Grinder - if you're just starting out and don't want to make a big investment, you can use a Carborundum stone to file down the sharp edges of your glass after you've made the cuts. Brush every copper foiled surface with flux before soldering every time for best results. Flux - Flux is available in liquid or gel form (I find the gel to be more forgiving to work with), and is used to assist the solder flow between the copper taped pieces. Solder with a higher tin content has a lower melting point and will flow more quickly, with a more silvery finish. Solder - Solder is a mixture of tin and lead. For most projects, I prefer a wide soldering tip. Soldering Iron - You'll need a soldering iron that's designed for stained glass, minimum 75 watts. There are patinas available to change the finished color of your solder if you like. I used silver backed foil because I wanted the finished piece to be silver.

If you are using clear glass, the backing of the foil will be visible. This is important to keep in mind for the design of your piece.

The copper foil is what gets soldered to hold the glass together! Copper foil also comes with silver or copper backing. Copper foil comes in a variety of widths to accommodate different thicknesses of glass. This technique uses copper foil which has an adhesive on one side to hold the glass pieces together. This is a completely different technique than I am showing you. Copper Foil - Some stained glass works use lead came, which is a lead channel that holds pieces of glass together. Running pliers are designed for snapping long cuts in the glass. Grozer pliers are designed for breaking glass and nipping off little edges. Cutting Oil - required to prolong the life of your glass cutter and improving the quality of your score on the glass Pliers - Do not use ordinary house pliers for this! There are two styles of pliers used in stained glass. I also like using a pistol-grip style cutter with the same features, but in a more ergonomic design. Here you see a tungsten carbide wheel cutter which has an oil reservoir in the handle. You'll see the wide world of glass available to you when you visit a stained glass supplier! Glass Cutter - these also come in a variety of styles.

Hard to do a glass project without glass) - there are SO many kinds of glass available! I used a combination of streaky and textured glass for this project. You can always add to your collection as you go along (and trust me, it's hard not to!) It's best to find a specialist stained glass supplier for these materials. Here are a few essentials to get you started. There's a broad range of really fun materials involved in stained glass.

Stained glass design paper