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Index of Stained Glass Images


New Hi-Res photos coming sometime in March

NOTE: Links to samples follow a brief overview of stained glass.

NOTE: SubLinks to the following pages are accessable from this location only.
See Tips and Hints for Leaded Restorations and/or
See How I got interested and/or
My restoration experiences or The logic behind these tips.

A brief overview of Stained Glass

Stained Glass provides a medium unlike any other. It cannot be duplicated for beauty by any other medium. Glass has a life of its own, it responds to light and depending on the light source and intensity, the finished product will look different almost every time that you look at it. Plastic repros or painted glass always have the same flat listless quality and are lifeless in comparison.

The glass can be purchased in sheet form in virtually any color or shade desired. It can be machine made and always of the same color and pattern like window glass or Cathedral. Cathedral glass is usually lightly textured and of a uniform color. It is the cheapest of the custom glasses used in stained glass work.

The more expensive of the glasses includes catspaw, streakies, opalescents, antiques, ripple, gluechip, water glas, etc. The glass sheets may be transparent, transluscent, opaque, or even solid. Or the sheets may be a combination of 2 or more of those effects. These glasses are all considered handmade and each sheet will be different in some way from another of the same type.
These glasses are usually multi hued, and frequently have amber or gold overtones that only become apparent in or under certain light conditions.
The multi hued glasses are created by pouring 2 or more molten glasses onto the steel sheets and lightly stirring the glasses together. The technique would be similar to a cook making a marble cake.
Some of the custom handmade glasses are force cooled by misting, cold water, or ice cubes which cause abstract ridgeing or fractures in the glass. Some glasses are beaten and whipped before allowing to cool. This causes air bubbles to be trapped enhancing the beauty and random patterns.
The patterns or ridges are caused by pouring the molten glass onto steel sheets with the desired patterns already in the steel and reversed. These patterns can be geometric such as 'snowflake' or rough bumps as in 'cathedral'. In some cases the glass is further stirred or moved around while the glass is in semi-liquid state. This causes folds in the glass, and since it is no longer liquid, hardens before it has achance to completely flatten out.
The colors of glass are caused by certain elements, chemical compounds, or dyes. The cheapest glass is obviously clear. The next cheapest is ambers and greens. The most expensive and hardest to produce is pink glass. This glass sometimes has real gold added to the mix to further enhance the pink color. Top quality handmade pink glass can cost upwards of $30 per square foot. Glass is purchased in varying sized sheets, has a per square foot charge, and the buyers cost is calculated per Square Inch.

One of the windows that is included in the samples uses a custom handmade sheet of glass which cost $35 per sq ft. This glass was made by pouring clear glass on a steel table. The glass was stirred while in molten condition to prevent it from being flat and to induce a transluscent rough quality. Pink and green wafer thin glass chips were dropped in random patterns and allowed to fuse with the still semi-liquid clear glass. The wafers are like knives and you very quickly learn NOT to run your hands over the rough backside. Then the glassmaker dripped streams of black glass in thin lines. The overall effect is that the glass looks like an outdoor scene thru badly focused eyes. The black is branches, the green is leaves, and the pink is flowers. The clear glass picks up the normal background (blue sky for example) and adds a further distortion to the view. Since the background will constantly change, the complete window changes its appearance. The sheet of glass (20x40) was a work of art as it stood and it was almost a crime to cut it.

The glass is cut to match pattern pieces. It may be ground on the edges for a better fit. The glass pieces are then 'attached' to one another by either lead came (looks like an 'H' turned sideways), or by copper foiling. If foiled, each piece of glass is wrapped around the edge in copper foil and the copper wrapped pieces are ultimately soldered to one another using a high tin content solder.
One of the samples windows was a leaded restoration. Lead is the way windows were made for hundreds of years. It is not as strong or as durable as foiling which I believe was first used by Tiffany in his lamps and windows.
Leaded windows have much more intrusion on the pattern and the glass pieces are less intricate than with foil. The complete effect is best described as clumsier or clunkier looking than a comparable foiled window. Foiled windows are stronger, allow a greater percentage of the glass to show, and allow for more intricate patterns.
The leaded restoration shown was also reproduced in foil and I also modified it slightly for use in my home (the 3rd sample). If you compare the leaded window with the first foiled copy, the difference is quite apparent.

