Monday, May 30, 2011

Why Bother With A Stained Glass Grinder?

One of the most frequent questions that newbies to stained glass ask is, why bother with a stained glass grinder?

We know that in the past stained glass grinders were not a real necessity.

Ancient artisans were able to create stained glass projects without the aid of a stained glass grinder so why do modern artisans need one?

The answer is time and accuracy.

Ancient artisans had nothing but time on their side. Everything had to be done by hand.

It took much longer for them to create the beautiful stained glass projects that we so treasure today than it takes for modern artisans to do the same project.

Tiffany lamps especially required a great deal of time and expertise to construct.

When you begin the process of making any stained glass project, you'll quickly find that the edges of the glass are very sharp and that stained glass doesn’t usually break in a straight line.

Even when you make the most accurate score possible, it has minimal importance because most types of glass will still not break perfectly.

The edges of the stained glass cut still remain sharp or jagged and will require smoothing in order to fit together accurately.

Ancient artisans smoothed the glass edges by hand in order to obtain a perfect fit and without the aid of electric grinders, this took a considerable amount of time.

This is why a stained glass grinder is so important in modern day stained glass construction.

Although glass grinders were not really a necessary tool in the past, today almost all of us who create stained glass projects use a glass grinder of some sort to make the job easier and save time.

It is possible to create stained glass projects without using a grinder, and many modern artisans do.

However, if you are new to stained glass you will find that even though a glass grinder is perhaps one the most expensive tools you will purchase, it is the most important if you plan to make professional looking projects in a minimal amount of time.

Buying a glass grinder is an important decision, especially if you plan on mass producing stained glass suncatchers or wall hangings.

Whether or not you decide to buy a Grinder is a decision that will determine if you’re going to create beautiful professional looking stained glass projects or just pump out "run of the mill" suncatchers and wall hangings.

Why bother with a stained glass grinder? Why not?

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