or "draw" the solder. The iron is slid flat along the seam on its while the solder is melted onto the opposite side of the tip. The hot iron draws the solder as it deposits it. This is more difficult to master than trowelling, but is often quicker. By properly coordinating the flow of solder with the draw of the iron, you can produce a finished bead with your first pass.

Like most things in life, much of what we do in stained glass can be done in a number of different ways. Each of us selects the way we like best. Sometimes the way that's easiest to learn isn't the most efficient. Often the way that's quickest to do is the most difficult to master. That applies especially to soldering. As a commercial producer, we've tried every technique that worked, and even experimented with some quite silly ways that didn't. Of all that we've tried, we found the "draw" method to be the most difficult to master because it requires near perfect coordination between the hand moving the soldering iron and the hand feeding the solder onto the iron. However, once mastered, this technique can be the fastest way to solder and will allow you to produce a quality finished bead on the first pass.

Not everyone is concerned about speed or willing to take the time to get good at this. However, if you'd like to try, it works like this:

1. You'll need a soldering iron of minimum 100 watts. Small irons usually don't produce enough power to maintain heat. Larger irons work much better.

2. The soldering tip should be a chisel type and be at least 3/8 inch wide. Wider tips work even better. The iron should be operating at the highest temperature you can work at - minimum 800 degrees F. The hotter the temperature, the easier it is to solder.

3. Hold the iron almost horizontal and solder by sliding the flat edge of the tip along the foil. This is exactly as you would do with a steam iron to iron a shirt. The object is to have the greatest possible surface area of the iron's tip sliding along the foil.

4. While moving the iron, feed the solder onto the other side (top) of the chisel tip. The molten solder will run down the tip and deposit as a domed bead on the foil. The hot iron will "pull" or "draw" the molten solder behind it. The difficult part is to coordinate the speed at which you move the iron with the speed at which you feed on the solder.

5. If the bead is too low, you've either moved the iron too fast or fed the solder too slow. If the bead is too large, you've either moved the iron too slow or fed the solder too fast.

6. When you want to solder across another soldered bead, do NOT stop. Instead, ease off on feeding the solder, turn the iron sideways, and continue right through the other bead. As you clear that bead, start feeding soldering again onto the tip.

7. Practice - lots of it.

8. Still more practice.

Shipping Glass

There are 4 things you MUST remember when shipping glass:

It must not bend

Of course, glass won't bend - it'll break instead. To be sure this doesn't happen to your glass, you must "sandwich" it between two sheets of some rigid material. Plywood will work, but sheet styrofoam is best. It's strong, rigid and lightweight. I recommend either 1 ½" or 2" thick. It comes in 2'x8' and 4'x8" sheets.

Styrofoam can be cut with a saw, or it can be scored and broken the same as glass. To do this, make a cut with a utility knife about ½" deep. Place the sheet on a table or counter top with the cut along the edge of the table and the cut upward. Then quickly press down and crack it off at the score. This is done exactly the same way a glazier breaks a scored sheet of window glass, or a drywall breaks a cut on a sheet of gyproc (sheetrock).
With small pieces, you can also just crack it over your knee.

It must not be hit

Of course not. If you hit it, you'll break it. To be sure this doesn't happen you must pack it with shock absorbing material around it. The best material for absorbing shock is soft foam cushioning. The kind used for pillows or mattresses. You can buy it by the sheet, but the shops that sell foam mattresses also usually have scraps for sale. These will work just as well. Take your "sandwich" and pack it in a carton large enough that there is at least 3" of cushioning on all 6 sides. You don't have to fill the entire side with a sheet of soft foam. A strip every foot or so will be enough. This will be very much like the 2x4 framework used for building houses. Just so that there is something to absorb any force that hits the outside of the carton.

Shredded newsprint (excelsior), soft styrofoam chips, or "bubblewrap" will also make excellent packing material. Styrofoam peanuts are useless. If you use these, they will vibrate off to one side of your package - leaving your precious glass cargo unprotected on the other side.

