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RESTORATION

Glass has clearly (pun intended) evolved all through the centuries. Here is a bit of a timeline.

In the 1700's window glass was mouth blown and spun into a disk. It was small and distorted. I think it is quite beautiful. Even when it was big enough to cut with straight edges, it was very distorted.

In the 1800's the process evolved to a mechanically blown cylinder machine. Sheets were larger and the quality was better. Because the sheets were bigger you are now seeing a more traditional window glass. They were large enough to cut square or into a rectangle.

In the 1900's the invention of the Fourcault machine allowed for vertically drawn glass. This was the end of the imperfections except for vertical drawn lines. The end of the waves and the end of the seeds and bubbles.

Even though the quality of glass improved there is often a desire to replace what was there. To keep it looking the same. Glass is available to reproduce each century of glass.

COLONIAL

A glass called colonial is a glass with slight distortion and occasional seeds are present. The thickness varies a bit. It is very much like the 1800's glass. Just imagine trying to copy a procedure where the manufacturing was trying to make it perfect but were not being totally successful.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/saint-just-clear-colonial-restoration-glass.html

GNA RESTOVER+

This is a more affordable alternative to colonial. However, it is not a close replication of the 1800. Not for a restoration roject where historical integrity is important.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/clear-gna-restoration-glass.html

This glass is beautiful. It has fine lines through. Really not a great piece for restoration but totally a step up from window glass. It has a classic timeless look.

by Andrea Lozoya

Whether you enjoy working on a favorite creative hobby, making handmade arts and crafts, or doing a variety of DIY projects in your free time, it’s important to have a dedicated workspace in your home where you can focus. Designing your own workshop station will make it easy to keep everything together in one place, and it provides you with a dedicated area to complete all sorts of projects while keeping the rest of your house uncluttered. When you plan your workshop station setup, there are several important things to consider, depending on the type of work you plan to do. Let’s take a closer look at some inspirational ideas and tips that will help you create the perfect DIY workshop so you can fulfill your creative needs.

Determine the Size and Location of Your Workshop

The size of your new workshop area will depend on how much space you need and how much you have available. Here are some tips to help you determine just how much room you’ll need.

• If you live in a single-family home, you may have more space for your workshop station. You may even be able to build or renovate a separate outbuilding in the backyard, such as a shed or small garage.
• Living in a condo or apartment means you likely have less room to work. However, you can make a portable, smaller workstation that’s about the size of a desk.
• Think vertically if you’re short on space. Storing items on the wall will give you more floor space to work with.
• Use corners wisely, and create a comfortable workstation nook with shelving or a small corner-mounted table.

Where you choose to set up shop is just as important as the size. Here are a few helpful tips to make it easier for you to pick a location at home.

• If you’re doing woodworking or using power tools of any kind, make sure that there are enough power outlets nearby.
• Ample lighting is also essential, so check to ensure that you’re working in an area with plenty of windows or that you have enough light fixtures to help you see clearly.
• Choose a quiet part of your home, especially if you’re planning to use loud power tools like a circular saw or if you plan to do a lot of hammering.
• Some great options for a separate workshop include the garage, a room over the garage, a large extra walk-in closet, the laundry room, or even the basement or attic if you have space.
• Consider building a brand-new workstation if you have enough room in your backyard. A nice shed with a few windows is a great option that will give you a separate place to do anything from DIY wood projects to artwork and more.

What Kinds of DIY Work or Crafts Will You Do?

Your setup, size, and storage will depend on the type of projects you plan to work on. These tips will help you configure the best space for your needs.

Art and painting. A nice studio with lots of natural light is ideal if you plan to make custom art or work on paintings. Make sure you have plenty of storage so you can keep brushes, paints, canvases, and other art supplies together and organized.

Woodwork. You’ll need a larger space if you plan to do some woodworking. Check to make sure you have enough outlets for power tools, and ideally, this space should be completely separated from the rest of the home due to noise and sawdust. Consider ventilation as well if you’ll be using adhesives, paints, stains, or other toxic brews.

