The Making of a Chandelier: Part 3

I bet you thought I was never going to finish this project. To be perfectly honest, I often wondered that myself.

After firing 20 pieces of glass, it was time to prepare them for hanging. My precision engineer of a studio partner (aka my husband) took the calipers to the chandelier frame and determined that a 3/16" hole would be the right size to allow enough wiggle room to not stress the glass.

Off to Amazon to purchase a 3/16" diamond drill bit.

drill press and clamps for glasstray and clamps for holding glass

My handy hubby rigged up a little system to keep the glass cool/wet and hold it in place to make the drilling process much easier.

I picked up a little baking pan from the store and we secured a small piece of scrap wood to the bottom to give the drill bit a cushion. He then attached a couple of handy wood-working clamps to the side to help hold the glass firmly in place. Add some cold water to cover completely and start drilling!

True confession: I hold my breath during this process. I don't know why. I always seem to hold my breath when I am doing something that has a high 'cry factor' if it goes wrong. I decided to promote the hubs to studio apprentice and ask him to take over the drilling. Because he is my hero and loves playing with power tools, he happily obliged. I couldn't even watch.

While the process of drilling 20 glass panels was nearing completion, it was time to hang the frame. Of course nothing is straightforward when you are dealing with a 1930s built house, but after tinkering around with the wiring, electrical boxes, and stud finders it is up!

fused glass chandelier frame
Next up: hanging the glass panels. Stay tuned for the big reveal coming soon.

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