Glass update

Hello ladies.  I promised you more frequent updates on my leaded light stained glass piece, so here it is!  You can see how far I'd got last week here.

I've finished the cutting (for the most part) and am now on to the leading.  I went armed with a big piece of wood and hammered some batons in place to work against.  The teacher gave me the tools below, these are the tools of the trade.  The small blob that looks like an eraser or candle wax is...  damn, I've forgotten!  I know what it does though!  I rub it on the knife (first tool on the left) to help the knife cut through the lead.  I have no idea what the second tool is, I didn't get that far, and the third item is a flid, used for opening up the channel in the lead.

And this is how far I got.  I know, pretty rubbish for a 2 hour class!  The issue I had was those glass nuggets.  I have to lead each one, then cut a curve in the glass either side (that kind of mottled clear glass is called English Muffle) to form a border.  Cutting the curves was hard.  I'd cut and grind one to perfection, then I'd go to do the other side and break the glass!  I ended up cutting them on the bandsaw and then grinding them.  Now I have the technique, hopefully I'll get more done tonight!

This is what the lead looks like.  It's surprisingly soft and pliable.  The profile is an I shape so the glass slots in either side.  I'm going to be seeing a lot of this stuff over the next couple of months... and so are you!