Ceramics and pottery. Pottery and ceramics can be messy, so choose a roomy area where you can work on your throw and fire up your kiln. Concrete flooring is ideal for a pottery studio.

Sewing. From fabric and thread to tools and accessories, make sure you set up a workstation that has enough storage for all of your sewing stuff. You’ll need a power source for your sewing machine and iron. And, of course, a roomy work table is also a must-have for your sewing studio.

Resin. Using resin to create things like jewelry or art is quickly becoming a popular hobby. Keep in mind that working with resin involves various chemical compounds, so choosing a space with adequate ventilation and away from kids and pets is extremely important.

Glasswork. You’ll need a large space away from your home if you’re planning to blow glass yourself. Glasswork involves a hot furnace, which can be expensive to set up yourself. If you’re just working with pieces of glass to make jewelry, you can choose a craft room or a space in the garage to work.

Supplies for Your New Workshop or Craft station

The tools and supplies you need will depend on what you’re doing. Here are a few important items that you should include when you set up your new workshop station.

Power drill. Every good DIYer needs a quality power drill. Make sure you have plenty of drill bits to go along with it and that your drill has enough voltage to drill into thicker wood or metal. A cordless drill is great for smaller household projects.

Hand and circular saw. A hand saw doesn’t require a power source, while a circular saw will. Both types of saws are extremely useful when you need to cut wood or other materials. Always use these tools with extreme caution, and wear safety glasses whenever you operate them.

Level and tape measure. Hanging items or building something requires it to be plumb and level. Make sure you have a level to ensure accuracy. Use a tape measure so you can determine the length or width of various items before you cut or build.

Hammer, screwdriver, and pliers. These three common tools are essential for any workshop. Choose hammers and pliers in different sizes depending on your needs. You should at least have one Philips head and one flat-head screwdriver, too.

Sewing supplies. Stock your sewing room with the important essentials like a quality sewing machine, plenty of different-colored threads, lots of buttons, needles, and a nice variety of fabrics.

Art. If you enjoy painting, make sure you have plenty of different paints, brushes, and paper or canvas to work on. A nice, sturdy easel is also a great choice if you prefer to stand up while painting, or if you’re working on a larger piece.

How to Keep Your Creative Corner Organized

Here are some tips to help you keep your new creative workspace free of clutter and organized.

• Mount a pegboard on the wall, or use a magnetic board attached to a piece of wood to hang tools. A nice toolbox with drawers also comes in quite handy.
• Shelving and drawers are perfect for organizing virtually anything. Clear plastic containers are great for storing small craft items, buttons, and nails or screws. Use wall storage to get more floor space by installing some shelving up toward the ceiling so you have more room to work in.
• A rolling cart is perfect for small crafting items like glue, brushes, paints, and colored pencils. It’s also a good choice for small sewing accessories or for brads, nails, screws, and small hand tools.
• Keep a special place for notes if you need to keep track of your projects. A nice whiteboard or blackboard is a good option, or you can use a corkboard and pin notes to it or hang a clipboard to the wall with a small notebook where you can write things down.

First-Time Project Tips and Ideas

Here are a few fun and easy ideas to help you get started if you’re new to doing creative projects.

DIY marble mugs. This is a fun project the whole family will enjoy, and it’s easy to make using just a few simple items. All you need is a few white mugs, some different colors of nail polish, a pan filled with water, and toothpicks. Seal your new mugs with clear ModgePodge when you’re done.

Throw pillows. Sewing custom throw pillows is a great way to learn how to sew or practice using a new sewing machine. You can make pillows from virtually any fabric you have lying around, and they’ll make your bedroom or living room much cozier.

Wood projects. Build a custom wood toy chest for your kids, or try a homemade outdoor bench or flower box if you enjoy gardening. All of these are a good starting point if you’re planning to learn woodworking.