It will get dropped

The Post Office and all the freight companies use mechanical conveyor belts to handle packages. It is not uncommon to have packages drop as much as 12 feet down off the end of one of these conveyors. Your package must be able to stand up to this drop.

It won't be insured

The company you ship with will probably be happy to sell you damage insurance on your shipment. But, if you ever try to collect on it, they'll refuse. Stained glass is not covered by insurance. The ONLY insurance you have is the way you package it.

That lead must be stretched is a myth. This myth has been around for many years, so it'll take many years to kill - but it is deserving of execution.

Until lead was supplied in nice neat orderly rows in cardboard boxes, every time it was handled it got mangled. The twisted lead couldn't be used without first being straightened. The most effective way was to stretch it while twisting it back into a straight line. Stretching also made the lead slightly stiffer and thus less likely to twist again while being used.

At sometime, the story started that stretching made the lead stronger. Therein is the myth. Stretching does not make lead stronger. In reality it does the opposite - it makes it weaker - more likely to break. Stretching does make it stiffer. Some artisans prefer to work with stiffer lead. Lead is also susceptible to "creep". That's the tendency to flatten out or squish from the weight of the glass it's supporting. Stiffer or harder lead is less susceptible to creep. Today lead came makers produce lead with alloys of tin, copper, and alimony that make the lead stiffer. These are harder, stronger, and less susceptible to creep. Using such alloyed lead eliminates any reason to stretch. It's already harder and stiffer than softer lead that has been stretched. It's also considerably stronger.

The need to stretch lead is an archaic myth. If you're careful and don't mangle it while handling it, there's no need to stretch it. If a window needs to be strengthened, it's better to add external reinforcement than to rely on stretched lead.

QUESTION: Does stretching lead cames make them stronger?

RESPONSE: To give a technical answer to the question, certain properties of lead and certain scientific terms need to be discussed.

LEAD PROPERTIES Lead has a low modulus of elasticity, a low modulus of rigidity, and is a soft metal that is very malleable (easy to form). When lead is distorted (shape change due to temporary strain) it does not snap back to its original shape the way steel does. When subjected to loads, lead exhibits a high degree of creep at room temperature since its melting temperature is relatively low. No, it isn't the client that didn't pay you; creep is the plastic deformation of a metal over time. Creep can occur at low stresses, leading eventually to failure well below the nominal tensile strength of lead. If a weight is hung from a lead came, the lead came will elongate over time (this is important to remember when hanging autonomous panels). When the weight is removed, the lead will not return to its original length because it has been permanently deformed. If the weight is not removed, the lead may eventually break. Small additions of copper and/or silver to the lead form a lead alloy with much greater resistance to creep.

All materials expand or contract with an increase or decrease in temperature. The amount of this expansion or contraction is dependent on the coefficient of linear expansion a. This coefficient is very rarely linear for a material, however for most calculations a good average coefficient works well. Lead has a high coefficient of linear expansion. This means that a given length of a lead came will exhibit a relatively large elongation for each degree of temperature it gains.

TENSILE STRENGTH The yield strength of a material is the maximum amount of tensile stress (pulling apart) that can be applied to a material before it ceases to be elastic (will not return to its original shape). If too much force is applied the material will break. The property that describes the amount of stress to cause failure (seperation of the metal) is the tensile strength. The tensile strength of pure lead is much lower than that of the other common metals (mild steel is about 15 times stronger; copper 10 times stronger). As with other metals, the tensile strength of lead can be considerably improved by small additions of alloying elements. Antimony, tin and copper are commonly used.

FATIGUE This phenomenon is the failure of metals, after repeated loading cycles, at stresses below the normal tensile strength of the material. It occurs because of the growth of tiny cracks within the material - stresses at the crack tip are much higher than across the bulk of the specimen. It can be caused by mechanical loading and even cycles of thermal expansion. Lead, like many other materials, is subject to fatigue. As with creep behavior, fatigue resistance can be improved by certain alloying additions, most importantly copper.

