How stained glass is made
The color runs all the way through most stained glass, thanks to metal oxides stirred into the melt.
- stations
- 10
- things upstream
- 49
- raw sources
- 24
- steps from the ground
- 5
The short version
Metal oxides stirred into molten glass give it color right through, and the melt is then blown or rolled into sheets. Studios draw a full-size cartoon, score and break each piece to fit, and fire on any painted detail. The pieces slot into H-shaped lead came, joints get soldered, and a linseed-oil cement brushed under the lead seals the panel.
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Melt in the colors
Silica and fluxes melt in a pot with metal oxides, which color the batch all the way through. Makers call the result pot metal.
Goes in -
Form the sheets
A glassmaker blows a gather into a cylinder or spins it into a crown, or molten glass is poured on a table and rolled flat. Flashed sheets carry a thin colored layer fused to another color or to colorless glass.
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Draw the cartoon
The approved design is drawn at full scale in several copies, often now with CAD software. These cartoons act as templates for cutting and for assembly.
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Score and break
A glass cutter scores each piece to the pattern, and hands, tapping or breaking pliers snap it along the line. Grozing pliers and grinders then tidy edges for a snug fit.
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Paint and fire detail
Where the design calls for shading or imagery, vitreous paint of powdered glass and pigment goes on. A kiln then fuses it permanently to the surface.
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Lead up the panel
The pieces are laid over the cartoon and slotted into H-shaped lead came, held by horseshoe nails while the work grows. Cames are woven in both directions, since long straight runs make a weak spot.
Goes in -
Flux and solder
Each lead joint is fluxed with tallow, then soldered with tin and lead on both sides.
Goes in -
Brush in the cement
A putty of calcium carbonate and boiled linseed oil is forced under the lead flanges with a brush. It seals the panel, adds strength and protects the metal.
Goes in -
Clean and polish
Excess cement is cleaned away and the panel is buffed, leaving the lead with a rich patina.
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Add the steel supports
Thin steel strips can hide inside the lead for rigidity, and larger panels get external bars tied on with copper wire, set into the frame behind lead lines.
Worth repeating
- In crown glass, a bubble of glass is spun, and the centrifugal force flattens it into a disc.
- The lead came in a stained glass window is usually worth replacing after about 100 years.
- Red glass is often flashed because enough colorant for the red to develop makes a full-thickness sheet far too dark.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and stained glass starts as these 24 raw sources.
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Sources
- Stained glass
- How Traditional Stained Glass Is Made, Ultraviolet Stained Glass
- Traditional methods and materials, Somerset Stained Glass
- Stained Glass: How It's Made, Daedalian Glass Studios
Cite this page: "How stained glass is made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/stained-glass