Painting. Get the whole household together, and paint as a family. You can also paint your family portraits or try your hand at painting a landscape in the backyard. Get creative and make your custom abstract art for a fun way to experiment with different brushes and paint colors.

Once you have a custom workshop set up, the variety of projects you can work on is endless. Eventually, you’ll become obsessed with making a variety of DIY projects, from woodworking and jewelry making to painting and sewing. Your new workstation will probably become the entire family’s favorite corner of the house. Remember to try your hand at a few fun DIY projects that the kids and the whole family can enjoy working together for quality bonding time.

This article was originally published at Porch.com

When Stained Glass Express Opened in 1988, we were literally a Stained Glass Store. We sold stained glass and the supplies that went with the copper foil method. We were a few years into it before we even brought any lead came in. It is quite a different story now. So much to choose from.

STAINED GLASS: We are still dancing with the one that brought us. We continually teach beginner stained glass classes and still provide lots of that product line. Copper foil, stained glass method is cutting the glass, grinding the glass, foiling the glass, soldering the pieces together.

LEADED GLASS: Leaded glass is more popular than ever. Not only do we do a lot of restoration of leaded church windows, we teach classes in lead came to students who have some knowledge of beginner stained glass. With the leaded method you cut the glass, grind the glass, cut lead came and fit it to the glass, grout the glass and clean the pieces.

FUSING: Fusing gives such immediate gratification. It is fast and fun. We use for Fun Nights Out and classes and provide lots of that product to fusers. To fuse on your own, you really need to know how to run a kiln. The process is to cut the glass to the shapes you want, maybe decorate or layer, fuse it and then possibly slump it into a mold. There are so many variations. It can also be very complex and artistic.

MOSAICS: Great for kid classes, great way to use up scraps and can be a very professional medium to create with. The process is to find a substrate. It could be a tile, a board, glass, a piece of furniture, a shoe and most anything. Let your imagination go wild. It does not have to be just glass. Add rocks, broken dishes, or other items. Again, the limit is your imagination. Then you glue. You can grout, or not grout.

HOT GLASS: An extremely exciting medium. It can be done with bench burners or with an oven. We use bench burners. You need something to create the flame, fuel and oxygen. You also need an annealing kiln. The process is to heat the glass in the flame. You can work on a mandrel or not. Shape the glass using gravity and tools and sometimes blowing into a tube of glass.

PAINT: An incredibly old process and a very new process. You see painted glass on church windows that are over 100 yrs old. These are enamel paints that get fused and become part of the glass. Still done today. Often this method is reversed painting and requires several firings in the kiln. Manufacturers are Reusche and others.

Then there are paints that you can put in the oven. They are not totally permanent. They are the type of thing that says hand painted, hand wash, like wine glasses. This would be paint like Vitrea paints.

Probably the most popular are the enamels that you paint head on. (Not Reverse). They are fused and become permanent. Like this plate done by Paula Mccoy, owner of Colors for Earth paints.

There is also paint that is not permanent. You might use it for an eye, or just a dot. It will wash off.

I think I have not researched an issue and come up with less concise data ever. Here are some things I did find.

FUSING

The causes of concern when fusing are lead and cadmium. Cadmium when combined with sulfur forms Cadmium Sulfide and results in deep yellow color. If mixed with Selenium and Sulfur, it gives you bright red and orange. Adding Titanium produces yellowish-brown glass. https://www.bullseyeglass.com/is-bullseye-glass-food-safe.html At this link you can find the list of Bullseye glass that contain more than 1% lead and more than .5% of cadmium. They recommend this list be capped with clear. They also said that transparent glass leaches lead/cadmium at levels below FDA limits and less than opalescent lead/cadmium-bearing glass. So, you can decide not to cap transparent glass. I also found from Randy Wardell in his book "Everything Else", this: The official answer from the glass manufacturers is, all tested compatible glasses have been tested by the FDA for food bearing surfaces and were determined to be suitable. However, if you add other processes or compounds to the items, for example paint, stains, decals, glazes, etc. it is important to check that these items are also approved for food bearing surfaces.