TEMPERATURE SCALES. In the US of A, we measure temperature in Fahrenheit degrees (°F). In most of the world, and for scientific purposes, we measure temperature in Celsius degrees (°C). To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius, one subtracts 32° and multiplies the remainder by 5/9. In Fahrenheit scale the freezing point of water is 32°F and the boiling point is 212°F. In the Celsius system the freezing point is 0°C and the boiling point is 100°C.

To discuss the phenomena of what occurs when we stretch lead, we must learn about a third scale of temperature measurement, the Kelvin scale. This is a temperature scale having an absolute zero below which temperatures do not exist. Absolute zero, or 0°K, is the temperature at which molecular energy is at a minimum, and it corresponds to a temperature of minus 273.15° on the Celsius temperature scale (for the curious out there that is 492°F below zero). The Kelvin degree is the same size as the Celsius degree; hence the two reference temperatures for Celsius, the freezing point of water (0°C), and the boiling point of water (100°C), correspond to 273.15°K and 373.15°K, respectively.

During the original extrusion process a lead pig or ingot is forced at tremendous pressure through dies to form the lead cames. This pressure, in the form of shear stress, distorts (changes the shape of) the crystals of the lead from coarse to fine in structure. This adds strength to the metal and thereby rigidity to the lead cames. When a lead came is stretched on the work table prior to leading up a window, the metal once again is subject to shear strain that distorts the metal resulting in a lead came that is more rigid. However, in this instance, the added rigidity is a temporary phenomenon due to re-crystallization.

Re-crystallization or relaxation of the lead is the process whereby the metal moves from finer to coarser grains (crystals). As relaxation occurs, the lead loses all of the strength gained during stretching. Further, during deformation of the lead, dislocations are generated. During relaxation, relatively thick, disordered cell systems tend to cluster at the dislocations. This uneven grain (crystal) growth results in localized areas within the lead cames that may experience early failure. These localized sites can then form small cracks and corrosion can occur leading to fracturing and complete failure of the lead came (see FATIGUE).

Re-crystallization or relaxation of the lead occurs between 50% and 100% of the absolute melting temperature (the melting temperature of specimen measured in Kelvin degrees). For the purposes of this discussion, we will concern ourselves with pure lead cames. The melting point of lead is 327°C. This translates to 600°K, also referred to as the absolute melting temperature of lead. Room temperature is 23°C or 296°K. Therefore, room temperature is equal to 50% of the absolute melting temperature of lead and re-crystallization will begin as soon as the stretching of the lead is complete. Protective glazing studies have indicated that the temperatures the lead cames can be subject to in service can reach 140°F or 333°K. At this temperature, the rate of relaxation (re-crystallization) accelerates.

CLOSING SUMMARY Leave the extreme stretching in yoga class. The only reason, albeit a good one, to stretch lead cames is to make them straight. As soon as this is achieved the stretching process should stop. The stretching process will result in increased rigidity of the lead, but due to the phenomenon of re-crystallization this effect is temporary and will soon be lost at room temperature. A given piece of lead can only stretch a fixed amount before it will break. The continued deformation and following relaxation of the lead will form areas subject to cracking that will encourage corrosion and ultimate fracturing or failure of the lead came. The addition of small amounts of antimony, tin and copper will increase the lead alloy's resistance to deformation. Small amounts of copper or silver increase the alloy's resistance to fatigue failure.

I hope this answers the question. My thanks to Prof. David K. Matlock, Armco Foundation Fogarty Professor and Director, Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center for the
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering of the Colorado School of Mines; Frank Goodwin, VP, Materials Sciences, ILZRO; and William A. "Bud" Baeslack III, Ph.D., P.E.
Dean, School of Engineering and Professor of Materials Science & Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for their prompt, informative responses to my inquiries and their invaluable assistance with this discussion point.

Sincerely,

Arthur J. Femenella, President
Femenella & Associates, Inc.
Annandale, New Jersey
www.femenellaassociates.com
ajf@femenellaassociates.com

Teaching Methods

There are two distinctly different approaches to teaching stained glass. The Project Building approach and the Skill Building approach. Different instructors might prefer one teaching approach, or might use a combination of both. It depends on what the instructor is trying to achieve.

