I'd like to get straight to the point, list my outstanding glass troubles and hope and pray that more experienced crafts people can shed some light in the darkness. First problem……. I have been making a number of small x-mas decorations as gifts. I mean who wants a life sized Frosty the snowman in their place? Or holly and berries that weigh more than the dog? So we are talking about some small pieces here. In some cases the pieces of glass would be completely covered if you foil with even the smallest of foils. Your instinctive reply would be to change the scale, eliminate the piece, make it bigger, etc. I like miniature and much detailed pieces. I like butterflies to be life-like and drawn to scale, for example, and don't want flying creatures to look like B-52's. So….. I've tried gluing together small pieces without any success at all. I've played unsuccessfully with Weldbond (not waterproof), spray adhesive (very sticky dog), contact adhesive (useless), E-6000 (much advertised– maybe it's for slumping or something), Lexel (spreads like a waffle mix & just as effective), LocTite (ya, you bet), etc. I'm helping the economy with these purchases but that's about it. Any idiot proof solutions???
Second problem…… how do I order much needed supplies from Delphi or any other large supplier without incurring these amazing U.P.S. "Brockerage" charges???? You will never convince me that U.P.S. stands for anything else than- You Pay Several Times, Idiot. I will pay twenty dollars for shipping– always requesting USPS– and then get a bill for twenty-five bucks from the thieves in brown. I have reached the stage where I refuse to pay a second time. Is there a way around this? I know e-Bay never tries this kind of highway robbery. But you don't exactly get a quality product from them. Do some companies use UPS exclusively and some don't?
First problem revisited….I'm beginning to think (not much) that if I ever did find the right adhesive, I'd glue my fingers to the bench and then slowly starve to death. What about making a groove with a jeweller's grinding wheel and wiring all these horrible little bits of glass together? Would that work? It sounds very labour intensive to me. What about those binding edges that are twice as thick (& 3x as expensive) as foil? Taking small nuggets, or marbles, or jems, as an example, there are times when it would be ideal to glue bunches together. Foiling, grooving, and binding are too slow in this instance.
Still more problems…. well, you were warned. How do I grind in a perfectly straight line? Do I need a specialized grinder with a flat surface? My candy-canes look like a drunk did them. All the minor imperfections seem to be exaggeraged with small pieces and constantly changing colour schemes. There must be a solution to this problem. When making stained glass 'quilted' patterns with small squares I would tear my hair out. Many thanks for any potential solutions you might offer.
Start by cutting a straight line!!!, then if it needs grinding at all, touch it up a little. Grinders were not made to straighten badly cut lines.
The rest of the rant just illustrates that you really don't want to do traditional staines glass. Maybe you should get yourself a kiln, and fuse your little pieces.
The UPS problem isn't a stained glass problem. It's a shipping problem. This one should be refered back to your source. I can't think of any reason your supplier wouldn't use another carrier, you're paying the bill. If your shipment crosses the border, there will be brokerage charges assessed by so9meone. Live with it, or move to the States.
……………. there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worthwhile doing as simply messing about in boats.
You could get a small, inexpensive kiln to fuse your small pieces together and then wrap the larger fused piece in foil or lead. Or you could cut a larger piece and paint the lines in. If you're talking about a random small piece here and there, like surrounded by larger pieces, the larger pieces will hold it in place. I have made panels that have itty bitty pieces in them. I press the edge onto a piece of foil and use an exacto knife to trip the sides away so that the foil is ONLY on the edges. Neighboring pieces will hold it in place only there won't be a nice solder bead between the two.
As for mail order – I try to get everything from a local studio. If they don't have it, they tack it on to their next order, so sometimes I have to wait a while. I ordered a piece of 8" x 10" piece of glass from Delphi recently and the shipping and packing fee was more than the piece of glass. Glass Crafters doesn't over charge for shipping and either does Warner-Criv, if I recall.. Shop around.
Grinding straight edge.. key here is to CUT straight. use a straight edge of best yet, cutters mate or strip cutter. Squares are easy with the morton system. Perfect squares every time. If the cut is straight to begin with, you only need to lightly feather the edge of the glass with the grinder to remove any sharp pieces that would cut the foil.
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