Stained Glass Calculator
Lead came, solder, and glass from design dimensions.
About this calculator
This calculator translates a stained glass design — panel dimensions, piece count, and technique — into a materials list for either traditional lead came or the Tiffany copper foil method. Glass area starts from panel width times height, then adds a waste allowance (20-30% is typical for curved cuts) to account for scrap. The trickier number is the length of lead came or copper foil needed: rather than requiring you to trace every seam, it estimates the average piece size from panel area divided by piece count, derives an average four-sided piece perimeter, and multiplies by piece count divided by two — dividing by two because each interior seam is shared by two neighboring pieces, so a naive perimeter sum would double-count every interior joint. That interior length is then added to the panel's outer perimeter and rounded up to whole 6-foot came strips or 36-yard foil rolls, since that's how the material is actually sold.
Solder joints are estimated at roughly 1.5 per piece (each intersection where came/foil lines meet), doubled for foil because copper foil work requires soldering both the front and back of the panel, while lead came is only soldered on the visible face. Solder weight assumes about 1g per came joint versus 2g per foil joint (foil beads are heavier), and cement/weatherproofing putty only applies to the came technique — foil work doesn't use it. Because the joint-length math is a geometric approximation, not a per-piece trace, treat the came/foil and solder figures as ordering estimates and buy a bit of headroom, especially for designs with many small or irregularly-shaped pieces.
Inputs
Results
Glass needed (ft²)
3.75
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Panel Width and Height in inches and the Number of Pieces in the design.
- Select the Technique: lead came (traditional) or copper foil (Tiffany method).
- Enter Glass Thickness in mm and Waste Allowance percentage (20–30% typical for curved cuts).
- Review Glass Needed in ft², Came/Foil Length in ft, and Solder Joints count.
- Check Solder Weight in oz, Flux volume, and Estimated Material Cost for supply ordering.
How the result changes with Panel width (inches)
| Panel width (inches) | Glass needed (ft²) |
|---|---|
| 9 | 1.88 |
| 14 | 2.92 |
| 27 | 5.63 |
| 45 | 9.38 |
What each input means
- Panel width (inches)
- Width of the stained glass panel.
- Panel height (inches)
- Height of the stained glass panel.
- Number of pieces
- Total number of glass pieces in the design.
- Technique
- 0 = Lead came (traditional), 1 = Copper foil (Tiffany method).
- Glass thickness (mm)
- Stained glass thickness. Typically 3mm (1/8").
- Waste allowance (%)
- Glass cutting waste. 20-30% typical for curved cuts.
What each result means
- Glass needed (ft²)
- Total glass area including waste allowance.
- Came/foil length (ft)
- Total length of lead came or copper foil needed.
- Came strips or foil rolls
- Number of 6-ft came strips or 36-yd foil rolls to purchase.
- Solder needed (oz)
- Weight of solder for all joints.
- Solder joints
- Estimated number of solder points.
- Flux needed (ml)
- Liquid flux volume for soldering.
- Panel weight (lbs)
- Estimated finished panel weight.
- Est. material cost ($)
- Approximate material cost for glass, came/foil, solder, and supplies.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersPanel width (inches) = 18, Panel height (inches) = 24, Number of pieces = 30, Technique = 0 = 6 input(s) provided
- Calculate Glass neededGlass needed = panelAreaSqFt * (1 + wastePct / 100)3.75 = 3.75
- Calculate Came/foil lengthCame/foil length = totalCameLengthIn / 1226 = 26
- Calculate Came strips or foil rolls5 = 5
Engine last updated . Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the calculator divide the interior joint length by two?
Every interior seam between two neighboring glass pieces is shared — it's one physical joint, not two. If the calculator simply summed each piece's full perimeter, it would count that shared seam twice (once from each piece's side), so it divides the total by two to get the actual unique length of came or foil needed for the interior lines.
Why does copper foil need twice as many solder joints as lead came?
Lead came holds the glass in H- or U-shaped channels and only needs soldering on the visible front face where came pieces meet. Copper foil wraps each piece's edge and is soldered on both the front and back of the panel to bond the foil seams into a rigid structure, so the same intersection count produces twice the solder joints.
Why doesn't the calculator include cement or putty when I select copper foil?
Cement/putty is used with lead came to weatherproof and stiffen the gaps between the glass and the came channel, since came alone leaves small voids. Copper foil construction has no such gaps — the foil is soldered directly along the glass edges — so weatherproofing cement isn't part of that technique and the calculator zeroes it out.
How accurate is the came/foil length estimate for an unusual design?
The estimate assumes an average piece is roughly square-shaped, using panel area divided by piece count to infer a typical piece size and perimeter. A design with many long, thin, or irregularly shaped pieces will have more actual seam length than this geometric approximation predicts, so budget extra came or foil for such layouts.
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