Project Building

Having students make something simple to take with them is usually the preferred way to teach beginners. The students are taught a single easy way to make some project item. Sometimes it's a standard project set by the instructor and sometimes it's something the student selected. In either case, the object is to teach the student by having them acquire basic glass skills while making something to take home with them.

The student learns enough to do simple work and feels good about having something they personally made. This works well to encourage the student to continue working with stained glass and wanting to learn more.

Because this approach is mostly concerned with having the student complete the project, the instructor will teach the simplest and easiest method and will often have the students use whatever tools and assisting devices will help the student. The reliance is usually more on these devices then on the student's personal skills. Using glass saws instead of cutting by hand, or breaking buttons instead of tapping or breaking by hand is an example to this.

Skill Building

To do advanced work, an aspiring glass artisan must acquire more skills than are taught to beginners. The focus then is NOT on completing any particular project, but instead on learning and practicing new skills. Skill Building involves introducing the students not to any single methods, but to all possible techniques and procedures. The student can then later move onto more varied and complex projects of their choosing.

This requires the student learn to rely on their personal skills. They are taught to uses tools and devices to supplement those skills - not to replace them. They're taught to experiment with alternatives and devote time to practicing different ways to build their projects.

Comparison

Each method has it's place. It's not practical to start beginners off with difficult to master techniques. They'd probably get frustrated and quit. Some beginners will never want to go beyond making a few simple things. Those that do want to move forward can come back to work on expanding their collection of skills. An instructor does a disservice to beginner students by trying to push them into practicing methods that are beyond what they need.

An instructor does an equal, if not greater, disservice to progressing students by failing to introduce them to ALL the alternatives. It is not the instructor, but the student that should ultimately choose how something is to be done.

Perhaps the most effective instructor is one that combines both methods by using a series of carefully selected projects that requires the student constantly learn and develop new skills.

Where to find wire

Many of the shops that sell stained glass supplies sell small rolls of bare copper and brass wire - both exposed metal and pre-tinned. Bare wire is also sometimes available in hardware stores and craft supply shops. WARNING - when you buy wire be careful to not buy copper wire with a varnish or plastic coating on it. Solder will not stick to it.

If you can't find a shop that sells bare wire, or you want sizes larger than carried in these shops, you can buy standard electrical wire and strip it. Wire in a huge variety of sizes can by bought by the foot in hardware stores, building suppliers, and electric supply stores. Or, you might find a friendly electrician who can give you his scraps or scavenge a local construction site. Electricians toss out a lot of foot long pieces of wire.

Stripping wire

Stripping the coating off electrical wire can be difficult, or it can be easy. It just depends on how you do it. It's not so much that you "strip" the coating off the copper inside - but instead you pull the copper out from inside the coating.

Cut the wire into lengths from 18" to 24". It's probably best to start with shorter lengths until you've had a bit of practice. If you still have trouble with 18" lengths, try 12" ones until you've got the hang of it. Longer than 24" can be done, but it is very difficult and rarely necessary. With a knife or wire stripper, remove about ½" of the coating on one end of the wire. If you use a knife, BE CAREFUL - it's very easy to cut yourself.

Then with one hand, hold the exposed wire end firmly with pliers. With the other hand, take a firm grip on the outside of the wire about halfway back from the pliers. Wearing a glove for this is a good idea. Now pull the copper wire out from inside the coating. This doesn't take much strength. It does however take a little practice to get the technique down. The idea is to pull the hand with the pliers in it, straight back in the same motion an archer would make while drawing back a bow to load an arrow. At the same time, the other hand pulls straight away in the opposite direction. The "trick" is not to pull hard, and not to pull quickly - but to pull steadily.

If you pull straight, the wire will easily slide out of the coating. If you curve it at all, you will increase the friction on the wire inside - and find it almost impossible to get out.

Wire sizes

Wire size is referred to as "gauge". Gauge is a percentage of an inch, so the smaller the gauge, the larger the wire. For example: 10 gauge wire is 1/10th of an inch in diameter. If 10 pieces of wire were laid out flat beside each other, the row would be exactly 1" across. If you had 20 gauge wire, it would take 20 pieces of wire to be 1" across.