The windows or other artistic creations can be further modified by faceted glass gems. These include square, round, or oval. Most of these come from Germany or Austria. The most expensive of the gems are faceted on both sides, just like real gems such as diamonds or sapphires. Because these items are labour intensive, somebody has grind and polish the gems just like a real gem, the cost is very high when projected out. If you wanted to fill a 1 sq. ft. area with nothing but gems, your cost would be in excess of $250 depending on color. Clear is the cheapest, colors, especially red, are more expensive.

Beveled glass causes light to refract like a prism throwing small rainbows on the walls, ceiling, floor etc. Because bevels require direct sun for the full effect, Northern exposures are poor location choices. Southern exposure and unshaded or unblocked is the ultimate allowing for interplay all day long. East or West exposure are next best choices and obviously either for interplay in the morning or the afternoon, but not both.
The best glass for bevels is 1/4 inch plate (or thicker if possible) with a fairly high lead content. High lead content plate glass usually has a strong green color if viewed on the sides. The glass is safe because 'fairly high' is a relative term.
My window used 4 custom bevels which were cut, ground, and polished to my specifications. The 4 pieces which do not exceed 25 sq inches cost me $80. If you are good in math, you will have figured out that this is just about $500 per square foot. Because it is labor intensive, small pieces cost more per square foot than larger pieces. The cost of the glass was marginal, it was all labor. In my mind and as it relates to my window, the final effect was worth the expenditure.
Most of the bevels on the market today are only 3/16 or thinner, and do not refract light as well or effectively as 1/4 inch. They do, however, still add a nice touch anyways. These newer bevels come mainly from 3rd world countries where labor is cheap. Consequently the cost is just a fraction of local hand ground items.

Stained Glass artwork is generally priced based on the following 4 components.
Labor or
Complexity
The more pieces involved in the final product, the more work, and consequently, a higher labor subcomponent. Complex glass shapes also take longer than straight line cuts, and labor may be comprised of an adjustment to account for the trickier work.
Material A flat charge per square foot is applied to cover the cost of glass, solder, lead, foil, flux, patina, rebars, custom cames, and general wear and tear on the tools.
Overhead Commercial artists add an amount (variable) to cover a portion of their costs for business premises and vehicles.
Adjustments The square footage charge covers average glass. If your design uses expensive art glasses, gems, or bevels, these additional costs to the artist are adjusted in your final cost.

If you wish to try your hand at Stained Glass, you will need the following.
Prices are in approx Cdn dollars from a SG Shop known as Sunrise Glass in London.
Glass Cutter Not a $5 hardware store special. Invest in a good cutter, one with an oil reservoir for lubrication, and a lifetime diamond tipped cutting wheel. There are a few new ones available now and supposedly improved. Cost is approx $50
Soldering Iron Soldering Iron should be a 100 watt and rheostat controlled for precise temperature. You cannot use flame, and hobby soldering irons do not have enough heat. A good iron with a replaceable tip will cost approx $50
Pliers, Grozing and Running Grozing pliers have soft steel jaws, and are used in the nipping away of excess glass. Normal pliers with hardened steel jaws will not work. Running pliers are usually plastic but some of the newer ones are steel. They are designed to apply pressure at a precise point to aid in cutting of straight lines and gentle or gradual curved pieces. Cost is approx $18 for Grozing and $8 for the plastic Running pliers. No price available for steel, but figure $20.
Glass Grinder This tool is a water cooled and lubricated 1/2 inch diamond grinding wheel. It is used to take the rough edges off of the cut glass. It's use is almost mandatory if you are using the copper foil method. The diamond wheels are replaceable and cost approx $55. The grinder is approx $150 for the smallest. They come in various sizes and ratings etc. The smallest hobby size is more than adequate. The larger commercial grinders are for artisans in business.
The diamond wheels will last a fair length of time if they are not abused. This rule applies to almost anything including people.
The wheels will wear out rapidly if they are not kept lubricated This rule applies to almost anything including people. Follow the mfg instructions.
NOTE For the beginner who just wants to try their hand to see if they like it before diving in full force, many glass studios or supply shops will either allow you to grind on site or will rent you a grinder for an hourly or daily rate. This saves you the expensive initial outlay until you decide this hobby is for you.
Diamond Band Saw You will not need this. This is a very expensive tool used for cutting shapes of extreme intricasy. Unless you are in business, you can find easier and cheaper methods of cutting the intricate shapes. The easiest method is to design the piece so that it doesn't have these 'impossible' cuts in it.
Misc You may also need foil dispensers, glass markers, steel rule or platic straight edge, T-square, exacto knives, lead knife, lead stretcher, smoothing tools, solder, flux, copper foil in various widths, brass rebars, steel rebars, lead in various sizes, patinas, detergents, brass or copper came, cheap brushes for flux, horseshoe nails, black felt tip markers, large sheets of paper for patterns, and possibly a light table.
You will not need all of the above unless you get right into it. And if you are just foiling, obviously you do not need the tools designed for lead.

