blackhawk_msn

It's been a while since I did any leaded glass work. It is a fun hobby. The biggest reason you don't want to use a saw to cut the glass is that each chip you get will have a tendency to find its way under the glass as you are cutting thus scratching the glass.

For the thinner glass you can simply use the oil cooled glass cutter along with some glazier pliers and very easily break the glass on the scored cut line. Just remember that inside curves are a disaster waiting to happen.

As for soldering irons... A Weller 100 watt definitely works but I would likely recommend a Hakko 456. They aren't as many watts but have a much better heater system and will last forever. If you plan to do this a lot, I would also add a temperature controller into the iron system (IE: lamp dimmer switch inline of the power cord). This will greatly increase the longevity of the soldering iron tip. Also, rather than using a wet sponge look at the "Brillo pad" type tip cleaners. They don't change the temperature of the tip but still do a wonderful job cleaning the tips.

I used standard 60/40 rosin core solder on all my windows. It worked fine. Make sure to use a good paste flux and make sure to fit the lead came very carefully. The wider the gap the weaker the joint.