• Glassline pens are lead free and food safe.
• Mika powder must be capped.
• Iridized glass needs to be capped. Bullseye irid is safe if full fused.
• By spraying a coating of Fuse Master Super Spray on top - food safe.

The bottom line seems to be, if you have any concerns top the piece with a sheet of clear when fusing.

FLAMEWORKING

Clear Boro (COE 33) is food safe. Think Pyrex. Boro colors with high metal content or fuming are not food safe. Boro is food safe if the colors with high metal contents and fuming are not the surface. The metals can cause issues in microwaves and sometimes older dishwashers that get really hot during the drying cycle. I was not able to find a list of Boro colors with high metal content. However, here is a little info on metal oxides. When glass color is made, the metal oxides are stable and "in solution," anytime you work with the glass, in any manner, you may be breaking open "the solution" and expose the metal oxides. Rods can contain: Iron Oxide, Chromium, Sulfur, Calcium, Manganese, Manganese Dioxide, Cobalt, Arsenic, Potash, copper Oxide, Nickel, Chromium, Tin Oxide, Cadmium, Titanium, Uranium, Didymium, Selenium, Copper, Gold & Silver.

TRADITIONAL STAINED GLASS

In traditional stained-glass work where you solder, there are also concerns. If the product is going to be near food or next to your skin, you should use lead free solder. Or, if you are doing something like a night light for a child's room, use lead free solder. Lead toxins can be absorbed through the skin.

What is the difference between copper wire and tinned copper wire?

They are both copper wires. The tinned wire is a bit easier to use if you are soldering it because it already has a coating of solder on it.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/metals/wire/

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So many foils!

Different backing, different widths, and different thicknesses

Why does this matter? Take a look.

Can you see how the color of the backing shows through? It matters when you are using see through glass. It helps when the patina matches the backing. Like the center one is black backed. If that copper on the outside gets patinaed black it looks good. If you were doing a piece with a lot of see-through glass and you used copper back, you would be sad, disappointed and distracted by the copper peaking out at you.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/metals/copper_-_silver_foil/

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FUSING WITH NON-FUSIBLE GLASS

Can you do it? Yes. However, you cannot mix sheets because the coe is unknown. If you know that two pieces of glass came from the same sheet, you could fuse them together. Sometimes non fusible glass will devitrify. Probably because you don't really know what temperature to fire it at. If you coat it with Spray A that generally takes care of it. This is also good for slumping bottles. They come out clearer if you coat the up side with Spray A.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Chemicals/fusing-chemicals-kiln-wash/hotline-spray-a-plus-16-oz.html

You could take two wispy pieces of glass from the same sheet and put one across the other with the wisps going in a different direction and get a nice effect.

You cut shapes from one piece and fuse to another piece if they are from the same sheet.

You could take single pieces and slump them into a vase.

Pic from Glass with a Past

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TRACKING HEAD

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Hand-Tools/cutters-shears-and-snippers/heavy-duty-wide-head-brass-glass-cutter.html

This is a great cutter for straight cuts. You just will not believe how much easier it is to use.

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CUTTING TUBES WITHOUT CRUSHING THEM

When cutting a tube, put a toothpick in the end where you are cutting, and it will keep you from crushing the tube.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Hand-Tools/cutters-shears-and-snippers/tubing-cutter.html

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Have an old circle cutter you no longer use to cut glass? Use it to cut paper.

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PLIERS - WHICH END IS UP?

RUNNING PLIERS - Just cannot live without them. They are used to run a score. You just position the jaws at the end of the score line and gently squeeze. To remember which end is up, remember the saying "screw up or screw up"

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Hand-Tools/pliers/metal-running-pliers.html

GROZIER PLIERS

I learned this one just this week. Your pliers should look like alligator head to be the right way.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Hand-Tools/pliers/grozer-breaker-pliers.html

(I would like to give credit for this, but I no longer know where I got it)

Solder Law: Hot solder looks exactly like cold solder.

