Tools, supplies & resources, oh my!

Feb 5

Hello & welcome!

Chances are if you’ve taken a stained glass class or workshop with me, I mentioned that a recommended supply list was in the works, and here it is!

I’m including a list of not only tools and supplies you’ll need to get started, but retailers I have personally ordered from and recommend to get your supplies (I am a big advocate of supporting small as often as possible), as well as some recommendations throughout for additional supplies that may make certain steps easier.

I’ll have links for free patterns as well in another post.

If you’re looking for an abbreviated list and where to get these supplies, here ya go.

The abbreviated list contains pricing, as well as beginner kit options.

If you want more details and explanations, keep on reading.

Let’s break the supply list down by each step in the stained glass making process.

The patterning section will probably be the lengthiest section, as I didn’t thoroughly go over transferring patterns to glass outside of vinyl and I want to provide you with more details and options for that very important step. I discussed the other steps pretty thoroughly, so they will be mostly just a list and description of tools and supplies needed.

Framing & Hanging | Cleaning

PATTERNING

I am going to start off with talking about options for using vinyl, since that is what I use in my workshops. You 100% DO NOT need to go this route and can transfer patterns to glass with as little as paper and a glue stick or marker.

Please keep in mind, there are many more ways to transfer your pattern to the glass than I’m providing. These are the most common and it is going to come down to personal preference as to what works best for you.

Vinyl

While I prefer to use permanent vinyl as pattern templates for ease of transferring the pattern to glass, I know that it can be cost prohibitive and there’s a learning curve to digital pattern making. You don’t necessarily need a Cricut, Brother ScanNCut or Silhouette to utilize vinyl, but it does make it easier.

Some artists buy vinyl and hand cut out the pattern templates to use without having a machine or needing a digital file. If you go the vinyl route, I would recommend using Cricut permanent vinyl. It is compatible with any of the machines and I have found it to be the most adhesive out of several brands that I’ve tried and it doesn’t leave a residue if you remove it under warm, soapy water.

I personally have a Brother ScanNCut and use Inkscape (free program for designing and creating patterns), but would recommend a Cricut simply because there’s more resources out there to help navigate using their programming in conjunction with Procreate. You can check out the “How to do stained glass with a cricut” group on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/680194316267769

Paper

When I started, I used the most common method for patterning and that was hand drawing a pattern on paper and making a copy to use as reference. If you are purchasing a pattern online, you will need to print two copies - one to cut out each individual pattern piece from, and one for reference so you can make sure that each piece will have a nice fit.

There are TWO options for this method:

Gluing on paper pattern to glass
Tracing paper pattern onto glass with a marker

For both of these options, you will need patterning shears (for foil, not lead). Patterning shears have a gap to cut out a sliver of paper to account for the width of the foil so the pattern stays true to size.

To glue your pattern pieces onto the glass, you only need a glue stick. This works fine for cutting the glass, but the paper gets wet and moves around during grinding, so it’s hard to get a good fit.

To trace the pattern onto the glass with a marker, you only need a permanent marker. I recommend an oil based marker. If you aren’t using an oil based marker, you can apply vaseline or chapstick to the marker lines to prevent them from coming off while you are grinding.

Markers Permanent markers or oil based are going to work best. You want to number your pieces to correspond with your reference pattern so you know where they go.

GLASS CUTTING

Okay! Now we’re getting to the fun stuff!

Glass Transparent, nontextured glass is going to be the easiest to start with while you get a feel of how the tools work and the glass breaks.

Glass Cutter TOYO Pistol Grip Glass Cutter (most commonly used), Pencil Supercutter, or Creator’s Hummingbird Cutter

Glass Cutting Oil Cutter oil helps lubricate the glass cutter wheel as you score the surface of your glass. This is a must for having your glass break correctly along the "scores" you create. I use a small container with a sponge to dip the glass cutter tip into as needed. The majority of cutters have built in reservoirs for oil, but they tend to be a bit messier and can leak.

Running Pliers These put pressure on each side of the "score" to allow the glass to break on the score line you made. These are good for longer cuts and straight lines.

Grozing Pliers These pliers are used for making smaller or curved breaks on your glass.

Eye Protection Tiny pieces of glass go everywhere, safety first!

Apron So you don’t get glass shards on your clothing and it will protect you while soldering as well.

Waffle Grid* You don’t necessarily need this, but it does help catch all the tiny pieces of glass and prevents your glass piece from getting scratched by little shards. As long as you cut on a hard surface and brush off any small glass shards/pieces from your work surface, you will be fine.

Handheld broom/dustpan Brush off pieces of glass as to not scratch your project pieces or nick yourself.

GRINDING

Unless your cuts are very precise, there isn’t really a way around needing a grinder. I know it’s possible, I’ve seen plenty of videos (especially lead) with stained glass artists achieving this. I’m sure that they have exceeded expert level and have sacrificed many tears, sweat, and blood to rise to this status.

Please accept your status as a wee beginner and utilize a grinder, there’s no shame! I 100% use a grinder. If you keep an eye out on Facebook Marketplace or ask in other stained glass groups if anyone has an extra around, you are bound to get a good deal on a used grinder and they last forever.