The thickest solid strand wire that is generally available is 10 gauge. Thicker wire is multi-strand. That is, there would be a number of wires braided or wound together instead of just one piece of solid metal. Most commonly available are 12 and 14 gauge. These sizes are used extensively in household electrical wiring. Smaller size (larger gauge) wire is available, but usually as part of multiple line wire. For example: telephone wire contains 5 wires (each with its own distinctly colored coating) inside an outer coating. To use this kind of wire, you must first cut away the outer coating, then strip out the bare wire from each of the colored coatings the same as for heavier gauge

Straightening wire

Quite often wire gets a bit crumpled and needs to be straightened out. The best way to do this is to "draw" it. Hold one end in a vise or with a pair of pliers in one hand. Then take a firm grip on the wire with the other hand and steadily slide that hand along the wire towards you. Unless you've got fairly callused hands, you should wear a glove for this. The drawing motion is identical to the motion an archer makes when drawing back a bow before launching an arrow. Pull as straight back as possible, and as steady as possible. With a little practice, you can get pretty good at straightening even the most crumpled wire.

Heavy wire like 10 gauge, that is badly bent, can not be straightened this way. It must instead be "rolled". This is done by putting the wire on a hard smooth surface (like a concrete floor, a piece of plywood, or a table top). Then a piece of wood at least as long as the wire, and 6 to 12" wide, is put on top of the wire. (for example: if rolling 24" long wire, you will need a board at least 24" long and 6 to 12" wide). Pressing firmly down on this piece of wood, roll it back and forth to roll the wire beneath it. This is the same motion you would make with a pie roller rolling back and forth on a counter. The firm pressure downwards, combined with the rolling motion, will straighten the wire. This method also works well for straightening copper or brass pipe.

Fluxing

When soldering wire, instead of brushing flux onto the wire, it's easier to dip the wire into the flux. Fill a small glass jar 1 inch or more with flux. Then just dip the wire into the flux.

Tinning wire

To tin wire it's easier to draw the wire along the iron then it is to slide the iron along the wire. Coat the wire completely with flux and load solder onto the iron. Start at one end and draw the wire steadily along the soldering iron to the other end. This will just tin one side. Turn the wire over, reload solder onto the iron, and repeat for the other side.

Soldering same size wires together

When soldering two or more wires of the same size together, load solder onto the iron tip and hold the soldering iron so that it is touching both wires at the same time. As soon as the solder flows smoothly - remove the iron quickly.
Soldering different size wires together

When soldering a small wire to a large wire (i.e. 18 gauge onto 10 gauge), load solder onto the iron tip and hold the iron on the heaviest wire (without touching the smaller wire) until the solder starts to flow. Then slide the iron over to contact the smaller wire until solder spreads onto it - then remove the iron quickly. The larger mass of the heavier wire takes longer to heat up, so it must be heated before the smaller. The heavier the wire, the longer it will take before it heats up enough for the solder to flow. This is especially the case when trying to solder copper pipe.

Use a "Heat Sink"

A "heat sink" is anything that absorbs heat. If you are trying to attach a piece of wire to a small wire with another wire already soldered to it, there is a very good chance that when you heat it, the earlier soldered joint will let go. To avoid this, leave all the wires you are working with as long as possible. The extra lengths of wire will act as a "heat sink" to absorb enough heat to prevent releasing other joints. Also, by having extra long lengths of wire, you'll avoid burning your fingers by holding on to a hot wire. After you have soldered all your connections, you can cut the wire to the finished lengths you want.

You can also create a heat sink by holding the wire in place with a flat blade screwdriver.

Soldering wire onto lead came

It takes very little heat in very little time to melt right through lead came. You must be especially careful when soldering wire onto lead. Flux the wire and hold it in position on or against the lead. Then load solder onto the iron and hold it on the wire about ½" away from the lead. When the solder runs smooth, slide the iron to touch the lead - and remove it INSTANTLY. It is not necessary to reduce the temperature of your iron. With a bit of practice, you can easily solder wire to lead - even with a high temperature tip.

