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.

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.

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.

Once the circle is scored, we cut the glass into 4 pieces, one score down the middle from top to bottom, and one score across the middle from side to side. Run those four scores and separate the glass into 4 parts. Then run the score for the circle out of each piece and remove the glass. Put one or two pieces on your work board and hold them in place with framing strips. Slip the external lead on the curved surface, where the circle is cut out, (you will have lead dangling...that's okay). Start building your round panel, and keep adding a window glass section as needed. When you're finished, you will have the complete panel surrounded by window glass, which will be removed once you're done soldering.

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.
All designs feature:
Three-dimensional layering that creates depth in your designs - taking you well past the two dimensions of basic stained glass.
Full-color instructional guides for every step in the construction process.
Full-scale patterns ready to print as many times as you need for your project.
Supply lists for each design to help make sure you have everything you need.
Extra construction tips take you beyond the simple skills you learned as a beginner!

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

Working With Lead eBook.
It contains everything found in my Lead Tutorial as well as larger pictures and a practice pattern to use while learning the techniques. Use ordinary window glass while you're learning and save your colored glass for when you're ready to make some windows.
It only takes a minute to order, and you can download it right away, as an Adobe PDF document. Get it today for only $9.95
If you're not completely satisfied, it comes with a 30 day, no questions asked, money back guarantee.