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[Stained Glass Gems] Magazines for the Glass Hobbyist May 16, 2010 |
Issue #18 More free Patterns Greetings to all of my stained glass friends. These Stained Glass Gems have been found during my frequent browsing and deep digging for helpful and or unusual stained glass web sites, as well as other information pertaining to stained glass. I have a long list that I will share with you over the months ahead. I do hope that there's a gem or two that will brighten your day and be helpful during your stained glass journey. In this ezine I will share some web sites with free patterns that I'm unable to put, individually, on my web site due to their format. Thank you for your response to my question about what you use to keep a round piece round while you're constructing it. I received quite a few replies and I'll tell you about them farther down in this ezine. Some of you will recall that I had a knee joint replacement done last summer. I'll be having the other knee done the first week of June, so I'll be out of commission for about a week, maybe a little less. If you send me an email and I don't reply right away, that will be the reason why. Over the next few months, I'll feature two blogs in each Ezine. These are blogs I've come across while surfing the net for interesting stained glass web sites. The blogs cover a variety of subjects and techniques. Some of the techniques will be different from the way I have demonstrated in my tutorials, but that doesn't mean that either their's or mine are the right way or the wrong way to do it. It's just another way of getting to the end result. I hope you enjoy the following blogs and perhaps learn something new. Glass Tips This blog covers a lot of tips and techniques. Drilling holes in glass is the first page you'll come to, and it is the topic I was going to cover next month. I'll let you learn how from this blog and I'll come up with a different topic next month. Joe's Stained Glass Blog This blog has several pages on Designing with Bevels. As I explained above, there are some free patterns that come in formats that I can't use on my web site. I thought you'd like to have them since they will be easy for you to download and print out. You will need Adobe Reader to be able to download them. You can get it here: Adobe reader Here are a lot of Patterns and Instructions for various techniques from Glass Patterns Magazine. There are patterns for flamework, fusing and mosaics as well as lead came and copper foil. Paned Expressions Studios Free Monthly Patterns There are 40 patterns that can be downloaded as a zip file. You also have the option to pay $5.00 each to get most of them in Glass Eye 2000 format. 496 Patterns to choose from. A few of them will need some additional cut lines to make them do-able. Here are the replies I got when I asked what people use to frame round panels while constructing them. From Graham: Cut a circle out of cardboard, plywood or any material that 1/8" or more thick. Tack it down to your work surface and build within the hole. Mary said to use quilting or embroidery hoops. From Daralyn: "I have always used embroidery hoops ( for sewing) to keep
my round panels round. you can sometimes buy them in three's at Michaels
or any craft store and reuse indefinitely. They have a screw with a wing
nut to adjust larger the original hoop by as much as 2 inches. plus
they hang anywhere on a hook to keep handy". From Wayne:"I assemble round or oblong foil panels over the original pattern,
using push pins around the edge to hold pieces in place for soldering. Once
soldered, panel is usually strong enough to roll surround metal for fitting
and final soldering. Work surface is a plywood or pine panel. Clear vinyl or
wax paper over the pattern protects it from heat and flux so it can be reused".
Ann said "To build a round panel I place the border pieces on the cartoon and
hold them in place with push pins". Dorothy said "though I've never done it yet, how about using a embroidery ring?
Just a thought". From Ginny: "When I am building a round pattern and trying to keep it round is
a quilters frame, they are quite cheap, made of wood. For smaller projects the
frames for embroidery also works". I did a Google searched for embroidery and quilting hoops. They come in a variety
of sizes, the largest being 24 inches in diameter.
Although this isn't how to keep it round during construction, it's a good tip from Amy.
"When I made a large, circular panel with the foil method, I needed a
way to hang the piece securely. The solution?? A section of H-channel came.
Wrap around the panel, then wrap sturdy wire around the other channel of came.
You could use the ends of wire together to make a loop to hang the project,
or secure them inside the channel and tuck them out of site. This is an easy,
low cost solution to a wooden frame and has held up beautifully". Here's how we do it. For lead came, we use window glass to keep the piece round. Our work is usually large, so we start out with a 2 foot square piece of window glass (or larger depending on the size of the piece we'll be constructing). We then cut a circle
in the middle of the window glass, making the diameter of the circle the same measurement as the diameter that you see on the cartoon measuring from the outside of the heart of the lead. A new grinder by Gryphon has been released and is on sale for $39.95, marked down from $69.95. It is small, but a work horse none the less. It's easy to transport, or just to move around your work area so you can have a grinder right where you're working. It won't be on sale for long, so if you're interested, get one now while the price is still $39.95.
Gryphette Grinder If you purchase a Gryphon product between May 1st and August 31st 2010, you will be eligible to receive 5 free grinder bits. Click Here for the coupon which is the last item in the download list. These instructions are for making a
Tabletop Photo Studio If you want to photograph smaller pieces that you're selling on eBay, Etsy or some other online store, this is an ideal set-up. A two day workshop, Adding Depth to Stained Glass Art, with Robert Oddy will be held at Warner Stained Glass June 5 and 6. Anyone that is within traveling distance to Allentown, PA, and is interested, should register soon. The class limit is 12.
For those of you not familiar with Robert's work, have a look at his web site (just below) to see what his patterns are like. That will give you an indication of what you'll learn in his workshop.
Have a look at Robert Oddy's web site for some unique patterns, plus a free pattern to show you what the patterns and instructions guides are like. Although Robert's patterns aren't for beginners, I know there are a lot of you that are very capable of working with them. These patterns will make your skill level grow by leaps and bounds and you'll learn new techniques that you won't be taught in any classroom. Have a look at what he has to offer and download that free pattern...it's beautiful and something I know most of you would love to make.
Go to SmartFlix.com How-To DVDs to find hundreds of "How To" DVD's for rent. They have some very interesting
stained glass tutorials that can be found at Glass
Since there is occasionally some confusion, I want to clarify that an eBook is an electronic book that is downloaded on your computer. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to read it and/or print it out.
Just in case you don't know, the Stained Glass Gems ezine is mailed out the third Sunday of every month. Be on the look out for [Stained Glass Gems] Issue 19 on Sunday, June 20th. I want to encourage you to have fun and experiment with your glass. Try new things and different techniques. It's amazing what you can do when you "think outside the box."
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