What if it lets go?

If the soldered connection lets go, it's either from too little or too much heat. If you don't hold the iron in place long enough, the heat won't spread enough for the solder to stick to both pieces. If there is too much heat, the solder might still be liquid when you let go of the wire and it will release. To prevent this, either hold the wire a little longer before releasing, or if you're in a hurry, use the "blow it cool" trick. As soon as you remove the iron, blow on the solder just like you would to blow out a candle. This will cause the solder to cool and set quickly.

What is the best temperature?

Whatever you're comfortable with. It's a good idea to start with a relatively low temperature until you're familiar with soldering wire. But remember, the lower the temperature, the longer you must wait for the wire to heat up. The pros like to work with the highest possible temperatures, and learn to be quick with their motions. Using a temperature controller or rheostat is not a good idea. It takes a lot of time to keep changing temperatures. It's better to learn to do all work at the same temperature.

There's nothing wrong with being an amateur any more than there's anything wrong with being a professional. Each has different goals and each works in different ways. Some of the very best work is done by amateurs that make stained glass as a hobby. They enjoy the luxury of time and use it to good advantage. Amateurs don't care how long it takes to complete a project, but take pleasure in doing it. They have no reason to rush and can take however long is needed. The result is often work that's superior to that done by professionals.

The pro expects to be paid for his or her time, so must learn to work quickly. It's the speed at which they work that determines how well they are paid. They know that there is a limit to what a customer is willing to pay. If they demand too high a price, the
customer will refuse to buy it. If they take too long to produce that work, they'll be poorly paid for their time. It's not that either the amateur or professional is superior to the other, but that each has a different goal. The amateur might often produce better work, but takes so long it would be impossible to make a living doing it. The professional tries to produce work to a set standard and work quickly enough to produce it at a price customers are willing to pay.

The greatest difference between amateurs and professionals is not in the quality of their work, but in how long it takes to produce it.

I love doing craft shows. They're fun, exciting, educational, and inspirational. You meet lots of people that share your interest in quality hand-made work. You get to see some truly beautiful work and meet the people that did it. Your creativity is freshly energized with a barrage of new ideas, and you make some great network connections. Then, if all that isn't enough, - you make money selling your work.

But, not all craft shows are equal. Some are stupendously good, while others are pretty poor. You won't have any advance guarantees which it will be. I've been surprised many times doing shows. Some shows that I expected to be terrific, turned out to be a waste of time. Other shows that I was completely unenthusiastic about, were some of the best ever. Although you will always have a few of these surprises, there a few guidelines that will help you guess what a show will be like.

Seasonal

Christmas shows are best, and the closer they are to Christmas, the more you will sell. It's not that summer shows are bad - some are great. It's just that at Christmas, people are spending a lot of money buying a lot of gifts. Outdoor can be dangerous at any time of year. There's always the possibility of rain or wind.

Admission

Shows that charge admission for people to get in, will usually have more sales than those that let people in free. When customers pay to get it, they more likely came looking to buy quality crafts than just to pass time looking around.

Rent

At higher rent shows you will usually sell more expensive stuff than at lower rent shows. Shows that charge a lot to display space usually have a better assortment of high grade work and will attract the kind of customer interested in that. Very often sales at a low rent show is so poor it was not worth the effort to go - while a high rent show can sell enough to be exceptionally profitable. It's just like retail shops. High rent locations produce a higher volume of sales. It doesn't matter how much the space rent is, so much as how much you sell from that space.

Juried Shows

Because "juried" shows are harder for sellers to get in, they usually have a better mix of high grade work. Customer come to these expecting to find high quality expensive work. These shows also attract a fairly higher ratio of customers to lookers. Church basement and school auditorium shows usually just get customers looking very cheap goods.

Festivals

Shows that are attached to some kind of festival (like music, harvest, etc.) are usually poor. Especially if the craft displays are only a secondary part of the show. People come to these for the entertainment, not to buy crafts. But, these are the kind of shows that are most likely to surprise you.

