A new project
I am a participant of a few glass-themed pages on FB. They are a great source of inspiration, solutions, and general glass comraderie. several weeks ago, stained glass guitars began making the rounds. the concept intrigued me. it needed to roll around in my noggin for bit, but I finally acquired 3 guitars, and began the process.
This top came off easily. The guitar was pretty banged up, and the front and back both were already loose. Once off, i used the front piece to create a template for the design.
Once it was foiling and soldered, I had to finish prep ont he guitar, which was more than I had thought of. The lighting turned out to be the most difficult to nail down.
Once I figured out the lighting method, i had to secure the rope inside the guitar. i tried gluing down the clips, but they pulled free with ridiculous ease. In the end, I bolted them in place, drilled a hole in the bottom for the electric cord, and secured the loose rope with zip-ties.
And then, the moment of truth. The top didn’t line up 100%, but it’s close enough. I’ll seal the small gaps with some silicone, today. Epoxied the two sides, let them sit for a few mins, then pressed them together. Weighted the top down, and let it cure for 24 hours.
and viola! hung and lighted…
love affair with stained glass 
Nice, job. It turned out great for your first guitar and I love your design.
That’s wonderful. Thanks for posting. I was wondering how you change the rope light if it goes out?
i used clips to attach it, and have a flap cut into the back. the LEDs should last for a very long time, but it will be fairly easy to switch it out when they do die.
Do you have an more stained glass guitar lamps for sale or can you make another one?
Marty, i can make you one, definitely. I sent you an email =)
Nice work! I’m new to stained glass and I just started similar project. I see you used some framing. Do you think it’s necessary on a small guitar or ukulele? Also, what kind of epoxy did you use? Thanks
Hi Jos, thanks for the looking, and welcome to the obsession, lol. FRaming provides structure and stability to the piece, so yes I do think it’s necessary. i also think it looks better with the finished edge, and it is certainly much easier to adhere to the guitar frame. I used E6000 adhesive. good luck!
Thank you for your tips. I am finally going to be trying this this weekend. So you use epoxy to attach the glass? This will be my first guitar and nervous but excited.
stephanie, I used E6000 adhesive because it bonds to both the lead came and the wooden guitar edge. a thin line along the edge and then let it dry for 24 hours. weight it down, as well, to insure it stays in firm contact with the guitar. send me a pic when you are done, i love seeing others’ work =)
just had to sat wow..what a great piece..lot of work there..would love to make one…how do i start………..
thank you! it was a LOT of work, but the end result was so fantastic. I love the pattern which you can find by googling ‘american flag stained glass pattern’. i think it was a free spectrum pattern. how to do the process of making the guitar lamp is quite involved and too lengthy for me to type out here. there are several excellent how-to videos on youtube. type in ‘how to construct a stained glass guitar’, several pop up. watch all of them and see which one resonates with you. good luck, and i’d love to see the finished product.
you start with a basic class in stained glass copper foil method. that will teach you how to do the work. after that it’s practice and trial and error.
great job! I started experimenting, and making stained glass guitar lamps about 2 years ago. It has definitely been a process of watching some You Tube videos and just trial and error. I have made 10 guitars and 1 banjo. It shows that you love what you are doing.
thanks marks glass. its a great art form, isn’t it? I’ve got three guitars that are waiting for me to have the time to work on them. I haven’t tried a lamp, per se, but just wall art.
thank you!! I have a couple guitars sitting in a closet, waiting for me to get to them. I wish I was able to work with glass more than I currently do.
yes I did say guitar lamps—–they really are wall art, just like you have done. I just take my guitars apart and put them back together a little differently than you do—-but we get the same results. I looked around on your site some. Like I said–anyone can tell you love what you do! Great job! My site is also on wordpress. It is marksglass.wordpress.com