Beveled Glass window created December 2006.

                     A variation created December, 2009

                Picture of the same window taken with a flash to show some of the detail in the glass.

As the beveled pieces in this cluster didn't fit well, I found that I had to assemble the cluster first, then design the rest of the window around the finished cluster.  The cluster's perimeter posed a problem in the final window design, as the cut-line had to be drawn about 3/16" under the outside edge of the came. 

                           Stained Glass window created December 2008

I first made this panel on consignment over 25 years ago.  We displayed it in our home for a couple of weeks before the buyer picked it up.  Apparently it made a deep impression on my son, because a couple of years ago, he told us that he always loved that window, and was sorry that we had sold it.

After a two year quest for the pattern, I finally found it, and was able to surprise him with the window for Christmas.   

Stained Glass Glazing Compound

Here are some ideas, and several formulas/recipes you can use in glazing your larger panels.  The glazing will not only add strength to your larger windows, it will also seal the window against the outside elements.  (All the same, I personally would protect a stained glass window from the elements by placing it inside a new/existing exterior window.)

Recipe 1.

                   Dry ingredients:

4  parts - Whiting (Calcium Carbonate or chalk)

2  parts - Plaster of Paris

1 1/2  parts - Portland Cement

1/4  part - Lamp Black

                    Wet ingredients:

1 Part - Boiled Linseed Oil

1 1/2 to 2 parts  - Pure Gum Turpentine

Recipe 2

                    Dry Ingredients:

1 part - Calcium Carbonate (Whiting/Chalk)

1 part - Plaster of Paris

1/4 part - Lamp Black

                    Wet Ingredients:

1 part - Boiled Linseed Oil

1 part Mineral Spirits (Paint Thinner)

Mix your dry ingredients in a large container/bucket, then store for future use.  (I have found a bucket with a lid, plastic milk jugs, and canning jars to be satisfactory for storage; however the plastic in the jugs tend to deteriorate and become brittle after a few years which could cause a mess.)

When ready to glaze your project, mix up a small amount of the wet ingredients and add it little by little to the pre-mixed dry ingredients.  The resulting putty/glazing compound should be fairly stiff -- about peanut butter consistency.  

The working life of a batch of putty will be about one day.

I use a 2 to 3 inch length of wood, cut off a paint-stirring stick, to work the putty between the lead came and the glass.  Before ending for the day, I do a rough cleaning of the panel-it's easier to do it earlier rather than later.  Clean-up can be done with toilet paper or paper towels.  Final 'picking' can be done with  a small-diameter hardwood dowel either sharpened like a pencil, or flattened into a wedge.  Slightly undercut the putty for a crisp, clean lead line.

Acetone on a paper towel makes quick work on hard-to-remove putty on lead came or glass.  Consider using chemical-resistant gloves when working with acetone.

Light

                      A window I made in 2007 for my son for his new 80 year old house.

This is my granddaughter playing in the light filtered through the window above.