What to take

It depends. I've done shows where only $10.00 and $20.00 items sold - others where everything over $100.00 sold out in 2 hours - and I spent the next 4 days kicking myself in the butt for not bringing more. But, whether you expect the show to be "high-end" or "low-end", you should always take a few "show-off" pieces. A few samples of your work that say, "Look what I can do". These will encourage sales of less expensive stuff - and you will be surprised how often they sell.

One of the great things about doing shows is the information you collect from other exhibitors. If you're interested in whether or not some show is good, ask someone who has done it before. Networking with other sellers can provide invaluable information. To a large extent, I built my business on the contacts I made at different craft shows - and I have constantly benefited by all I learned doing them. I loved the shows and miss doing them. With DeBrady Glass expanding into pattern sales, we'll soon be doing the commercial trade shows - I'm very much looking forward to it.

for a photo of one of our outdoor displays CLICK HERE

for a photo of one of our indoor displays CLICK HERE

I'm generally opposed to consignment selling, but there are times when it can be useful. You can't expect a shop owner to buy very large, expensive, or unusual works that might take a very long time to sell. They will also hesitate buying until they know your work sells. Also, placing your work on consignment, in some place a lot of people will see it, can be very good advertising. It might sell there, but even if it doesn't a lot of people will see it.

Other than that, consignment should be avoided if possible. If a shop owner buys outright and sells your work, the shop's profit is 50%, or more, of the sale. If the goods were on consignment, the sales commission is almost always less than that. Often a lot less. So, a shop makes more money buying and reselling goods than if it sells consignment goods. Why would they do that?

Either they don't have enough money to buy stock, so they must take consignments. Or, they don't know what to buy, so they take whatever they can get. Instead of buying goods that are likely to sell, consignment shops take just about anything to fill the shelves. The end result is very limited sales. With limited sales, these shops are too often unable to pay for your goods even after they have sold them. All too often they go broke leaving behind a collection of unpaid suppliers.

Your only advantage to selling on consignment is that you get a higher percentage of the retail selling price. But, you are take a huge gamble hoping to get a slightly higher percentage of a much lower sales volume - especially with the risk that you'll end up getting paid nothing at all. If you do place your work someplace on consignment, be certain you know the owner extremely well and always get an written agreement with the shop owner.

For a sample Consignment Agreement: CLICK HERE

If a prospective wholesale customer is nervous about trying out your product for the first time, it's perfectly reasonable for them to want the first order on consignment. A better way for you to respond is to instead offer the first order "on trial". Tell them that the first order is on trial, say for example 30 days. After that time, it they aren't satisfied, they pay for whatever they sold and return the rest to you. Or, if they are satisfied, they pay for the total order - and you now have a permanent customer. You'll find that when you suggest this idea to a prospective customer, they'll find it hard to refuse.

It's surprising how few "professionals" have not learned how to price. Many calculate their prices per square foot. They might charge $80 for a simple design, $120 for average and $150 for something quite complicated. This is a dumb formula. It's okay for a rough guess, but it's never accurate for a final price. Such "estimating by average" might be okay if you have no competition and will get every job you bid on, but you won't. Your competition will get the jobs on which you price too high, and when you price too low you'll get the job but wish your competitor had.

Practice and experience will teach you the many variables that affect the cost of different projects. The kind of materials, techniques used, design, how fast you work, your expected income, and many other factors will contribute to deciding the final cost. It's complicated, but there is a simple costing method that will help you get started. Instead of pricing per square foot, price per piece of glass. The labor to cut, fit, and solder a small piece is as much as for a large piece. Often it's even more.

Deciding what to charge is one of the most important decisions you deal with. If you charge too little, you don't make any profit. If you charge too much, you don't sell enough. It's hard to find the perfect compromise. But the critical question is how to get started.

Many people will tell you that you should start with the highest price you think you can get. Then, if it doesn't sell, you can always lower the price later. The problem with this idea is that you don't produce any sales momentum. Possible customers who have decided your price is too high, won't come back later to see if you have reduced it. Setting a high price might make you feel good, but can also prevent you from getting your sales started.

