Miss*Laurence: Mixed Media and Textiles art by Laurence Menhinick- stained glass window process ( Laurence Moni)

How do you make a stained glass window

This is a classic stained glass window, using lead strips. **WARNING: glass is obviously sharp and dangerous, and you should wear protective gloves to handle it - it is also essential that you wear protective safety glasses. This page is an information page only and therefore is just depicting the process and is not intended as a tuition.** I will not be held responsible for any mis-use of this information page or any accidents relating to the process. I was taught how to make a stained glass window by a professional artist, ( at Manchester Stained Glass) you will find local courses in the yellow pages or online.
	Here are some of the tools you will need for a stained glass window. The most distinctive being: a glass cutter, running pliers, grozing pliers, lead cames and a lead cutter, nails, flux, solder and a soldering iron
	When you want to make a window, you need very precise measurements, and work your design accordingly. Cut glass must be in manageable angles as you will have to run the glass cutter along the cutting line in one stroke, and uneven shapes cannot be cut easily. For example cutting a circle in the middle of a sheet of glass requires a lot of experience as glass has a tendency to break in straight lines.
	This is a view of the paper pattern of the design, and the next step is to cut the pieces of glass accordingly. There are many different sorts of glass, from clear machine-made glass to opaque hand made sheets and the skill involved and the rarity is reflected in the price. Some types of glass allow more light to enter a room - others create a dramatic cathedral effect, and others have a different colour whether you look at the iridescent surface or look at the colour in the light.
	This is a picture of all the cut glass. Glass can have one smooth side and one textured side and you always cut on the smooth side. Pieces of glass must be cut on the inside of the template's line to leave the gap for the lead. The semi-circles on the white glass were the most difficult cuts in this design.
	The next step is to put the lead strips in place. First the lead canes are stretched, then cut to the desired lenght, and you simply build up the design, helding it in place with long nails. This is a fairly long process, and you have to be absolutely sure that your glass is straight and smooth.
	When all is finally leaded, and held in place by more nails around the outer sides, you apply flux at the intersections where the solder will be needed. Finally you every single joint has to be soldered, wearing a mask to protect from fumes. Once the first side is done, you repeat the process on the other side. When the whole window has been soldered, you magically have a window you can hold!
	The last stages are cementing with a special, runny cement, to fill the holes between the glass and the lead and consolidate it and finally, the lead can be blackened by applying a polish and buffing the window all over... ready for fitting in the window frame.