There are a zillion and a half tools & supplies out there to help you make stained glass art, and it can be confusing to know what to get as a beginner stained glass artist.
Fortunately, you’ll only need a few to get started.
Essential Tools & Supplies for Stained Glass Art
There are a lot of brands & options for tools & supplies, but these are my very favorite for beginners.
Where to get a Beginner’s Stained Glass Kit
We’ll start off easy with everything ya need to get started in stained glass in one lovely kit!
Mountain Woman Products Beginner’s Stained Glass Kit
Get all the tools & supplies you need to get started in stained glass!
Aaaaaaand ya also get:
- FREE Beginner’s Class & Lotsa Free Patterns
- PLUS 60 Days of help from me in my Peace, Love, & Stained Glass Learning Community
- Cutter, Cutter Oil, & Oil Well
- Breaking & Grozing Pliers
- Stained Glass Grinder
- Copper Foil Tape, Fid/Burnisher, & Craft Knife
- Hakko 601-02 Soldering Iron (the best!)
- Soldering Iron Stand & Water Squeezie Bottle
- Solder (your choice lead or lead-free)
- Flux, Extra Flux Jar, & Brush
- Jump Rings (hangers)
- One Step Polish & Wax (with a recipe to make more of your own!)
- 8 Sheets of 6×6 glass in a variety of colors
- Storage Box for your tools
Safety Equipment
Safety in stained glass is craaaaaaazy important. And there is a ton of dangerous, misguided info about safety out there.
In fact, it’s is so important, it gets its own page. So pleaaaaaaaase, please, please, for your own good, check out my Stained Glass Safety page for info, product links, SDS sheets, & other fun info.
Ya only get one set of eyes, lungs, other internal organs, & fingers.
Cutting (Scoring) Tools
**I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through these links. My integrity cannot be purchased, so I will only recommend things I use/love/know to be quality (unless I directly tell ya otherwise).
This is an inexpensive cutter, great for beginners! Dip in your oil well & you’re ready to go! Carbide wheel (ya want that with any cutter),
This cute lil cutter is my fav! It’s an upgrade to the beginner cutter & is really comfortable to hold (especially for smaller hands). Carbide wheel.
Keeps the glass shards outta your lap! Easy to cut on.
Glass Oil Jar & Cutter Oil Bottle Bundle in Cobalt Blue
In stock
Get your cutter oil & an adorable little dipping jar with sponge with our bundle. Cute & convenient.
Schwer Cut Resistant Gloves
If you’re nervous about getting cut while working with your glass, these are great! I use them while grinding.
Cut Resistant Finger Cots
These don’t last as long as the cut resistant gloves, but because they only cover your fingers, you have a bit more dexterity. I use them while grinding too.
Running, Breaking, & Grozing Pliers
One of the essentials to making stained glass, these running pliers are great for beginners. Inexpensive, but sturdy.
Use these grozing pliers to nip off lil nubbins of glass, and for breaking glass that’s too thin for running pliers.
Grinding for Stained Glass
My favorite grinder for Beginners. It’s small, lightweight, but strong & sturdy. Perfect for smaller studio spaces.
Foiling Tools & Supplies
**I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through these links. My integrity cannot be purchased, so I will only recommend things I use/love/know to be quality (unless I directly tell ya otherwise).
An inexpensive fid for burnishing your foil to your glass.
If ya don’t already have an X-acto knife or small craft knife laying around the house, get this one.
Because it’s small, it’s easy to hold & maneuver, and I’m a fan of the inline blade storage.
7/32″ foil is common in stained glass, but I recommend this 1/4″ for beginners.
Why? Cuz it leaves room for extra trimming until you get practiced at perfectly centering your foil. And, it’s still thin enough that it doesn’t overwhelm the look of your finished piece.
Soldering Tools & Supplies for Stained Glass
**I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through these links. My integrity cannot be purchased, so I will only recommend things I use/love/know to be quality (unless I directly tell ya otherwise).
f you want to solder well…Get. This. Iron. I cheaped out on an iron when I first started, verrrrry quickly regretted that decision, & ran out to buy this one.
