Stained glass making the old-fashioned way – learn how to lead your glass panel.
Stained glass making – the medieval way – thankfully hasn’t changed much since c.1100. Lead came is still used to join the small pieces of cut glass together, before being soldered and cemented into a rigid, weatherproof panel.
What you need to lead your stained glass art work:
- lead came,
- horseshoe nails,
- lead knife,
- lead vice, pliers,
- a piece of chipboard roughly 10cm bigger than your panel,
- two wooden batons,
- your cutline,
- masking tape,
- All Nova Tool,
- fid or lathekin, hammer,
- set square and nails.
Step one: Stretching the lead
There are many different widths, heights and depths of stained glass lead, but the length – 6foot – is constant. Traditionally, 12mm lead came is used for the border, and the first thing you have to do is stretch it to make it stronger and easier to use. This you do using a lead vice – use a door if you don’t have one! – and a pair of pliers. Tug at the lead sharply until you can’t feel any more ‘give’. 
At this point it is sensible to open up the channels along the lead came with an All Nova Tool or a lathekin so that you can fit the glass in easily and fill it with lots of cement later.
Step two: Prepare leading up board
Your cutline needs to be taped flat onto a chipboard, with wooden batons nailed at right angles 7mm (if you’re using 12mm lead) outside the edge of your cutline. This allows space for the flange – 5mm – and heart – 2mm – of the lead. The next step is to put the outside vertical and horizontal leads in place – but first you have to cut them at right angles!
Step three: Cutting the lead
Mark the angle you want to cut across the top of the lead with the lead knife. Then push the lead knife gently and vertically through the top flange, rocking it from side to side to make sure you don’t flatten the lead. Once you’ve got the outside leads in – don’t forget to accommodate the width of the other lead at the intersection – you can put your first piece of glass in. The excitement! This method of stained 
glass making is very gratifying – I love seeing the panel take shape from this point onwards. Your internal leads will be narrower than 12mm – it’s a decision you make at the design stage. It’s visually more interesting if you vary the widths of the lead to emphasise different aspects of your window.
Step four: Leading up
Stretch and open the channels of the internal leads as before, and work out and mark the angle at which this lead needs to be cut to fit snugly against the outer lead – don’t go cutting it at 90 degrees if it needs to be a 45 degree angle. It’s important to cut the leads a little shorter than the edge of the glass, to make room for the flange of the intersecting lead. Use a scrap piece of lead as a gauge.
Use horseshoe nails banged into little pieces of scrap lead to keep everything in place. My students always demand at least another hand at this stage of the stained glass making process! Build up the glass pieces from the left hand corner of your board if you’re right-handed – this enables you to push with your right hand – and try and carry through the leads that run vertically. This results in stronger stained glass panels.
Unless you’re a true miracle at glass cutting, you’ll probably be using your stained glass grinder and grozing pliers to get the glass to fit properly. This is entirely normal with stained glass making, don’t worry! Once you’ve finished leading the whole panel, you only have the two remaining outer leads to cut, and then you’re ready for the stained glass making solder stage.
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