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Glass Tips & TricksNewsletters from our past converted to fresh articles about stained glass.
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How To Reinforce A Stained Glass Skylight
I have a tendency to "over build" projects, because it worries me that something might happen that wasn't planned. So I add extra wood to shelves so they won't sag and extra time for glass to cool in the kiln so it won't break. Sometimes these extra steps may be unnecessary but they give me peace of mind.
But when it comes time to reinforce a stained glass panel which is going to be over head, you just can't be too careful!
But when it comes time to reinforce a stained glass panel which is going to be over head, you just can't be too careful!
The reinforcing strip must be added before the pieces of glass in the window are tacked so the strips of copper can be placed in between the pieces of glass of the panel.
This strip is 1/2" wide copper that was cut at a local sheet metal shop. (This is the same thing we always used to reinforce in the old days.)
This strip is 1/2" wide copper that was cut at a local sheet metal shop. (This is the same thing we always used to reinforce in the old days.)
Start the soldering process with the circle in the middle and tack the strip as you work it around the piece of glass.
Then use tin snips to cut the copper strip when you get done going around the circle.
You can then solder the strip to the end of where you started.
You can see that the strip goes all around the circle and stands up 1/2" above the surface of the glass. That should provide a great deal of strength to the panel.
Then, begin to add strips which run from the center circle to the outside edge of the glass. Leave 1/8" space on the outside of the glass so that there will be room for the 1/4" outer bar that will go around the panel when it's done.
Here is a shot of the rib soldered in place and the surrounding pieces of glass aren't even tacked in place yet!
Here, the panel is complete. I got all of the ribs in place, tacked and soldered the rest of the panel, added the outer bar around the perimeter of the panel and then I was able to turn it over to finish soldering. When I did that, I put down a thick layer of towels to support the glass (with the ribs poking down) as I soldered.
Here it is in place. Now that's a good looking skylight which will last for years.
