Welcome to my studio!
Cross the threshold into my glassy kingdom...
Light table & workbench #1
If you can't tell, I have an affection for this workbench (there are three of them in my studio).
Shout out to Harbor Freight for this reliable, reasonably-priced, oh-so-functional workbench.
My husband and I converted the countertop of this workbench into a light table.
Shout out to the hive minds of the many SG facebook groups I'm in for gold in the form of crowd-sourced tips on this project.
This was a fairly simple conversion, especially since the measurements of the LED light panel and the countertop were basically identical. I ordered a 1/4" thick glass panel from my local glass retailer (Shout out to Beth DeVerre Glass) to sit on top. The drawers under the counter still function, and we added a light switch to the right end of the workbench. It is technically a dimmable light, but it would have required a much more expensive switch; honestly, after using it for a few weeks, I realized that the option to dim the light would probably rarely-if-ever get used anyway.
On the far left end of the table are my plastic waffle grids that I use as the surface for scoring and breaking my glass. They are so handy for catching little shards to cut down on how much sweeping I have to do with my bench brush and dustpan.
On the lower shelf of this workbench, I purchased some inexpensive shoe shelves from Amazon to hold plastic storage boxes for medium- and small-sized glass scraps. I used adhesive-backed plastic pockets to insert by-color labels on the front end of the boxes.
On the pegboard, I keep glass nuggets, prisms, bevels, agate slices, bike gears, metal hoops, Sharpies, pencils, pens, and my cutting tools. My glass cutter stays in a cup with a shallow glass jar that houses a sponge soaked with cutter wheel oil. My breaking pliers hang within reach. I bought some pegboard organizing kits on Amazon to aid with all of this.
On the top shelf, I keep lanterns, lamps, and other larger items that are in the "waiting room" to become a future project.
Workbench #2
Let's get this out of the way right here, right now:
my workbenches are NEVER clear and empty like these pictures would have you believe.
Whew! Feels good to get that off my chest!
This organized? Yes, always!
But to not have STUFF all over every flat surface? Nah.
This workbench is where I "finish" off pieces by adding chain or hanging wire. I also set pieces on this surface when I'm in the process of grinding and fitting cut pieces together. It also serves as a holding/sorting ground for sheets of glass when I'm selecting glass for a specific piece. Continued glass scrap storage on the bottom shelf, and another "waiting area" for flower pots and the like, up on the top shelf.
And yes, I fully believe that "I'm kind of a big deal." (Gotta zoom in for this lil' nugget)
Workbench #3
This is my grinder station. Glass grinding can get preeeeetty messy y'all. Always have to rock my apron and a face shield. My forearms end up covered in "danger glitter" at the end of any time spent here. Glass grinding is an important (but arguably tedious) step in the stained glass process. It is the final method of getting the pieces to fit together nicely. Grinding also makes the glass MUCH safer and easier to handle, since it removes all the sharpness off of the outside edge. This also helps in the application of the copper foil tape.
Foiling & Soldering Station
On the far right end of this desk, I have my copper foil tape set-up. Additional hand tools needed for the foiling process are: a "fid" used to burnish the foil smooth and flat onto the glass edges, a pair of scissors, and a utility knife.
