Stained Glass Courses
Lead work is the traditional method for assembling stained glass windows and mastering this technique can give immense pleasure to the new student.
Like copper foil, lead comes in various widths and is basically H or U shaped. The pre-cut glass pieces are assembled using the chosen width lead came with the glass being slotted into the channel provided. When the panel is completed, the lead is then soldered at the joining junctions.
Lead cames are usually sold in 2 metre lengths and are available as either round or flat cames which almost always have to be stretched. The centre of the came is called the ‘heart’ and this is where each piece of glass will come to rest when making up the glass panel.
Stained glass (lead work) can be painted as in most stained glass seen in churches, etched or sandblasted. New students will usually opt to do pure glass work using a variety of glass i.e. transparent or textured glasses, but once the basics have been learnt it is easy to move on to include the use of different glass mediums.