Solder Law II: One lead joint will always be unsoldered.

Breakage Law: The number of bad breaks you get is directly proportional to the price of the glass.

Breakage Law II: The number of bad breaks is an opposite proportion to the amount of glass on hand.

Breakage Law III: The number of bad breaks is proportional to the distance from your supplier.

Law of Studio Geometry: Any horizontal surface is soon piled up.

Law of Focus: At the most difficult point in construction of any project, the phone will ring.

Law of Focus II: The moment your hands touch lead, flux or patina, extreme hunger pangs will commence.

Law of Commerce: Everyone knows someone who does glass....cheaper.

Replacement Law: The moment you replace a lost tool with a new one, you will find the original.

Installation Law: The time required to install is proportional to the number of people watching.

Installation Law II: The tool you desperately need is back at the studio.

Common Sense Law: There is no such thing as a clean stained-glass window.

Common Sense Law II: The number of people you did not know were listening is proportional to the severity of the swear word used.

Common Sense Law III: Everything takes longer than you think.

Common Sense Law IV: Deadlines are always closer than you thought.

60/40 60/40 solder is 60% tin and 40% lead. It stays in liquid stage longer, giving you more time to set a smooth bead. It melts at 372 to 374 degrees F. It solidifies at 361 degrees F. This is the most popular solder. Easy to use, consistent, smooth. 60/40 takes all patina great. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/60-40-solder-1-lb.html 50/50 50/50 solder is 50% tin and 50% lead. It is more economical than 60/40. It has a higher melting point of 413 to 420 degrees F. It solidifies at 361 degrees F. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/solder-50-50-1-lb.html 60/37 Fast setting or also called eutectic, which means it melts and solidifies at the same temperature. That means it stays where you put it. Great for decorative soldering. The melting temp is 361 degrees F. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/63-37-solder-1-lb.html Lead Free - Do not be fooled. Lead certainly is the most toxic of the metals in solder. However, right behind lead is silver and antimony. Lead free melts at a higher temperature than lead solders which makes it more difficult to work with. Depending on the brand or type, the melting range is from 440 degrees to 482 degrees F. It is the least toxic of all the solders and should be used when making anything that will be in contact with the skin or handled often like jewelry, jewelry box or kaleidoscopes. Black patina works fine on lead free solder but copper patina does not. Some brands of lead free solder will have a satin finish, not the bright and shiny finish that most want. Amerway's Ruby and Emerald lead free solder do have the silver look. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/lead-free-solder-1-lb.html

This artist was born in Milan. This is a self-trained artist, influenced by the bead makers in Venice. Her work is a page stopper. If you are flipping through a magazine and see her work, you are stopping on that page! Her work shows nature from flowers in full bloom to the drooping last days, if real, those flowers would be out of the vase and into the trash! These pictures are from Lilla Tabasso glass and jewelry facebook page.

CONFUSION OR EFFECTIVE

What it means is coefficient of expansion. It is a measurement of the rate that glass will expand and contract when it is heated and cooled. In the good old days, we just lived and died by put 90 COE together or put 96 COE together. It did seem to work. It has become more complex. It is now a guideline not a "live by, die by rule". First now we hear about a lot more coes.

Window glass (float glass) is somewhere between 84-87.

A bottle could be anywhere between 82-96.

