How to ship stained glass

July 2005 How To Ship Glass

ARTICLES VIDEOS   LINKS  PATTERNS

BETTERSTAINEDGLASS.COM
Phone (801) 344-0178 • Fax (510) 892-4564

Last month I got a couple of inquiries concerning lighting stained glass panels. They were both asking about advice on how to light stained glass, especially in cabinets.
Since it was of interest to some who wrote to me, I figure there may be a few more folks who would like to discuss ways of lighting a piece in a cabinet.

I recommend that a piece of sandblasted glass or a piece of opaque Plexiglas be put behind the art glass so that the light will be diffused. I've seen some creative uses of butcher paper, especially in light boxes.

I only recommend the use of rope lighting when the panel is very small. Over a large area, rope lighting just doesn't put out enough light to do the piece proud.

Florescent lights and under cabinet diffusion lights do a good job because they burn through much less than halogen or regular incandescent bulbs.

When doing a piece that needed the ease of regular household bulbs for replacement, I designed the piece to use very opaque glass and placed design elements that worked with the "hot spots" as design features.

Let us know how you've succeeded at lighting stained glass projects.

How To Ship Stained Glass

To ship a piece of glass, it needs to be crated. We build a crate around every piece of glass which we ship. It needs to be a custom fit so that the glass can be adequately protected. The following pictures are of us building a crate for a 3' by 5' window. We use the same techniques when crating a smaller window.

”stained glass crate

We have the stained glass panel laid out on a different table than the one we're going to build the crate on.

First we lay the 1" thick rigid foam insulation on the table. This comes in pink or blue depending on the brand you buy.

”stained glass crate
We lay the panel to be shipped on top of the insulation and use a box knife to cut around the panel. We cut right on the edge. We don't want any extra foam hanging beyond the window edge.

Then we slide the cut line of the foam over the edge of the table and push down to break the foam. If it has a membrane holding it together, we run a utility knife along it to cut it off. We use the cut off pieces as a template to cut the second piece of foam the same size as the first.

”stained glass crate
Then we take a two by four and use it as a pattern to cut four pieces of filler pieces of foam.

Here we have the "foam, glass, foam sandwich," with some of our cut pieces laying on top.

”stained glass crate
Next we take the long pieces and cut them to the length of the sign and set one on each side of the sign. Then we stand up a two by four along the long edge and mark a cut line a two by four width from the end of the sign.

”stained glass crate
(We make sure that the other end of the two by four is hanging out a two by four width at the other end when marking) The cut two by four is then cut a saw blade width short so the box will keep the foam tight. We cut a second one for the other side.

”stained glass crate
Here is the foam "sandwich" with another piece of scrap foam on top of the pile to raise the top of the entire package to the height of the two by four frame. You can also see the two by four side piece ready to be put in place.

”stained glass crate
Now we use a clamp to pull the two by fours together on each end. We only apply a slight amount of pressure to the clamp. We want the crate to be tight but not so tight we damage the foam and drive it into the stained glass we're protecting.

”stained glass crate
We cut and attach our connecting two by fours. Then we check that the top of the crate is even with the two by four framework. Then we add a couple of layers of foam blanket to the top so that the lid of the crate will apply a slight amount of pressure when it's in place.

”stained glass crate
Because we have an inch of foam on the top and bottom and all around the glass inside the crate, it is safe to screw down the plywood top of the crate. We laid the plywood on top of the framework and traced around it and then cut it out.

”stained glass crate
Next we got some friends to help flip the whole assembly over.

Then we laid the final piece of plywood down and screwed it in place.

When we ship, we find that moving van lines have a good system in place to haul sensitive and delicate items, such as electronics and stained glass. They cost 3 or 4 times more than common carrier, but you get what you pay for.

***Update***

Nowadays, we use the white Styrofoam sheets of insulation that can be obtained from home improvement centers. It has more "give" to it. Also, once the package of glass and insulation is completed, we add an additional layer of insulation all around the package. This insures that we have at least 2" of foam around the glass (which the shipping companies require).
See instructions for extra foam crate.

We frequently use the techniques described in another article:
How to build a multi-crate.

I found a very good article on the Architectural Stained Glass website that discusses more about Shipping stained glass from another perspective.
There's also a video on YouTube about building a glass crate, his techniques are fairly good, make sure and build yours so you can fit 2" of foam all around your glass.