I am including a number of samples. Before you look at them, I should tell you that stained glass is very hard if not impossible to photograph. And then I should tell you that my photographic skills leave a lot to be desired. The scanned pics and resulting jpg's have been modified in an attempt to correct the photo's shortcomings, but they are still an extremely poor representation of the real thing with the sun shining through. I am planning on rescanning and modifying now that I have a better scanner and top quality graphic software, but I just don't know when. This watch I am using just doesn't have enough hours on it.




LampsStained Glass Lamps

A few samples of Stained Glass Lamps. The descriptions will indicate the approx size of the article, types of glass used. The lamps are priced and sold without electrical fittings unless otherwise requested.
If requested, the units can be prewired using a single socket (not very classy and not preferred) or thru Candlebras. Cost is dependent on choice.



PlantersStained Glass Planters

Some samples of unique planters based on geometric shapes.
Because the final product is an enclosed shape, it requires more precision than a lamp.
One of the terrariums (picture on the planters page) was considered to be such a thing of beauty by the purchaser, that to this day, it has never had any soil or plants installed. It sits as a standalone piece of sculpture in their family room right beside the fireplace.



Sun Catchers

A few miscellaneous sample images of Novelty and Xmas items, and a variety of birds.

These items all use a variety of glasses for effect. Most less expensive and commercial products usually consist of 1 cheap glass (either cathedral or streaky) and as few pieces or detail as possible.

True story that made the local newspaper as a general interest type story. My inlaws had a variation of the Cardinal hanging in their window, and this glass version completely captured and enraptured the attention of a real Cardinal. The fake had to be taken down for a few weeks until the real Cardinal lost interest and moved on. I have temporarily lost or misplaced the article, but when I find it, I will scan it and include as a curiosity.



WindowsWindows

The thumbnail selection offered shows 1 restoration, some of my windows, and some custom creations based on customer specifications.
Some of the windows may appear to have some strange color and glass choices. These are the owners preferences, not necessarily mine. I usually will attempt to suggest certain choices, but if the customer is bound and bent on matching their current sofa, that is their perogative. Since I don't have to live with it, they can have whatever they desire. It's their dime.
All designs and work is given the same care in design and creation as if I was creating it for myself.
Note: If you are interested, and living in my geographic area, and for your advance warning, I do not work quickly, but I do work quality. I may be a little less expensive than the commercial sites, but I am not free.



SpecialtySpecialty Items

This section deals with unique items which I believe are not available from any other source.
The items would, in all honesty, have very limited mass market appeal.
But do have a look anyway. Maybe it's right up your alley, or just maybe, you know somebody who thought they had "almost everything".
Or just maybe by now, your curiosity has been piqued, deked, and tweaked.



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