Construct an Illuminating Pane of Glass.

Like most other forms of glass work, stained glass dates back to medieval times -- and even centuries earlier. It was made popular by Tiffany in the early 1900's. The traditional method used a variety of metals to adhere two pieces of glass. Often times, this bond consisted of lead products and is considered undesireable by today's standards.

There are a number of methods that can be used to create stained glass masterpieces. At the Glass Club of Notre Dame, we focus on a simple, small-scale technique that allows us to finish our work in the studio. The piece starts off as a box of shattered glass and a drawing. With an image in mind, pieces of glass are carefully selected from the array of shards and fit into a mosaic of color.

Once enough pieces are found to complete the pattern, the edges of each piece are wrapped with an adhesive copper tape. This allows the solder to stick to something and to wrap around the glass. The adhesive on the tape sticks to the glass leaving the copper side exposed. After all the edges are taped, a flux is painted onto the copper to help adhesion by the solder.

The entire piece is held together by the soldered joints. Two pieces of copper-lined glass are held side-by-side and the solder is applied. As the whole work is slowly solidified by the solder, the image begins to appear. Both sides of the piece are soldered to ensure maximum strength of the joints. The general idea of the soldered joints is that the solder will overlap each piece by at least 1/8" which acts to "hold" the two pieces together.

Upon completion of the piece, a small hook can be added to the top for hanging. Other decorative techniques can also be used such as sandblasting, or acid etching. The beauty of stained glass is that you can hang it from your window and watch the variety of colors flood your house.