No, this isn't the unobtrusive link I was mentioning in the previous post :) . This is simply a "you can do it too" post if you want to do your own leaded glass windows for your castle, or just to add that little bit 'o medieval to your house. I'm certainly no Louis Comfort Tiffany or Whitefriars artist, so If I can do it, the rest of you would-be castle builders can too.
For a total outlay of a couple hundred dollars, I wound up with enough glass and tooling to build this (and several other) windows. It's a little expensive up front for things like a glass grinder, cutting grid, scoring tools and the like, and especially the glass considering I broke my fair share before a got wise and took a lesson. My advice to you if you want to make leaded glass windows: Take A Lesson Or Two! It'll save you money in the long run.
I started off with a half-dozen piece pane at the lesson, and this is the first thing I've designed and built myself. I have several more pieces to make, and most are in the Arts & Crafts or Nouveau style. I also have some nice Medieval flavored pieces to make that will come up for sale here, or possibly on Ebay.
If you're on a budget I'd recommend craigslist.org for finding glass and tools, I've bought out 2 other folks selling home hobby studios. I wound up with a lot of glass that would've cost quite a bit for less than retail and I didn't have to pay shipping had I ordered it online.
Very nifty. Of course one problem with traditional stained glass is that it has a low insulation value.
ReplyDeleteI found this page interesting on how to solve that problem:
http://forum.doityourself.com/doors-windows/72018-insulating-stained-glass-sidelights.html
Hi DannyLR, thanks for stopping by and sharing the info.
ReplyDeleteToo true, there are ways around it as you've linked to in that site. The reasons used for argon on that site are incorrect though, it displaces the ambient air and associated humidity along with having lower thermal transfer abilities and lower thermal expansion qualities.
There are some issues with sandwiching leaded panes between other glass sheets, heat buildup and moisture being the main problems. The heat buildup between a sealed leaded pane and glass sheet can cause warping and cracking of the leaded pane thanks to thermal expansion. Trapped moisture between panes will cause the lead to fail sooner.
Best thing to do? If a custom window or otherwise, have standard double glazed window made for the installation and then mount the stained glass in its own frame on the inside of the house, preferably a hinged frame so you can swing it aside to open the other window and/or clean it.