Creating Safely
Stained-glass studio safety
Working with glass is a rewarding creative experience, but it requires care and attention to mitigate inherent risks. Taking care to protect yourself and those around you helps to keep the focus on enjoying the creative process.
Please follow your instructor’s safety guidelines and adhere to the studio’s safety protocols to enjoy your creative experience safely.
Report cuts and burns
Don't tough it out!
If you cut or burn yourself — even if it is a minor injury — please tell your instructor, or the studio technician on duty. They will assist with applying first aid and if necessary, arrange for medical care.
Dress for success
A shard or sheet of glass falling and impaling itself in your foot is painful and poses serious risks. A drop of molten solder falling between toes will burn. To protect your feet, you must wear closed-toe shoes.
We recommend wearing natural fibre clothing that cover your legs — denim/jeans will do perfectly.
You are welcome to bring an apron or work jacket — natural fibre is best.
Avoid loose clothing and tie back long hair to avoid entanglement when working with machines or hot equipment.
Gloves, protective glasses and hearing protectors are provided — you're welcome to bring your own.
Protect your eyes
Always wear safety glasses when scoring, breaking, chipping or grinding glass. Scoring, breaking and grinding glass edges often release tiny shards and slivers of glass at velocities that can cause the shards and slivers to embed themselves in your eyes.
We recommend using safety glasses with the bottom resting against your cheeks.
If you get glass in your eyes, please inform your instructor who will assist with first aid and seeking medical help.
Razor sharp
Razor sharp edges slice skin and glass shards impale themselves into hands, feet and eyes easily. Most cuts happen when you’re complacent, inattentive or rushing.
To glove up or not
While you should always be aware of the risk, it’s generally not necessary to wear safety gloves when handling or cutting glass.
When handling or breaking up larger sheets of glass or working with several sheets at once, you must wear protective gloves.
A safe workspace
Use the waffle-grid cutting surface to catch most glass shards.
Regularly sweep your work surface to keep it clear of glass shards.
Do not use your hands to sweep glass shards aside.
Place offcuts into the bins provided.
Glass hunting
Be particularly careful when rummaging in storage bins for that special piece of glass —it’s easy to get excited and forget that the gem you’re hunting for has sharp edges.
Tell us
If you cut yourself, please inform your instructor who will assist with first aid.
Soldering irons
The tips of soldering irons used in stained glass work operate at 360-410°C. Touching the tip or molten solder can cause serious burns.
Working safely with lead
The solder used to create copper-foiled stained-glass artworks contains lead and tin. The came used in larger stained-glass windows are made from lead. Working with lead and lead-containing alloys poses manageable risk.
Ingestion
The most common way to get lead poisoning is by ingestion. Do we need to say this? Don’t lick or eat the solder or came!
Minute quantities of lead can transfer from your hands or contaminated surfaces to food or your face. After working with solder or lead came, protect yourself by washing/scrubbing your hands thoroughly with the specialised soap provided at PMAC. Do not place food on your workstation.
Inhalation
Do not create lead-containing dust which can be inhaled through dry sanding or using power tools to cut lead. Lead dust can be inhaled. Wet sanding is a much safer approach.
Take extra care!
Old, deteriorating lead-came windows require special care to manage lead-oxide, a white powdery dust which can form on the surface of the lead came. Avoid dry-working/cleaning and vacuuming.
Disposal
Please place solder droppings and lead waste in the containers provided. PMAC will ensure its safe disposal.
Facts & Myths About Lead
Collapsible content
Myth — Touching solder/lead is dangerous
Lead is not typically absorbed through skin.
But, lead tends to be ‘sticky’ and does not rinse off with just a gentle wash or by using a hand sanitizer. Make sure to scrub your hands thoroughly with the specialised soap provided at PMAC
Myth — Soldering releases lead vapours that are dangerous to breathe in.
The solder used to create stained-glass works contains tin and lead in either a 60/40 or 50/50 ratio. Lead vaporise at 1,749°C.
Soldering takes place at 360-410°C, well below the vapour point and therefore cannot vaporise the lead in solder.
Fact — Lead dust and some lead-based compounds pose a risk
Although not applicable to the stained glass studio, be aware that organolead compounds, finely powdered lead, lead oxide and lead nitrate solution can be absorbed through the skin.
Skin damaged by conditions like eczema can increase the likelihood of lead absorption through the skin. Take extra precautions when working with these substances.
Flux fumes
When heated during the soldering process, flux breaks down into volatile organic compounds that can irritate the respiratory tract and eyes. If this is a concern, please ask your instructor to make a fume filter available.
Glass dust
Glass dust — amorphous silica — generated by cutting and grinding glass is generally considered an irritant dust and non-hazardous. It is not carcinogenic when inhaled.
Healthy bodies usually manage to expel inhaled glass dust over the course of a few weeks. Excessive inhalation over extended periods of time can overwhelm the body’s ability to remove the dust.
It is therefore advisable to wear dust masks to avoid inhalation and is one of the reasons glass grinding, polishing and sawing is performed wet.
Know your dust
Collapsible content
Fact — Amorphous silica is safe
Amorphous silica is considered safe for human use by many governing bodies around the word and is found in the beauty industry, medicinal practices, some toothpastes and some foods and drinks.
Fact — Crystalline silica can be dangerous
Crystalline silica is a naturally occurring mineral known to cause silicosis and other respiratory complications when inhaled.
We do not work with crystalline silica at PMAC.
Hearing protection
Some of the equipment used in the glass studio can be quite loud and contribute to hearing loss. Please use the available hearing protection.
Chemical exposure
Common chemicals used in the stained glass studio, like flux, flux remover, patina, wax and whitening contain potentially harmful substances that can affect your breathing or cause skin irritation. These health risks can be mitigated by using the personal protective equipment provided and following safety instructions when handling chemicals.
Ask your safety questions
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