Easy DIY Stained Glass Window Frame
Easy DIY Stained Glass Window Frame
Recently I acquired these two beautiful old stained glass windows. I don’t know how they ever managed to make it to me intact, but they are both missing their frames.
Stained Glass Windows absolutely need some kind of frame. The soldered joints are just not that strong on their own, and the easiest way to create a frame is to take advantage of the lip that goes around each of these old windows.
Note: Newer stained glass windows that are meant to be displayed on their own may not have the lip.
To go along with the age of the window and to make my own diy frame I’m using an old 2×4 chopped in half resulting in 2, 2×2’s.
You can tell this is an old 2×4 not only from the color and the roughness of the wood, but it really is 2 inches by 4 inches.
Dado a channel in each length of 2×2 slightly deeper than the width of the lip on your stained glass. It does not have to be centered, I wanted the depth of my frame to be slightly deeper on the front rather than the back where no one would see it.
It’s best to use a table saw if you have one but you could also use a handheld circular saw. If you are using a circular saw, clamp your wood in place, adjust the depth of your saw blade, mark where you would like your dado (sawblade channel) and saw with a very steady hand.
Measure and miter the ends of your 2×2’s to create your diy frame. I always like to start out slightly larger than I need. You can always shave an extra sliver off your wood.
You’ll be measuring from corner to corner of the window not including the lip which will slide into the dado groove.
Once you’re happy with the fit, glue/nail the corners to secure. Avoid hammering anywhere near that stained glass.
For this job I definitely prefer the pneumatic nail gun, it takes away the pounding of the hammer.
Without the nailer you may also want to consider predrilling a hole in the corner and using screws to secure.
The stained glass window frame is ready to display.
BTW, I used this exact same framing technique for my birthday reminder tree. Instead of inserting the edges of the stained glass into the dado channel, it fit a slim piece of masonite.
As always, stay inspired and I’ll see you next time.
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These look like they might have been done in a class. I took a stained glass window making class 35+ years ago and this is how our finished products looked. Just a thought…