Home
Blog
Forum
Your Art
Glass News
Search
Glass Magazine
How To Begin
Glass Methods
Project Ideas
Pictures
Videos
Articles & Tips
Patterns
Tools
Supplies
Glass Biz
Fun History
FAQ
Free E-Course
SG Links
About Us
Contact Us
Feedback

Subscribe To
This Site

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Add to Newsgator
Subscribe with Bloglines
 

The Mighty Stained Glass Work Bench - Where Magic Happens

Stained Glass Work Bench

One important aspect of your stained glass projects is the stained glass work bench and work station. This is an aspect we receive a lot of questions about and an area that you must be creative especially if you have limited space.

For example, if you live in a one-bedroom apartment, creating a work bench will be a major challenge. However, if you have a basement, you can easily create an area that will allow you to spread out and generate your glass art.

Below are some specs and pictures of Randy, “The Wizard’s” work area for creating his stained glass art. He does have an advantage that he has a great area that is perfect for stained glass making, but that doesn't mean you don't or shouldn't find one because this artform is tons of fun!

Here are the specs of Randy’s workbench. This is a fairly simple design but allows ample space for him to work, break glass, and work his magic. I like to call him “Edward Scissorhands” for stained glass.

1.Base shelf:- 86"long x 28"deep Make a frame with 1x4 pieces of wood- make the size: 86"x28" For the shelf- piece of plywood cut out around the legs, set on the frame and secured with nails.

2.Stand (6)4x4 ,36"tall,pieces of wood (for the legs)on the inside of the frame, attach with nails to the basAlso the base e shelf. Randy put 3 legs in the front and 3 in the back. shelf is raised 8" off the ground. equal distance apart.The base shelf is raised 8"off the ground.

3.Make a 2nd frame - same as above Attach the 2nd frame to the top of the legs with nails.

4.Top- 92"long, 36"deep x 36"tall x 3/4" thick plywood, painted white Put the top on the 2nd frame. Randy secured with triangle supports(3) under the top attached to the 2nd frame for extra support.



Randy likes the piece of glass to help clean the slivers of glass. Also it seems to help him cut the stained glass easier. This is an option. The piece of glass he has is 60"long x 36"deep. He placed the glass on the right side of the work bench. Then he attached a wood square against the glass on the right side 32"x 36".

Also he made shelves with standards screwed into the wall and used 12"brackets. He placed pieces of wood 12"deep for the shelf itself. You can add as many shelves as you need or have room for.

He built a smaller version of this bench for his grinder: 29"w x 22"deep x 36"tall.

We recommend making different size wood boxes to house the glass, to stand upright, rather than lay the glass flat. We also recommend a well-lit area and plenty of electric outlets (at least 8 plug-ins).

Randy built his bench to fit in an area of the basement. You can make your bench whatever size you would like. We have seen benches that you can walk around- 50"long x 48"deep.

Again this is one example of a stained glass work bench. Your situation may call for different specs, drastic measures, or something totally different. Don’t hesitate to ask and see how you can incorporate this art form for you situation.

Below are some additional pictures of the stained glass work bench. The caption below the picture offers more of a description.

Overall view of the stained glass work area

Above shows a great view of Randy's work space. This is in the basement where it is typically quite dark. Notice the simplicity of the bench and the use of bright light.

Great pic of Randy's stained glass tools

Here is a shot of some of the tools that are utilized during the glass creation process.

The above pic shows various glass that is used in Randy's pieces and the patterns that he begins with.

Workbench - utilize a T.V. to make and watch instructional videos

In the above photo, note the use of a small t.v. This is an optional tool for your stained glass work bench, but is great to watch instructional videos as you're making your glass art. A laptop would work also. The benefit to this is if you don't want to spend hundreds on a class, this is a perfect substitute.

Download instructions for a simple to make stained glass work bench
Courtesy of: BetterStainedGlass.com


Return to the top of stained glass work bench

Home | History | How to make Stained Glass | Designs | Patterns | Tools | Supplies | Articles | Pictures | FAQ




footer for stained glass work bench page