My new dolphin
- Thread starter Skie_M
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Skie_M
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6 individual pieces of glass ... over 30 cuts were required to get the pieces (only one got cracked ....). I'm surprised ... was my first time working with stained glass, and I didn't get cut one single time.
It took about 30 minutes to grind the sharp edges off the glass, with my sander. I set it up outside and wore a dust mask, but the recommended method is to use a wet-grinder with good water flow and a diamond wheel.
After that, it took about an hour to tape all the edges with copper foil tape. The trick is to center it properly, so that there's a little copper showing on both sides of the glass, and to press it down nice and firm to make sure it grips the glass, at least till after you've got it all soldered in place.
The main body was easy, as it was just laying flat ... molten solder will tend to run downhill whenever it can. Flux the joints and solder there first, to pin all the parts in place, then go back and make smooth continuous lines that fill the void between the pieces. Once that is finished, you go round the entire exterior and tin them all with solder to protect the copper foil and give it a lot more strength.
At this point, for a 3D object (was pretty ambitious for my FIRST stained glass project, and here is where I burned my finger...
), you stand the piece up against something and carefully tack solder the fins and tail on, making sure that you have a pleasing angle and position along the sides of the dolphin. Once it is tacked in place, go back over and fill in the voids with solder.
I got all my stained glass supplies and tools from Hobby Lobby. It's not listed on their website AT ALL, but it's there in the store. Don't ask me why.
My template was a free download from Karal Studios. I printed it out and glued it to a piece of thin white plastic ... and I cut it out again and sanded the edges. I wanted a very durable template to re-use many times. Karal is a disfigured individual who nevertheless produces some of the finest stained glass pieces I've seen on youtube tutorials for the subject, and the tutorials are excellent. I have nothing but respect for this man!
It took about 30 minutes to grind the sharp edges off the glass, with my sander. I set it up outside and wore a dust mask, but the recommended method is to use a wet-grinder with good water flow and a diamond wheel.
After that, it took about an hour to tape all the edges with copper foil tape. The trick is to center it properly, so that there's a little copper showing on both sides of the glass, and to press it down nice and firm to make sure it grips the glass, at least till after you've got it all soldered in place.
The main body was easy, as it was just laying flat ... molten solder will tend to run downhill whenever it can. Flux the joints and solder there first, to pin all the parts in place, then go back and make smooth continuous lines that fill the void between the pieces. Once that is finished, you go round the entire exterior and tin them all with solder to protect the copper foil and give it a lot more strength.
At this point, for a 3D object (was pretty ambitious for my FIRST stained glass project, and here is where I burned my finger...
), you stand the piece up against something and carefully tack solder the fins and tail on, making sure that you have a pleasing angle and position along the sides of the dolphin. Once it is tacked in place, go back over and fill in the voids with solder.I got all my stained glass supplies and tools from Hobby Lobby. It's not listed on their website AT ALL, but it's there in the store. Don't ask me why.
My template was a free download from Karal Studios. I printed it out and glued it to a piece of thin white plastic ... and I cut it out again and sanded the edges. I wanted a very durable template to re-use many times. Karal is a disfigured individual who nevertheless produces some of the finest stained glass pieces I've seen on youtube tutorials for the subject, and the tutorials are excellent. I have nothing but respect for this man!
