I have been using homasote and aluminum layout blocks for only the past two years, and I am never going back to our old method!

All of our classes used to use jigs that my husband fabricated en masse and thin, flat boards, hammers, and nails to align square edges.

The aluminum layout block/homasote method Who is as simple as using a bulletin board. The aluminum blocks come with pushpins for easy alignment of straight edges. All you need is a set square to true up the corners, and you’re ready to solder!

Morton, a longtime leader in The stained glass industry had a lock on the aluminum lock market. But now low and behold some copycats have emerged which provide us with less expensive options. Here are my picks that we use in our classes:

Spakon  Aluminum Layout Block System Variety Pack of 12

​Aluminum Layout Block System 6” Pack of 12

12 x 12 Homasote Board

​If you happen to have access to a woodworking power saw, and you need surfaces for soldering that are larger, hardware stores, such as Menards sell 4 x 8 sheet boards in the building materials section. Homasote is sold as a fire resistant surface, and also for soundproofing.
​

Our classrooms usually have between 24 and 34 students in them during any given class period. Multiply that by 5 per day, and that's a lot of students. When it's time to solder, the air can get pretty smelly and overpowering. Not to mention unhealthy!

I got my school to generously fund 10 fume extractors for me. They are pricey. First, we used OK international's BVX-201, made for 2 stations. Nope. Using those for a few years did not help a lot. We decided to add 6 more units of the Hakko FA-430 with a Loc-line arm kit. 

So we were using this great flux for a really long time- Novacan's Old Master's Flux. Super effective, great flow, easy to use, yes. BUT. It was eating our fume extractors. Literally eating through the plastic. Apparently the main component in flux, zinc chloride, is corrosive to plastic.

As a result, we had to switch to using a zinc-chloride-free flux. To my research, there are only two available- GlasPro EZ40 flux (from ebay) and Studio Pro Safety Flux, found at Amazon and Hobby Lobby.

The thing you'd need to know, is that the EZ40 is sticky, like sugar syrup. Smokes a lot when heated, so good ventillation is essential for working with it (a fan blowing away from your work, and out a window is ideal.) You have to layer it on frequently while working. BUT, it leaves your solder seams shinier and brighter than I've ever seen with a zinc chloride flux.

Studio Pro's flux is more watery, so again, you'd need to just use more of it.
Giving yourself the chance to use a product, and figure it out is really key here!

​Exciting news- Spectrum Glass was purchased by Oceanside Glasstile (OGT) in Carlsbad, CA. They have been a customer of Spectrum for over two
decades, and jumped at the chance to take over production. They have
decided to move the manufacturing to Tijuana, Mexico in OGT’s state-of-the-art facility. With their long-standing commitment to being an environmentally
concerned manufacturer, they will be utilizing the same baghouse emission
controls that Spectrum Glass has used for over twenty years. 

I am am anxious to see Spectrum return! Stay tuned, as the first batches are
due to be available in Spring 2017.

After 40 years of supplying arguably the most cut-able, and most affordable
stained glass in the industry, Spectrum is saying farewell. Not only does this make me sad, but this shocking fact also scares me. A lot. At BHSS,
Spectrum glass makes up 95% of the glass we use because of both of these attributes. In a press release sent to clients in May of 2016, the company says, "“The decision to close our doors has been extraordinarily difficult. We
postponed it for as long as possible, and arrived at this conclusion only after
immense consideration. However, due to several factors, it’s no longer
financially feasible for Spectrum Glass to continue to operate."    Their
production will end in July.  Hopefully soon, Spectrum will figure out a way to
delegate the various product lines among other glass manufacturers. The glass companies that I will now have to go to would be Wissmach and Armstrong.
Both of these places offer glass on the low end of pricing, while still allowing for good cut-ability. Other companies, like Kokomo, Bullseye and Uroboros are
still a bit too high end to be used by our students.
Glass companies in general are being hit hard by new EPA regulations, as
many places that produce glass have been unintentionally allowing toxic
chemicals to enter the soils around the factories. The companies have to
switch to more environmentally-sound production techniques in order to
continue doing business. Let's hope this wrinkle in our craft industry gets
ironed out soon.

60/40 Solder
We've always used 60/40. Buy it from a stained glass retailer or from a craft/hobby shop.

BUY SOLID CORE ONLY, NOT “Electronic” or Rosin Core” from
hardware stores. It will make your project look yucky. Really yucky.

63/37 is a quick-set type solder. It's a little more expensive, and won't give you time to do a lot of touching-up. Stick with 60/40.

Don’t throw away the solder- re-use it, or save the scrap and bring it to a metal recycling place.

As of 2017, most 1LB rolls are around $25.

Canfield 60/40 stained glass solder

Studio Pro 60/40 stained glass solder


Lead-Free and 50/50 Solder
These behave differently. I had a former student come in with a roll of 50/50, to use on a project she was trying to complete in a day. The iron kept sticking, and she got frustrated. We realized that our hot irons, even at 900 degrees, were not hot enough to make the 50/50 bead like the 60/40.

As for lead-free, this type would be appropriate for making small jewelry projects. I would use a separate soldering tip for it, though, as lead contaminates
other metals, like silver, which is in lead-free solder.

For these two solders, use a temperature controlled iron, so you can make the tip hotter:
Hakko Adjustable Temp Iron

Here's a good write-up on solder types, published by Inland.


Flux
I recommend Glastar or Old Master’s. Buy only if labeled for stained glass.

Novacan Flux 8 oz.

Glastar Glasflux 4oz

And some cheap flux brushes


Patina
I use Novacan brand. It's the most common brand around for stained glass.

Novacan Black Patina for Lead

Novacan Copper Patina for Solder

You get what you pay for! I prefer Toyo. They will cost $20- 25 for a pencil
grip; $25-35 for a pistol or a Thomas grip.

Warning- cheap cutters break. Snap right in half. I learned that the hard way. ;)

Toyo Pistol Grip cutter $33

Toyo Acrylic Pencil Grip cutter $27

Toyo Brass Pencil Grip cutter  $34

Toyo Thomas Grip cutter $30

Now you'll need some tools for breaking the glass. I suggest these
combination pliers.

Studio Pro Breaker Grozer Combination Pliers $13
If you have a Hobby Lobby Store, you should be able to get them there.

If you want to break mosaic pieces, you'll need a pair of running pliers, or
"runners," as they are sometimes called.

Studio Pro Running Pliers $13
Also found at Hobby Lobby. You might even check your local home
improvement/ hardware store.