The Process - Lead Came Method

The ancient technique of stained glass creation using the lead came method was first documented in 675 AD when Benedict Biscop enlisted skilled artisans from France to beautifully adorn the windows of the St. Peter monastery.

It differs from the copper foil method in that the glass pieces are cut and placed in their final place in the overall design, piece by adjacent piece, growing the completed design as each piece is added.  Instead of copper foil/solder, lead channel (came) is used to join all of the adjacent pieces together. Lead channel comes in 6ft to 8ft lengths and is cut to size and bent around the glass shapes as each piece is placed and the finished design grows. 

The Design

The first step in the stained glass process is choosing an idea and creating a pattern. Sometimes the pattern can be purchased already made; sometimes you can design your own pattern with online tools such as Adobe Illustrator or Rapid Resizer.  This particular example was created from a combination of a lighthouse photo and a color drawing of a castle scene from Pinterest.  Adobe Illustrator was used to create the full design.

On a piece this size, a card stock template would be used to make the pattern pieces, number, and draw the direction to go on glass placement.  A piece of tracing paper is used between the design and the blank card stock to trace off the entire design.

     

Here is a sample of a finished template, ready to cut out the pieces to place on the glass for tracing:

Choosing the glass

Choosing the glass is one of the most time-consuming (and fun) parts of any project.  In the case of the piece shown above, many of the glass choices came from matching colors from ocean and beach photos found on Pinterest to various shades of blue and aqua water glass. 

Cutting/grinding the glass

The Wier Art Glass preference for cutting the template and tracing off the pieces onto glass for the lead came method is to cut out the pattern pieces as the piece is built.  This is very different from the foil method where in most cases all of the pieces of the template are cut out before tracing off and cutting any glass. 

Each piece is cut out of the template as you go, then the edge is placed under the lead holding the adjacent piece, and the lead line traced on the template piece.  The template piece is then pared down to accommodate the size of the lead channel that it will fit into. Each piece is very intentionally placed on a particular area of glass chosen for that piece, and the piece is cut out, then a grinder is used to remove any rough edges before placing the glass in the lead channel, and securing it on the project board with a place holder and wood nail.

Building the design piece by piece

The step above is repeated for every single piece of glass and the completed design grows and grows, being held firmly together with the lead channel and nails to hold it all in place.

       

   

 

Placing the zinc border

 Once all the glass has been cut and placed on the project board, and the glass part of the design is completed, zinc border is added to the edges to hold it all together and provide a stable frame. The zinc is carefully cut with a small table saw. Once the zinc is nailed in place on the project board, place painter's tape everywhere the lead came meets the zinc so that when soldering, the solder joints on the zinc will be pretty and uniform.

    

Soldering front and back

 Every place where lead touches lead, make a pretty solder joint using 50/50 (Tin to Lead) solder.  Don't get in a hurry - pretty joints make a pretty overall piece.

After all the joints and the edges on the front have been connected with solder, carefully flip the piece on the long edge and turn it face down, then do all that again, just as carefully.

Applying corner embellishments and decorative hangers

Once all the solder joints have been made, add hangers - these can be decorative or simply functional.  If the project is not a hanging project, then no hangers or corner embellishments should be used since they would be covered up by the wood holding the piece in the installed window.  

Over the course of time, new ways of hanging with wire have been added as new techniques have been learned, and the most recent learned technique is adding a stamped copper corner, soldering it in place and then covering with a layer of solder. Here is an example of how current pieces will be finished with the corner embellishments and decorative hangers.  There is not an extra charge for this little treat - consider it a Wier Art Glass signature technique.

Mudding and Sticking

This is the step where the elbow grease comes in.  Lead Came is a channel, and the glass can move and rattle in that channel, so stained glass "mud" is used to fill that gap between the glass and each side of the channel.  The mud should be stirred to the consistency of stiff batter - not too thin or it won't stay inside the lead channel, and not too thick or it is really difficult to work into the lead channel.  A small brush is used to work the mud under the edges of the lead came and the zinc border, then a stick is used to go around each edge on both sides of the lead channel and along the inside edge of the zinc border to give a smooth flat edge to the mud filling each space.  Here are some photos of the back of this piece before and after this step:

   

  

Whiting and Sticking

Now... more elbow grease...a substance called Whiting is used to clean all the excess mud off the piece. The whiting is sprinkled all over the whole piece, and the brush that was used to pack the mud under all the channel is now used to brush the whiting all over the piece. It is important to wear a good mask during this process because the whiting will have particles of lead in it as the brush is used. The whiting sticks to the excess mud to clean the piece up. It also cleans the mud off of the brush. Scrub hard to get the mud that sticks to the glass to come off, but not so hard that it could break the glass. Using very old mud means more elbow grease as it sticks to the glass more, so if the mud is old, spring for new mud. Once the mud is mostly cleaned off, use the stick to go around each and every line of lead channel again to get any additional mud that was missed with the brush, and to again give a smooth flat edge to the mud filling each space.

   

  

Vacuuming excess whiting

Once the piece is as clean of mud as possible with the whiting, then use a vacuum to clean off all the excess whiting.  Keep that mask on!!  Be careful with the end of the vacuum tube as those are generally hard plastic and if it is dropped it could crack a piece of glass... after all that hard work...

Burnishing

Lastly, a very stiff-bristled brush is put on the end of a drill, and every inch of the piece is burnished with the brush at high speed.  This causes a chemical reaction between the mud, the lead, and the whiting, transforming all the lead came, which was previously silver, to a beautiful, shiny black.  Again, a mask must be used at this step to prevent exposure to lead. The lead will over time naturally change from that shiny black to a dark gun metal gray, but will always be beautiful.

  

That was the back of the piece.  Now let it sit for awhile to set the mud well, then carefully flip it on the long edge - it will already be MUCH stiffer even with just one side done - and do the steps above from Mudding to Burnishing again on the front side.   Once that is completed, and the piece has had time for the mud to set, it's time to hang it (and take a ton of photos).

Please remember:  It is important to ensure a watchful eye when children or pets are near your custom creation. It is made of glass and contains lead.