Perfect circle

The second row of glass, to the base of the border, was soon completed since all the pieces were rectangular. Once these pieces were in place, it was time to get the first side border constructed.

As can be seen from the picture, the first two pieces were straightforward, three different widths of lead came bordering them. Next, was the plum Uroboros circle set inside ivory Kokomo pieces.

The thinnest lead came was wound round the circular glass and the lead trimmed so that it would fit well within the ’square frame’. The ivory pieces were individually shaped so that they and the Uroboros circle sat perfectly within the border. All the pieces were held securely in place with lead came and horseshoe nails.

Border | Decorative Mirror Continued is a post from: Design2Glass

The first row

Today I’ve really got going with the assembly of the mirror.

Having got the first piece slotted into place already, I needed to prepare some lead came before I could fit further glass. I always annotate the width of the lead came I want to use on the cartoon as all other information is there too.

3/16″, 1/4″ and 5/16″ were the widths that I needed. The three lengths of lead came were put into the lead vice in turn so that the lead could be stretched. This gives the lead the rigidity needed to hold the glass in place.

The first row of glass would use all three of the glasses chosen for the design, so it was the first opportunity to see how they would look with the lead came slotted in between. Very quickly, the bottom row pieces were fitted. They look really good together.

Assembly | Decorative Mirror Continued is a post from: Design2Glass

Having fitted the circular sections, it was all angles from now on.

Chevron

The next section, in the pink Kokomo, was approximately half a border width. The top edge had been cut at a 45 degree angle. Consequently, the lead came also had to be cut with a similar angle at each end. The lead came was cut slightly shorter in length than the edge of the glass, as a central lead was to be inserted.

The ivory shade of the central chevron really accentuates the strong colour of the Uroboros glass which sandwiches it.

Angles | Decorative Mirror Continued is a post from: Design2Glass

The final pieces I cut were the four small pieces of glass that will surround each of the circles in the border.

A nifty little gadget enabled me to cut identical right angled triangles from the cream Kokomo glass. I’ll shape these pieces exactly to pattern during assembly of the panel.

1st piece of plum uroboros

The panel is to be bordered with brass came, rather than the customary lead came. So, out with the hacksaw to cut the brass came to the required length.

Starting is always a little fiddly. The cartoon has to be positioned carefully  on the jig. The first piece of glass is slotted into the side and bottom length of brass came. If the cartoon is positioned accurately, the piece of glass will match the cartoon underneath. Slight adjustments are often necessary to get perfect positioning. But once the first piece of glass is positioned with a horseshoe nail, the cartoon stays in situ until the first side of the panel has been soldered.

Brass Came, for a Change is a post from: Design2Glass

With such beautiful glass to work with, I was anxious to get started. The Kokomo and the Uroboros glass had wonderfully smooth surfaces which would make cutting a joy.

Kokomo Glass

I decided that I would cut out the predominant glass first, as this would be mostly rectangular.

As with a previous piece of work, I wanted the finished border to reflect the natural patterning in the uncut glass sheet. It was important, therefore, that each block of colour should ‘flow’ into the next even though it was some distance away in the border.

I cut out rectangular pieces from the complementary creamy Kokomo glass next…

By the end of the first session, most of the border had been cut. It was looking good.

Glass Cutting | Decorative Mirror continued.. is a post from: Design2Glass