Anatomy of a Leaded Glass Window

ANATOMY OF A leaded glass WINDOW

All windows begin with a metal frame shown here as

, normally ½ wide (which accounts for 1" of your window dimensions). You may see a photo of this framing further down on this page.

A border of a different color or clear texture — shown here as

— is usually 1" – 2", depending on the size of your window.

The field or background glass is shown here as

.
You might have noticed this varies here for demonstration effects.
We make the "bevel set" fit by adjusting the background area of your window.

See some glass options like gluechip, Waterglass and Baroque on our FAQS/Info page.

The bevel set/bevel set is the yellow design in the center. You could replace the "bevel set" — or any of the other parts of the window — with stained glass or a clear textured glass if you like.

What is "Lead"?

Lead is the skeletal structure of your glass window.

Glass is cut by hand to the desired shape and fitted into a piece of metal called "came" of various shapes and sizes. This is a picture of "H" came (looks like an I–beam) which accepts glass in the slots on either side. Solder is applied to every joint where lead cames cross or meet.

We use zinc, which is stiff like aluminium, to frame our windows. It is called "U" and fits on the outer edge of a glass window, creating the frame.

For most applications, the face is ½" and the thickness on the outer edge is 1/4". It is also available in 1/4", 3/8", and 3/4" face widths.

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