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anadyne

First post - stained glass table top

anadyne
15 years ago

Hi all!

I've done a search and have read through some really great posts (looking at such gorgeous pictures, too) and I've also been googling and still can't seem to find the answers to some questions. Hope they're appropriate to this forum.

I've done several mosaic tables and I have loved working with tile. I recently started thinking of making a stained glass bedside table because I love the materials, the colors and the size of the material (larger sheets, larger pieces to work with).

My questions are: is stained glass durable enough to make a table top that will support a coffee mug, a lamp, etc? It seems so fragile and scratchable and breakable. Does the presence of adhesive under it make it stronger?

- Can you use the same adhesive and grout you use for vitreous tile?

- Do you have to treat the glass to keep grout from adhering to the top, the way you must do for unglazed tile?

- Finally, is there a common thickness to stained glass?

Thanks very much in advance and I hope to be able to contribute my own knowledge to this forum as I go along!

Comments (13)

  • daisyme
    15 years ago

    Hi, there, Anadyne! I don't work with stained glass, but welcome! Friends should be along soon to answer your questions. Good luck on your table and we'll look forward to some pictures as it develops!

  • gcpommom
    15 years ago

    Hi, welcome! I can answer a couple of your questions, but not all. I also wondered about the glass cracking (if someone dropped something on it) if used as a table, so I can't answer that one.
    When I mosaic with SG, I use weldbond (indoor projects), but I suppose that could vary depending on what substrate you are mosaicing the glass to.
    I use regular old sanded grout. The grout wipes right off the glass; however, if the glass is very textured, you need to get it out of nooks and crannies before it dries.
    I believe that most SG is 1/8", but it can be a hair thicker or thinner in spots, even within the same piece of glass. Not enough to really worry about, though.

    If anyone here with more experience can add on here, in case I am mistaken about anything; this is just from my own experience working with SG, and I am relatively new to mosaicing myself.

  • anadyne
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks so much for your welcome and quick replies! How exciting that you can use weldbond and regular sanded grout! I really hope the glass turns out to be durable enough for a table top - I've been sketching designs all afternoon!

  • flagtruck
    15 years ago

    Welcome to the forum. Why not do a glass on glass table top and then it would be thicker and hold up well? Do your stained glass on a piece of glass, there are plenty of instructions on this forum, that would make your table super strong..instead of came leading, just grout the finished design and it will be beautiful.

  • wackyweeder
    15 years ago

    I have heard from some the glass can crack if something is dropped on it. Just have a clear piece of glass cut to fit the table top and put over it.

  • curbdiver1954
    15 years ago

    As is often true in art forms, there will be differing opinions and experiences. Personally, I have not had good luck with Weldbond for outdoor projects - it re-hydrates far too easily and dries very slowly. For interior projects it holds well and is one of the adnesives I use, but still dries very slowly which makes it less practical for me, esp in glass on glass (gog) applications. My first gog involved blue and clear glass globs...I waited over 6 weeks for the Weldbond to dry enough so I could grout without dislodging the globs. It was not applied thickly, but a frustrating experience nonetheless. Now when I use it I use VERY little on the glass and have a fan blowing on my workstation all the time. Hopefully the link I am trying to add will come thru so you can see an impartial test done by linlee of Weldbond, GEII and Mac Glue. In case it does not come thru correctly, use the search function from the main forum page and look for 'glue test' posted by linlee.
    Most of the time I use either GEII or Mac, but have no interest in either.

    HTH,
    Pat

    Here is a link that might be useful: Glue Test by linlee

  • nicethyme
    15 years ago

    So Robin, do you get a kick back everytime you spam us for Weldbond? You do realize that its against GW's terms of service to constantly post your commercial site, right? I normally don't give a crap but this is the 3rd post I've opened this morning where you've posted the same thing.

    Anadyne, stained glass mosaics are often done on table tops. As long as your surface is flat and no hollows are left under your tesserae, its not easily broken - unless something is dropped on it. If the table is subject to heavy use or abuse, some people will finish with a resin coating. Regular sanded grout is fine with stained glass. Any PVA glue is good for indoor projects, such as Aileens, Weldbond and I've even heard that Elmers can be just as reliable... Mac is like a cross between a white glue and crazy glue, its thinner than most but dries very fast and clearer. Its expensive though and for that reason I use it only under clears or TG and not waste it for opaques. Silicones and caulks like GEII, DAP and Polyseamseal are great for building up tess to level things and on vertical surfaces give you instant hold. But remember that anything containing silicone has fumes and varying levels of toxicity.

    I hope that helps some

  • emtnest
    15 years ago

    Looks to me like that is Robin's website as you can email her from there..

  • robin_ssi
    15 years ago

    If I have offended you nicethyme please accept my apology. I'd hoped the links to the birdbath that was made with Weldbond and a gog project done with Weldbond might be helpful. Yes, the pictures are on my website gallery page. All of the pieces in the gallery were made with our product and many of them were made with Weldbond. I've used Weldbond for ten years, on a wide range of projects very successfully. I thought that might be helpful to others. No, I'm not receiving anything by sharing my experience with Weldbond.

  • barrell
    15 years ago

    I have made many tables with stained glass. I do all the woodworking and strongly beleive a table should be built to last a lifetime. So I dont use any Salvation army deals that are coming apart at the seams. I use 3/4 inch plywood on the bottom and then laminate 1/2 tile backer board to the plywood. It is this concrete board that gets the glass. I use a variety of glues but my favorites are welbond and GOOP. I avoid silicone two because I cant handle the fumes. After the mosaic is grouted I give it a couple days and then ALWAYS cover the whole top with epoxy tabeletop/bar resin. This resin is epoxy based and smooths out the surface so drinks wont tip over. Its is almost impossible to scratch and looks so good that I eeven cover half my wall panels with it. Here is a link where I described in detail the process I use to bury the glass under the resin.
    http://stainedglassville.com/glassforum/index.php?topic=3614.0

  • robin_ssi
    15 years ago

    Wow! That is one beautiful dolphin.

  • smickerdoodle
    15 years ago

    Anadyne,

    There is no reason why you couldn't do a stained glass table top. I have done a stained glass floor in my bathroom and it is holding up wonderfully. I absolutely love it as does everyone who sees it. As long as you make sure to evenly coat the glass when you set it in, and there are no air pockets it will be secure enough to support anything that the table can hold.

    ~Micki~

    Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

  • Calamity_J
    15 years ago

    Hi There and Welcome to the Forum! I am glad you have generated so many responses to this topic, I am concidering a table sometime too....along with 2743048 other projects!!!lol! I don't know if you are thinking of a stained glass table a see htru...like GOG, or not, it is advised if you are going to do a see thru one to use glass that is not opaque for it, and visa versa for a solid backed base. I use GE marine silicone as my glue, it dries in minutes and is good for outdoor stuff too, but mostly I like fast!!!heh heh! Klinger has a glass on glass table top that she did and set it on an old sewing stand base...gorgeous!!!! I'm a big fan of seeing thru the glass, but I have noticed there is some very nice done the other way. Jane

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