Grinder

There are several grinder options, and I don’t think any of them are bad. It depends on how fancy you want to get. Techniglass THE Grinder has a shield and light, plus a small add-on platform so you can use a smaller grinder bit to get into those curves and bends that a 1” or ¾” grinder bit just can reach.

Grinder Bits

Be sure to get the correct bits for your particular grinder! You can move the bit up and down on the motor shaft to use another area of the bit when it starts to get dull.

Grinder Shield

Most grinders have an optional shield you can attach to them. This isn’t necessary, but you must have eye protection if you don’t have a shield..

Eye protection

If your grinder doesn’t come with a shield, it’s very important to protect your eyes.

Finger Protection

This isn’t 100% necessary, but does help on wear and tear of your nails and skin. There are rubber finger sleeves, as well as fabric anti-cut sleeves.

There are also other options:

Grinder Cookie push this against the glass piece you are grinding so your fingers aren’t touching the glass
Grinder’s Mate I find this really helpful for very small pieces. Works similar to pliers holding the piece while grinding.

https://www.anythinginstainedglass.com/tools/grinderAccessories.html

FOILING

This step can be tricky until you get the hang of it, but it’s very important because it greatly affects how the solder lines will look.

Tips

Remember, the goal is to get the glass centered onto the strip of foil. Your glass needs to be as clean as possible, and I always wash my hands right before I begin foiling.
If the foil isn’t fully adhering to the glass, start over with new foil after wiping the piece of glass off with 91% isopropyl alcohol.
If there are any tears in the foil, solder will not flow onto those spots and you will have an inconsistent lead line. You can patch these spots by adding a small piece of foil on top, and cut away any excess with an exacto knife.
Start your foil placement on an interior section; meaning that part of the glass will be butted up against another piece of foiled glass and not on the outer perimeter of the final piece of the project. If the foil overlap is on the exterior, it can create issues when you are edge beading.
Cut away any excess created where the foil overlaps so you have a smooth foil line. Anywhere there is copper foil, the solder will cover.

Copper Foil

Copper foil comes in 3 backing options and a variety of widths.

Copper use with copper patina or opaque glass
Black Backed use with black patina
Silver Backed use with no patina, as solder is silver

You will want to choose your foil based on if you are applying patina or not so it matches the color of the lead lines and blends in.

I recommend Edco brand foil, and the standard foil width is 7/32”. Thinner or wider foil is used for different effects and when different glass thickness is used.

Fid This presses down the foil onto the glass to ensure it is fully adhered to the glass. The standard is a plastic fid, but I prefer the feel of the wooden fid. https://www.anythinginstainedglass.com/tools/handtools1.html

Foil Burnisher Optional, but I find that it makes burnishing much easier and quicker!

https://www.anythinginstainedglass.com/metals/foiling-tools.html

Copper Foil Dispenser Box Also optional, but allows you to store all of your foil and foiling tools in one place.

Scissors Cut the foil as needed.

Xacto Knife Cut away any excess foil overlap on the glass pieces

Painters Tape Once all of the pieces are foiled and in the right position, the tape holds all of the pieces in place so they don’t move around when soldering.

Push Pins, Corkboard & Straight Edges Optional, to get pieces aligned and hold in place for soldering. I use a corkboard, but a homosote board or any type of board you can stick pins into will work.

There are also so many options for hand and table top foilers (some people swear by these) to make this step quicker and/or easier, but I personally have found them to be pretty fiddly.

SOLDERING

Soldering Iron The Hakko FX601 is my number one recommendation. Being able to adjust the temperature is a must, as running a bead of solder the iron needs to be at 410°, while edge beading needs to be at 360°

Tips

Whatever soldering iron you decide to go with, make sure it is specifically meant for stained glass.
It’s also best to order from a reputable stained glass store, as there are confirmed dupes on Amazon for Hakko that don’t work well.

Soldering Iron Stand holds the soldering iron and has a spot for a damp sponge to clean off the soldering iron tip as needed.

Non Abrasive Brass Coil Optional, used to clean the tip off in place of a sponge.

Solder 60/40 soldering lead for stained glass. I use Amerway, but Canfield is also a good brand. Lead free solder is also an option, but it can be double the cost or more. https://www.anythinginstainedglass.com/metals/solder.html

Soldering Iron Mat Optional, used as a heat resistant surface to protect your worktop and easy to clean. Any silicone mat works, I’ve used silicone baking sheets in the past.

Flux Available in liquid, gel, and paste. Using a good quality flux makes a difference in ease of soldering as well as how much smoke it creates. I recommend Novacan liquid flux, Nokorode paste flux, or Amerway gel flux

Flux Brush Used to apply flux to your copper foil to prepare it for soldering.

Gloves Nitrile or rubber gloves to avoid contact with lead and flux. Flux is nasty stuff and you don’t want that to get on your skin.

Fume Extractor Optional, but if you aren’t using a mask, you will want some way to pull the fumes away from you. I’d recommend this or a window fan that pulls the air toward the outside.

Respirator Mask with N95 filters, if you aren’t using a fume extractor or fan. Breathing in lead and flux fumes can cause respiratory issues.

