Originally intended for the churches, where their contemplation was customary, they illuminated the whole church with colors in their different facets in addition to their religious and historical vocation. The Stained glass is a technique more than a thousand years old. His work has diversified and today it serves above all as a decorative element, best known thanks to the artist Louis-Comfort Tiffany, a talented American who has been enassed to the art of master glassmaker and its famous lighting world famous.

The main difference with religious stained glass are the composition of these. While the profiles of Lead were used to assemble the different parts, they are copper ribbons that surround the whole, the Copper being a more flexible material. The key is an infinite possibility of work that is open to the creation of each one. But how, then, can we create a Tiffany stained glass ? Let's see all these techniques via the assembly of a lamp stained glass window.

A drawing or photo base

It is appropriate before starting the large work, to be able to create a drawing, to lay down on a Sheet the general idea and the overview of the Stained glass. On a specific scale, we see the tracing of future welds as well as the size and Colors pieces of glass that will form the stained glass window of the future lamp.
These lines will therefore serve as a framework to ensure from A to Z a marker for creation. It is then a model that is recreated following this drawing, this time full-size. Made of cardboard, this model allows to calibrate perfectly the size of the part and allows to refer to it to produce Templates.
Once the plots are finished, just cut them out. We get like a kind of puzzle, where every piece in its place and nothing exceeds! It is therefore necessary to be very careful, all these jigs will be used to cut the pieces of glass to the shape and size desired by the initial layout.

Cut out the glass to create pieces of all colors

Thanks to a glass cutter, each piece of glass is cut according to the shape of the templates previously manufactured. In order to make the edges smoother and evener, a grinder is used on each piece of Glass produced, ensuring a well-finished job. Then comes the notion of colours. More than one Tiffany stained glass, is to be able to use several pieces of glass and therefore several possible colors. In order to obtain them, we can either buy any made-outs in trade or from a specialist, or use oxides for example. The glass will then have to bake in an oven at more than 500 degrees in order to see the fixed color.
Once all the pieces of glass have been worked and ready to take the next step, each of them is set with Copper In Ribbon Adhesive. The grinding work is very important here because so well done, this ribbon will be a second skin. Once the pieces are assembled, these ribbons will be used to Weld all the elements present together during the welding.

Assemble and assemble the set pieces

What to do once all these steps have been completed? Once the crimping is complete, it's time to create a support that will serve as the basis for the final welding. This support is created in three dimensions, and will therefore take the desired shape of the lamp. Once the piece is mounted on this support, it's time to Weld All of it. This weld is initially made with the application of a special water, called welding water. This application is done on the copper ribbons having been used for crimping. Then just prepare fairly thin metal chopsticks, made up ofTin.
Very malleable, theTin will be applied with a soldering iron to secure the parts between them. It is therefore important to be careful not to have any defects or deviations during the welding, and to make sure that you have a Flow otherwise all the work would be ruined by unsightly flaws and days on the whole work.

Artistic or simple finishes

It is important to ensure that the welds are clean and that no defects are present throughout the production. It is then enough, if desired, to use a kind of Painting or rather patina, on the entire weld. This will be intended to mask the too great difference between theTin and possible different colors of the pieces of glass. Finally, it will be enough to treat the metals used with an anti-oxidant. Because theTin can rust, this treatment will be enough to keep the whole set clean with a new rendering, remaining clean over time and guaranteed without premature aging.

Working the stained glass for a Tiffany lamp is not an amateur's job you will understand. In addition to having equipment, it will be necessary to use patience and concentration. But spending so much time looking after this very precise work will be worth the effort. it may be easier to buy Tiffany lamps already assembled. The rendering is splendid and it is not for nothing that Tiffany stained glass is such a big reference in the field of art deco.