I might be able to help if you can give me more info about how you are executing this....do you plan to solder the copperfoil part first? Maybe a pic of what you are doing too? The cardboard may work or it may be too high...check it out and if it sits too high, maybe some posterboard cut and layered. Now you have my interest peaked! It would be great to get some stained glass going on this forum!!!

I've soldered copper foiled pieces together , then wrapped the whole piece in lead for a suncatcher. Once all the foiled pieces are soldered together , it should be like one large piece of glass - and it will "self-center" in the lead channel. There's really no need to raise the center foiled part while you are soldering. Hope that helps !

I have done what Kathy is saying too, I like how solid the pc is afterwards...I usually have used H came and added twisted came inside the outside channel(makes sense?)lol!

bev2009, I tried pennies and they were PERFECT! My husband had wrapped up a bunch of change and I took 3 packs of his pennies. I'm almost done laying it out and this really helped.

thanks very much!!! I'll post a picture when I finish.

I know exactly what you're taking about Jane -- I do that,too . I also use ball chain around the outside -- alot of times I twist wire & lay it in the groove. All my leftover came is U channel now . ( and I have tons of the "good stuff" ! )

If you google Everythingstainedglass. The lady explains how to mix foil and lead...she’s uses penny’s tpp

i have been an award-winning full time one-person stained glass studio for 47 years, and for me, there is one and only one way to mix foil and lead. the foil part is made first, and then treated as a single piece of glass in the leaded artwork. an example is my artwork here - http://www.tdstainedglass.com/page43.htm will explain this in greater detail. also, anyone who recommends using lead around the outside edge of a panel (anything but a suncatcher) is propagating a method that will NEVER produce precision results. that's the way many hobbyists-turned-professional attempt to leave "fudge room" because they cannot make a st gl panel come out the exact right size. there are numerous reasons why this is an example of poor attitude, too many to type out here. for a more detailed description of good vs bad attitude and technique in st gl, read my page at http://www.tdstainedglass.com/craft.html. and while i rarely attempt to sell my 43-hour set of DVDs online, i have long since run out of patience with all of the bad advice online. to read about my class-on-DVDs, go to http://www.tdstainedglass.com/stained_glass_class.html. p.s. - my technique is so precise that i make 97% of my projects on my work table with NO pattern underneath. to see this done, go to http://www.tdstainedglass.com/page134.htm (the under-drawing has only the border lines drawn on it) or http://www.tdstainedglass.com/page120.htm or http://www.tdstainedglass.com/page122.htm (the under-drawing has only the large circles drawn on it).