Now we also deal with hot glass. The soft rods, glass and accessory are 104 COE

The next confusion came when Bullseye announced they were Bullseye compatible and stopped saying 90 coe. I felt that Bullseye had to be aiming for something and that was 90; we had some comfort in saying you can put 90 with Bullseye. We all loved System 96. We could put together Uroboros and Spectrum and that all worked fine. Then when those companies closed and Oceanside started manufacturing the Spectrum line, they followed what Bullseye did and said they were Oceanside compatible. So then, still feeling they were headed for some number for compatibility and that number was 96, we were still ok saying “sure put it with Wissmach and Youghiogheny 96”. Youghiogheny even was testing their 96 to Oceanside and Wissmach. Did we see some odd results coming out of the kiln? Yes, we did, now and then. When breakage happens, it is going to be thermal shock, bad annealing, or incompatibility. For this blog we are focusing on incompatibility. Bullseye does a wonderful job of putting out technical data. They are clear about saying that coe is NOT the only measure of compatibility. Viscosity of glass is equally as important. Viscosity is resistance to flow.

This direction from Bullseye tech tips.

“Whereas expansion affects the compatibility

predominantly in the lower temperature range—below the

strain point—the viscosity properties affect compatibility

predominantly in the annealing range, from the annealing

point to the strain point. Differences in viscosity between

two glasses will cause compatibility problems. If one glass

is stiffer than the other, they will strain each other as they

cool through the annealing range.”

How can you know if your breakage occurred when annealing or fusing? If the break is sharp it broke during cooling (annealing). If the break is smooth over it, then it was still fusing after the break. So, what to do? If you are going to mix manufacturers, you need to test. They may be compatible. They may not.

On May 7, 2020 Youghiogheny and Oceanside announced a partnership where Oceanside will continue with the Spectrum line and accessory glass and Youghiogheny will take on the manufacturing of the Uroboros line. It is exciting to have the Uroboros line again. With Youghiogheny manufacturing the Uroboros line, we not only will get the glass we will see more options in the accessory glass line. I am taking a leap here, but I believe that this collaboration will bring back the "96" term which Oceanside has not been using. Both companies are saying the System 96 brand will be back. That is exciting news. No question that Y-96, Oceanside and Uro fusible will be compatible.

Here is the official announcemnt.

Our industry is long overdue for an announcement of excitement and positivity, so we are pleased to be the bearer of good news. Youghiogheny Glass, together with Oceanside Glasstile, is announcing the acquisition and launch of Uro by Yough, a resurrection of the Uroboros line of both traditional art glass and 96 compatible fusible glass. The machines and all of the equipment have arrived at our Connellsville factory, and we are just about ready to start production. We would like to thank Oceanside Glasstile for approaching us with this opportunity. Their transparency and cooperation throughout the entire process has resulted in a second thrilling announcement; a collaborative resurrection of the System 96 brand of fusible glass and products including Oceanside Compatible, Uro by Yough, and Y96!! So what this means is that Youghiogheny Glass will produce URO by Yough and will collaborate with OGT to resurrect the System 96 brand. The new agreement will allow for the most comprehensive product selection of hand rolled art glass And a complete line of System 96 compatible fusing glasses and accessories. The last 5 years have been tumultuous. Our passion for glass and the industry drove us to fill product voids created from the upheaval and expand Youghiogheny's palette. We viewed this time as an opportunity for growth and expansion into the 96 fusible market with our Y96 product line, even though the future seemed uncertain. In less than a year from the release of Y96, we unveiled the True Dichro line of Art Glass. This had been a 10 year experiment and an outstanding breakthrough in art glass manufacturing science. This was quickly followed by a line of Textured Streaky Art Glass and then Art Glass Irids. Finally, we expanded color options in Y96, more than doubling the original offerings. At the end of 2019, we thought we had done it all. However, opportunity arose once again when we were approached by Oceanside GlassTile regarding Uroboros production and System 96. Youghiogheny has a long history of producing high quality, handmade sheet glass and is the ideal landing spot for the products previously produced by Uroboros. Our niche and strengths are the perfect complement to OGT’s continuous ribbon and accessory products in order to expand the System 96 palette. The name Uroboros Glass carries a heavy weight with us. The brand and legacy created by Eric Lovell is of the highest quality and held in the highest regard. We consider it an honor and great challenge to properly reintroduce Uro, by Yough. An undertaking of this magnitude for our company will be a challenge, one of excitement and optimism. This is an area where we ask for your help. Any insight that you can provide us with from your previous years of experience with the Uro line of glasses will be helpful. The expansive line of art glass, with the many combinations of colors and textures, has many products that are very similar or identical to items currently produced within our existing product lines. Uro by Yough is striving to recreate the most sought after products previously manufactured without creating duplicates of what is currently available. With your valuable input we will be able to determine a production starting point more quickly. We thank you for your continued support and loyalty and look forward to providing you with even more excellent products. Stay Well, Tristan and Leanne Triggs