ARTICLES   VIDEOS LINKS

stained glass artist
Send us e-mail with your comments and suggestions. We enjoy the chance to share with others.
Click Here To Read Our Disclaimer!

Email: david@gommstudios.com

	ARTICLES VIDEOS LINKS PATTERNS
	BETTERSTAINEDGLASS.COM Phone (801) 344-0178 • Fax (510) 892-4564

Last month I got a couple of inquiries concerning lighting stained glass panels. They were both asking about advice on how to light stained glass, especially in cabinets. Since it was of interest to some who wrote to me, I figure there may be a few more folks who would like to discuss ways of lighting a piece in a cabinet. I recommend that a piece of sandblasted glass or a piece of opaque Plexiglas be put behind the art glass so that the light will be diffused. I've seen some creative uses of butcher paper, especially in light boxes. I only recommend the use of rope lighting when the panel is very small. Over a large area, rope lighting just doesn't put out enough light to do the piece proud. Florescent lights and under cabinet diffusion lights do a good job because they burn through much less than halogen or regular incandescent bulbs. When doing a piece that needed the ease of regular household bulbs for replacement, I designed the piece to use very opaque glass and placed design elements that worked with the "hot spots" as design features. Let us know how you've succeeded at lighting stained glass projects.

How To Ship Stained Glass
To ship a piece of glass, it needs to be crated. We build a crate around every piece of glass which we ship. It needs to be a custom fit so that the glass can be adequately protected. The following pictures are of us building a crate for a 3' by 5' window. We use the same techniques when crating a smaller window.
	We have the stained glass panel laid out on a different table than the one we're going to build the crate on.
	First we lay the 1" thick rigid foam insulation on the table. This comes in pink or blue depending on the brand you buy.
	We lay the panel to be shipped on top of the insulation and use a box knife to cut around the panel. We cut right on the edge. We don't want any extra foam hanging beyond the window edge.
	Then we slide the cut line of the foam over the edge of the table and push down to break the foam. If it has a membrane holding it together, we run a utility knife along it to cut it off. We use the cut off pieces as a template to cut the second piece of foam the same size as the first.
	Then we take a two by four and use it as a pattern to cut four pieces of filler pieces of foam.
	Here we have the "foam, glass, foam sandwich," with some of our cut pieces laying on top.
	Next we take the long pieces and cut them to the length of the sign and set one on each side of the sign. Then we stand up a two by four along the long edge and mark a cut line a two by four width from the end of the sign.
	(We make sure that the other end of the two by four is hanging out a two by four width at the other end when marking) The cut two by four is then cut a saw blade width short so the box will keep the foam tight. We cut a second one for the other side.
	Here is the foam "sandwich" with another piece of scrap foam on top of the pile to raise the top of the entire package to the height of the two by four frame. You can also see the two by four side piece ready to be put in place.
	Now we use a clamp to pull the two by fours together on each end. We only apply a slight amount of pressure to the clamp. We want the crate to be tight but not so tight we damage the foam and drive it into the stained glass we're protecting.
	We cut and attach our connecting two by fours. Then we check that the top of the crate is even with the two by four framework. Then we add a couple of layers of foam blanket to the top so that the lid of the crate will apply a slight amount of pressure when it's in place.
	Because we have an inch of foam on the top and bottom and all around the glass inside the crate, it is safe to screw down the plywood top of the crate. We laid the plywood on top of the framework and traced around it and then cut it out.
	Next we got some friends to help flip the whole assembly over.
	Then we laid the final piece of plywood down and screwed it in place.

When we ship, we find that moving van lines have a good system in place to haul sensitive and delicate items, such as electronics and stained glass. They cost 3 or 4 times more than common carrier, but you get what you pay for.
*Update* Nowadays, we use the white Styrofoam sheets of insulation that can be obtained from home improvement centers. It has more "give" to it. Also, once the package of glass and insulation is completed, we add an additional layer of insulation all around the package. This insures that we have at least 2" of foam around the glass (which the shipping companies require). See instructions for extra foam crate.
We frequently use the techniques described in another article: How to build a multi-crate.
I found a very good article on the Architectural Stained Glass website that discusses more about Shipping stained glass from another perspective. There's also a video on YouTube about building a glass crate, his techniques are fairly good, make sure and build yours so you can fit 2" of foam all around your glass.