Tinned Wire You’ll have one more thing to do before you unplug your soldering iron, and that’s attach loops to hang your finished project. To hang your finished piece, you can create your own loops out of copper wire or copper wire that has already been tinned with lead solder (essentially creating jump rings with a tail to solder into a seam for stability)

Pliers These are jewelry tools and needed to create the hanging loops. Round nose (to create the loop), long nose (hold the loop in place while soldering), flush cutters (cut wire off of spool)

FRAMING & HANGING

While edge beading is tedious and takes practice, it doesn’t require additional materials or supplies.

You can frame smaller pieces with hobby came. Larger rectangular, square or round projects can be framed with leaded u-channels or zinc and even wood frames.

These all require additional tools and supplies, which I won’t get in to the weeds with here since we didn’t go over them in detail in class.

Chain | String | Ribbon Your finished piece needs to hang from something and that’s up to you. If it is a large piece, I would opt for jack chain to ensure it doesn’t fail.

CLEANING & POLISHING

You’ve made it to the final step!

You can clean your finished project with dish soap and warm water. If you choose to patina your piece, keep in mind that tap water can affect the results of your patina.

Flux Cleaner Optional, I recommend Kwik Clean, as it neutralizes flux.

91% Isopropyl Alcohol Optional, quickly removes any marker residue

Polish or Wax Clarity finishing compound helps create a nice shine and prevents oxidization.

Patina Optional, Novacan Copper or Black for lead. If you use zinc to frame your piece, you will want to get patina specifically for zinc. You can apply patina with cotton balls, qtips, or rub it on with a gloved hand.

Rags & Paper Towels Needed to clean off projects, apply and buff out polish.

Tips

I use qtips and toothpicks to really get in the crevices and along solder lines to clean out any residue left from polishing.
If you notice white stuff showing up around your solder lines after a while, it is most likely flux residue or oxidization. Give it another polishing and it will be as good as new.

Lead Off Wipes & Soap Wash your hands with lead removing soap or use wipes

Please, for the love of all that is glass, avoid using suction cups. After all of that hard work, you don’t want your beautiful piece to fall and break. They are prone to failure with the temperature changes.

Instead, I recommend using 2lb Command Clear Wire Hooks if you must have it hang directly on a window. I 10000% highly advise following the instructions for those to be successful.

Optimally, you would use cup hooks to screw directly into the wooden window frame to hang your piece from. They typically can hold 10 pounds and there are heavy duty options as well.

An alternative would be something along the lines of picture rail hanging hooks that can hook on top of the window trim.

TOOLS & SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR STAINED GLASS

(all prices pulled from Anything in Stained Glass on 2/5/2026)

* denotes optional item

PATTERNING

Pattern Shears $9.95

Marker $2.95

CUTTING

Glass approximately $10 sq ft

Glass Cutter $36.95

Glass Cutting Oil $10.45

Running Pliers $10.95

Grozing Pliers $6.69

Eye Protection $3.35

Handheld broom/dustpan

Waffle Grid* $11

GRINDING

Grinder $199.95

Grinder Bits $28.89

Grinder Shield* $22.49

Rubber Finger Protection*

Grinder Cookie* $13.35

Grinder’s Mate* $17.29

FOILING

Copper Foil 7/32” $11

Fid $1.79

Burnisher* $5.69

Copper Foil Dispenser Box* $16.89

Scissors

Xacto Knife $3.75

Painters Tape*

Push Pins, Corkboard & Straight Edges*

SOLDERING

Soldering Iron Hakko $75.95

Soldering Iron Stand $17.89

Non Abrasive Brass Coil with holder* $11.79

Solder 60/40 $21.95

Soldering Iron Mat* $23.95

Flux $7.95

Flux Brush .30

Gloves

Fume Extractor* $79.95

Respirator Mask*

Tinned Wire (50ft) $10.00

Pliers Needle Nose & Round Nose $11.95/each

CLEANING & POLISHING

Flux Cleaner* Kwik Clean $11.49

91% Isopropyl Alcohol*

Polish or Wax $21.95

Patina* $6.25+

Chain | String | Ribbon (jack chain) $1.79/ft

Command Clear Wire Hooks or Cup Hooks for hanging

Rags & Paper towels

D Lead hand soap $7.49

I tallied up an approximate cost to get started, not including optional items, and came to around $500 (not including glass), assuming you have some of the supplies already at home (such as scissors and painter’s tape)

Anything in Stained Glass has a beginner’s kit for $395.95 that comes with almost everything you need plus 6 sq ft of glass, so that’s a pretty good deal. There’s a few items I would consider adding on to this, but it’s a great start.

If you found a grinder second hand, there are other kit options as low as $112.95, but I would definitely compare it to this extensive list of supplies and fill in what you’ll need.

KCMO area stained glass stores:

Creative Art Glass Station

1900 S Broadway

Oak Grove, MO

Gene’s Stained Glass Studio

2508 NW Vivian Road

Riverside, MO

Globe Art Glass

299 E 550 Rd

Overbrook, KS 66524

Rayer’s Bearden Stained Glass Supply

6205 W Kellogg Dr