• In January, the COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the United States.
• The Trump administration declared a public health emergency on January 31.
• In February, the first deaths were recorded.
• On March 11^th, the World Health Organization declared the Novel Coronavirus Disease, COVID-19, a pandemic.
• On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency.
• By the end of March all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all inhabited U.S. territories except American Samoa had cases.
• On May 27, the U.S. had the most confirmed active cases and deaths in the world.

OUR LIVES

• States are under, “Stay at Home”, “Shelter in Place”, “Safer at Home” orders that encourage people to stay at home as much as possible.
• We went from elbow bumps to six feet social distancing.
• We wear masks, wash our hands over and over and sanitize everything in sight and out of sight.
• Schools closed, people work from home, non-essential businesses closed, and we sent our employees home.
• Conferences that have been held for years have been cancelled.
• No need to travel, no place to go. Everything is closed.
• The sick perish without loved ones at their side. Quarantined until the end.
• We Zoom meetings and FaceTime with our grandchildren and other loved ones.

LOOKING FORWARD

• Some business are closed and will never reopen.
• Some business are open but operate very differently.
• Still a question if children will return to school in the fall.
• Most will live, some will pass away, many will live with lasting effects of the illness.
• Be optimistic and look forward to what normal will become.

Recently on Facebook, I saw someone asking about the floor in her workshop she was setting up. Her husband wanted to put down carpet since the workshop was in the cellar and the carpet would make the floors feel warmer. Of course, she got an emphatic, “no” because of burns and glass shards. Stained Glass News puts out a publication called “The Beginner’s Guide to Stained Glass.” In that publication, there is an article called “Helpful Ideas for Setting up your Own Stained Glass Workshop.” Most of this info comes from that article.

1. Proper ventilation. That can be a ventilation system or a fan blowing the fumes away from you or a fume trap. A good option would be the Weller Fume Trap Smoke Absorber.

Weller Fume Trap Smoke Absorber.2. Plenty of light. When we set up our first retail store, at one point, we doubled the lighting. We just could not get enough light. Make sure you have a well-lit work area. Light boxes are also very handy. 3. Storage for glass. There are plenty of options available for easy glass storage. If you buy full sheets, ask your glass dealer for empty cases. Set them on end, and you have a great storage area. The Morton glass caddy is great for cut sheets. Morton Glass Caddy.4. Grounded electrical connections. Do not use extension cords. The power strips that extend horizontally or vertically work well. Buy more than you would expect to use because you just won't believe how many you will actually need. You'll need power for your soldering iron, ventilation, your music source, saw, grinder and lightbox, just for starters. Have them in easy reach, not under a counter so you won't have to crawl around to plug something in. 5. Disposal of glass and junk. Set up your room with a place to put the glass you want to keep. As a safety precaution, use a metal trash can for glass shards or working with hot glass. Cleaning rags should go in covered metal storage containers. Clear storage bins are a great way to store your scrap glass.6. Easy-to-clean flooring. Do not use carpet. Make sure your flooring is something that is not going to break your heart if you drop hot solder on it and burn it. 7. Pay attention to the height of your work area. Do you like to work sitting or standing? Have your working surface at a comfortable height based on this preference. 8. Access to water is important. Using your kitchen sink is not recommended for this activity.