It's better to start with a low price. The lowest price you can live with. This way you start selling your product and get customers interested in your product. Then, as sales steadily increase, you can steadily increase your prices. Just be careful you don't increase them so far you turn off the flow of sales.

STEM - a modern approach to pricing

Many artisans and resellers rely on an overly simple method of determining what to charge. They just add a fixed fee or percentage onto their costs. This is usually inaccurate and rarely relates to the actual cost of producing the item or the cost of selling it. A more accurate way is the S.T.E.M. method. By considering the four factors that determine cost (Space, Time, Effort, and Money) it's possible to more accurately calculate the true cost of business.

SPACE
The amount of space required either to produce the item or to store and display it for sale. A small item uses less space than a large one, so costs less for the space it uses.

TIME
Some things take little time to make or to sell, while others take longer. Something that sells quickly costs less to handle then something that takes a long time.

EFFORT
Some things require more work to make or to sell. The more work that's required, the more it costs.

MONEY
This is the financial cost of providing the capital to make or to sell the product. Essentially, it's nothing more than the interest on borrowed money.

Most artisans and resellers fail to consider all the factors that determine their real costs. If they just take a fixed percentage markup from either the cost to make it, or the cost to acquire it, they are considering only the MONEY factor and ignoring all others. This failure leaves them at a disadvantage to any competitor that relies on the more complex, but more accurate, STEM method.

When you first start doing stained glass for a hobby, you don't worry much about how long it takes to make something. But, you do worry about how much all the materials cost. The longer you enjoyed this hobby, the more this becomes a habit. Then, if you start trying to sell your work, you have trouble breaking this habit - and you must break it.

You want to be compensated for all the materials you bought, but you also want to be paid for your time. The value of your time is always greater than the cost of the materials. In fact, it's substantially greater. You must now think the opposite way. It is now a lot more important how long it takes to make, than how much all the materials cost. You will make the most money for your time, if you concentrate on making things that take more material but require less time.

What should you do if your glass model gets dirty or dusty? There are different ways to clean it, depending on how much work you want to do.

If you're bored and want to spend a few hours at it, you can get a Q-tip or small paint brush and carefully and delicately brush out any dirt or dust. Or, you could do it the lazy way (the way we do it). Just wash it off. Hold it under the tap and run hot water over it, or (if it fits) just put it in the dishwasher. If you're especially lazy (which we often are) you can take it outside and hose if off with the garden hose the same way you wash your car.

How they're made

The patterns have been produced by applying finely ground coloured glass onto clear float glass, then firing it in a kiln. The design is not printed onto the glass, but is instead fused into it. A metallic coating is then applied and they are returned to the kiln to refire and produce an iridized finish.

Cutting

These wings are supplied as yet uncut from the sheet of glass they've been fused into. Full sheets contain a multiple of wings, or they are cut into pieces approximated 3 or 4 inches square to be sold as a single set of wings. They must then be cut out before using. You can cut them along the pattern lines, or slightly inside or outside of those lines to produce whatever specific size you want the wings to be.

Cutting these wings out is no more difficult than cutting most art glass. It is slightly brittle and does have a slight texture. It should be laid on a piece of cloth or carpeting while being scored and should be cut with a gentle score. Pressing too hard can cause it to crack or break erratically.

Fusing & Slumping

These wings slump easily but care should be taken to avoid overheating. This can cause the fused colours to distort.

Although we have had some success with fusing, we've also had some failures. We've as yet been unable to determine specific causes for the failures. Until we can advise exact firing schedules and compatibility, we suggest test firing samples before attempting to fuse with other glass.

Gold-Fused Patterns

These have been produced by fused 24 carat gold into clear float glass. The patterns are fused into the glass, but ARE heat sensitive. Dropping hot solder on the gold, or touching it with a hot iron, can cause it to discolor. When working with the gold-fused glass, take care to avoid doing this. There is no problem with regular soldering as long as you keep the iron, and hot solder, from contacting the gold itself.

Because the gold is heat sensitive, we recommend you do NOT try slumping or fusing.