Become A 
Stained Glass Artist

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Tips & Tricks 

Breaking Glass

When you apply breaking force to a scored piece of glass you are imparting energy into the glass. This energy first opens the score line separating the glass into two pieces. After the glass has broken, the excess energy results in movement. The glass in your left hand moves to the left and down and the glass in the right hand moves to the right and down. If the glass piece in either hand is at all sizeable, gravity will add its influence to the momentum of the pieces which often strike the work table and can break.

The solution to this problem is very simple. Just rest the rear edge of the glass on the table during your breaking operation!


Plan Ahead for Safety

Don't wait for an accident to occur before thinking about first aid!
Plan ahead and keep a well stocked first aid kit in your glass workshop. Get together all the "usual" stuff... and then some.
Be prepared for all of the likely stained glass mishaps. Cuts and burns are the obvious "favorites," but don't overlook eye injury, (especially if you don't have running water in your work area.)
Buy an eye cup and a bottle of eye wash solution. It is a good idea to store your eye wash cup (which is usually on top of the eye wash bottle) in a plastic bag, even if it is in the original box, to be sure you don't wind up putting more junk into your eye than you had in the first place.

Other items we hope you won't need but shouldn't be overlooked are:

A large enough piece of sterile gauze to stop the bleeding if you really "do it."

One or two gallon milk jugs filled with clean water to flush burns etc.


Breaking Score Lines Using the Table Edge

Perhaps the most effective way to break a straight score line on a large piece of glass is by using the edge of the table to snap the sheet off at the score line. (You have probably seen it done at your local glass shop.)
Seems simple enough, but there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it.
You may not have noticed it but your supplier probably did not line the score up exactly at the edge of the table.
You see, it's like this....
If you line the score up with the edge of the table, after you snap the glass off along the score there is nothing holding the glass up at the end closest to the table and there is a danger of dropping the piece you have just cut onto your feet!
To avoid this possibility always position your glass so that the score line is about an inch onto the table. Now when you bend and break the glass the table will be supporting the other end of the piece you are holding.


Mixing Chemicals

Most of us realize that mixing chemicals can have unexpected (and potentially disastrous) results, but it is easy to overlook the simple fact that spraying cleaner onto work that has just been patinaed IS mixing chemicals! Always rinse or remove as much excess chemical residue as possible before adding cleaners to the mix.
You can help reduce the risk of fire in your workshop by using a power strip. Plug your work lights and soldering iron into the same strip. Then get in the habit of using the switch on the power strip to turn off your lights. This way you will always know that your iron is turned off even if you forget to unplug it or turn of your temperature control.


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