Build a Functionable Stained Glass Workshop

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Building a functioning stained glass workshop in your home is not as complicated as one might think. I have done it and it works great.

First off, it might be informational to point out that our shop is actually in the smallest area (room) in our basement. My wife and I made sure we had adequately lighting by installing two 4 bulb 40 watt fluorescent light fixtures in the suspended ceiling grid. Next I installed enough outlets in each wall to handle the electrical load even when we solder. Our lights do not dim.

My wife located a fantastic table (Ikea – bruised and abused dept). It was only $20 and its height is adjustable. This table measures 63″ long x 30″ deep. It is so perfect for making stained glass. Sometimes I want the work surface higher than at other times, depending on what I am doing. I just click a little control under the table and it moves up or down. Since both of us make stained glass together at times, we built an additional table similar in size and my wife added a padded cloth topping to both. This is excellent to cut glass on and we don’t risk damaging our cutter blades.

In between each table sets the grinder, which we share. A simple home-made wooden shroud around the grinder keeps things tidier. We have two long shelves on the wall behind our work table which holds all supplies.

Glass storage is always a problem, especially if you are like us and tend to buy closeout pieces from time to time. We have built several stackable “units” that each measure approximately 24″ x 13″ tall x 12″ deep. Each of these units has vertical partitions about 1″ apart that allow us to store our glass. We actually have an additional space that allows us to keep the Morton System set up all the time. Our ring saw is also in this room.

Of course a small TV set is anchored in the corner for noise.

Everything in our little stained glass workshop is homemade except for the Ikea adjustable table. We have made lots of pieces of stained glass artwork in this room and will do so in the future.