The cost of stained glass supplies.

Last week I talked about the cost of stained glass sheets but that’s just one factor that goes into making a stained glass panel.

Since it’s not just the sheets of stained glass that’s expensive, what makes creating stained glass panels so expensive? Metals again are the major contributor to cost.

The second set of metals that add to the cost (other than stained glass sheets) are copper foil, lead, solder and zinc. The chart below will give you some idea of the cost of the raw metals that go into our supplies.

Copper is going for about $2.89/ lb in its raw form. Then it has to be processed into copper foil.

Lead is going for $.97/ lb in its raw form. Then needs to be turned into came and solder.

Tin is going for $7.35/ lb in its raw form.  Then needs to be mixed into solder with lead.

Zinc is going for $1.07/ lb in its raw form.  Then needs to be made into u-channel framing.

I want to educate others to not only see the reason for the expense but also see its worth. These metals are also the reason that the windows you create will last a lifetime.

Next I’ll talk about pricing your stained glass pieces.