Other Helpful Tools

One of the most important tools in the stained glass process is a grinder. This will help you grind out those rough cuts and help your pieces fit together better. I recommend starting with a cheaper grinder and then moving up to a higher quality grinder if you find you want to stick with the craft.

• an inexpensive option (my first grinder!)

• a moderately priced grinder (i used this one for 2 years)

• my personal favorite grinder (my current personal grinder)

You will need to wear eye protection while grinding, and I also recommend some sort of protection for your fingers to help save your nails and the tips of your fingers from tiny cuts and being grinded down while holding the glass. For this you have a couple options! One of my absolute favorites is this custom grinding tool made by Kristen Spero. It’s super helpful if you have longer or acrylic nails and protects them from getting worn down by the grinder bits! Another option is Silicone finger protectors or cut resistant finger protectors.

Some of the nice to have things that won’t prevent you from making beautiful stained glass art, but will make it a lot easier for you are, a soldering iron stand, a waffle grid, a heat resistant homasote board, patina, and an iPad & Apple Pencil.

I use the waffle grid to cut on to catch all the small shards of glass and help prevent them from getting lost on the ground or in my skin, and to help prevent the small shards from cracking my glass when I score it.

I also strongly recommend a soldering iron stand so you have a secure heat resistance place to store your iron in between uses and not burn a hole in anything or melt anything unintentional.

Along with this I suggest using a heat resistant homostate board to solder your glass on. This will help you avoid burning holes in your table and ruining the finish of your workspace.

Patina is a chemical that oxidizes your soldering lines to give them a different color finish. Lead solder lines are silver, but with Patina you can change them to either a copper or black finish.

• Black Patina

• Copper Patina

I use my iPad and Apple pencil to draw my patterns on procreate. All my patterns are my own designs and not for recreation or resale, and neither are any other artists unless they state otherwise.

DO NOT SCREENSHOT AND TRACE A PIECE YOU LIKE AND RECREATE IT! THAT IS STEALING!

if you like a pattern, see if the artist offers it for sale. You can purchase hobby and commercial patterns. There are also thousands of free patterns online and in stained glass books and magazines that you can use.

Last but not least, the tools and supplies that I recommend to use while finishing and hanging your finished piece. You will need to create some jump rings, get a chain or cord for hanging, and whatever you do please do not hang your piece with a suction hook on a window. Sure they work temporarily for small and lightweight pieces, but overall it’s not recommended by a lot of glass artists as its just too risky. The best bet would to hang your piece with a nail in a secure and stable space.

• copper wire to make jump rings

• premade jump rings

• chain for hanging

• cord for hanging

This is just a list of the supplies that I use in my projects, or like to use when I teach a workshop or class. I strongly recommend that if you haven’t, you take a class or two and practice from there. you will not become an expert overnight! Start small and work your way up to larger projects! If you have any questions feel free to email me or reach out to me on instagram and i’ll do my best to answer your questions!