The ceramic core gives even & consistent heat. Temp control on the handle. And unlike most soldering irons which are seemingly modeled after baseball bats for size, this one fits easily in smaller hands.
This soldering iron stand is has a super sturdy base so it doesn’t slide all over the place on your mat. Love that!
It fits the Hakko 601-02 & I like the extra little storage behind the sponge for keeping spare soldering iron tips.
Soldering Mat
If you happen to have some corkboard or an old ceiling tile laying around the house, you can use either of those as your soldering mat when you’re starting out.
If ya don’t, this mat is what I use. It’s a dog food mat! But it’s heat resistant silicone and the lip around the edges prevents hot solder bb’s from landing in your lap! Which makes it perfect as a stained glass soldering mat.
Pick whatever size works for your space.
Clamps
In stock
Keep your fingers cool & hang onto your pieces while you solder.
Canfield Liquid Flux, Jar, & Brush Flux Bundle
Out of stock
There is no safe flux. Because your face is close to what you’re soldering (high concentration of fumes right in your face), & we all don’t have PPM air testers, you always need to wear your P100 mask and have great ventilation. But…this is a no- acid “safer” flux. It’s my favorite & it works with lead or lead-free solder.
Traditional solder for stained glass is comprised of 60% Tin & 40% Lead.
I’m a fan of the Amerway brand because they keep super high standards for metal purity which makes it some of the nicest solder to work with.
The easiest lead free solder I’ve found to work with (& I’ve tried a zillion). Buffs up to a really shiny finish. Ya gotta use lead free for stuff like jewelry, kaleidoscopes, & ya really even should for ornaments (anything that will get handled often or by children especially).
If ya don’t have any copper wire laying around the house that you can tin, this stuff does the trick! Use 14 gauge to make jump rings & hangers for suncatchers, 16 for jewelry, 18 & 20 for decorative wirework.
Finishing & Caring for Stained Glass
**I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through these links. My integrity cannot be purchased, so I will only recommend things I use/love/know to be quality (unless I directly tell ya otherwise).
You’ll need to polish & wax your finished stained glass art. If ya don’t, your solder will get the dreaded “white mold”, a.k.a. oxidation (it’s not actually fungus). Once that eeeeeevil not-fungus sets in, your solder will both lose its shine & begin to slowly lose its structural integrity (kinda like when your car rusts over time-eeeek!).
If you have any of this Pure Carnauba Wax laying around the garage, you can use it…just make sure it’s the 05750 cuz it doesn’t have any solvents in it.
If not, here ya go!
Mix this up with some that Carnauba Wax to make your own One Step Polish & Wax (click on that for my recipe)
Save a couple of bucks and get a really cute cobalt blue jar with the One Step Polish & Wax Kit.
Glass
My favorite stained glass brands are Oceanside & Designer Glass. They’re both super easy to cut & break. Designer is less expensive than Oceanside.
Wissmach comes in a fairly close second to those. It’s relatively inexpensive. Their cathedrals cut beautifully. Their opalescents can be a bit tougher).
Whether you purchase from me, or somewhere locally, I highly recommend you buy your glass from a Stained Glass Supply Shop.
Here’s why:
- Glass sold by big box & craft stores is often poor quality
- Glass if fragile (probably didn’t hafta mention that), which means it requires professional handling & packaging. Glass Supply Shop employees are pros at that. Big box stores? Not so much.
- When glass isn’t handled & shipped properly, it can develop micro-fractures. Ya can’t see them, but those little fractures make for wild breaks at best & at worst, they make a nice little crrrrrracking sound when ya start soldering. Eeeek!
You can buy by the piece or in variety packs in my shop here…
Beginner’s Kits & Project Kits
Stained Glass Kits for Beginners, Layout Frame & Glass Kits for beginner to intermediate artists.
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