Build a 13-piece copper-foil color wheel with straight cuts, a quiet center and a palette chosen in the light where the panel will be seen.

A round color wheel would put 12 narrow wedges into one crowded center joint. This beginner version moves a 12-hue artist’s RYB sequence around a square instead. It has 13 pieces, uses only straight cuts and finishes at approximately 6 inches square. The result is both a small copper-foil panel and a reference for comparing your glass in real light.

Draw the 13-piece layout

On two sheets of paper, draw a 6-inch square divided into a 4-by-4 grid of 1½-inch cells. On each copy, erase the lines separating the four middle cells to make one 3-inch center square.

The layout has:

• 12 small squares around the perimeter
• One large square in the center
• 13 pieces in total
• Straight cuts only

Keep one copy intact as the assembly map. The other will become your templates.

Starting at the upper-left corner, move right across the top and then clockwise around the perimeter. Assign the colors in this order:

1. Red
2. Red-orange
3. Orange
4. Yellow-orange
5. Yellow
6. Yellow-green
7. Green
8. Blue-green
9. Blue
10. Blue-violet
11. Violet
12. Red-violet

This places red across from green, orange across from blue, and yellow across from violet. For the center, choose clear textured, pale gray, white opalescent or another quiet glass that will not compete with the hue sequence.

Materials and tools

• Two copies of the hand-drawn 6-inch pattern
• 12 glass scraps in the listed hue families
• Neutral glass large enough for the center
• Ruler and fine marker
• Copper-foil pattern shears
• Glass cutter and its specified lubricant
• Running pliers and breaker-grozer pliers
• Grinder, if needed for small corrections
• Safety glasses, bench brush and dustpan
• Copper foil suited to the glass thickness and desired appearance
• Foil burnisher or fid
• Layout board, straightedges and pins or blocks
• Soldering iron, solder and compatible flux
• Heat-resistant soldering surface and local exhaust ventilation
• Cleaner suitable for the flux and other materials used

If you still need to select foil, see which copper foil to use. Match the flux to the metal and solder rather than assuming every product is compatible; the stained-glass flux guide explains that choice.

1. Test the palette in real light

Do not choose all 12 pieces from catalog names or screen colors. Arrange the actual scraps in sequence on a light surface, then hold them safely in front of the window or light source where the panel will be displayed. Transparent glass may look luminous with light passing through it but much darker against a wall. Compare every candidate in both transmitted and reflected light before cutting, as described in Choosing Stained Glass Colors Starts With Light.

Exact intermediate hues are not essential. If red-orange is unavailable, use a warm red that remains distinct from the red beside it. Turquoise can stand in for blue-green. The checkpoint is a visible progression around the perimeter, not a scientifically calibrated spectrum.

You can also vary texture while preserving the hue order. For example, use smooth glass for the three primaries, lightly textured glass for the secondaries and streaky glass for the intermediate colors. Keep the center quieter so its texture does not overwhelm the comparison.

2. Cut and mark the templates

Set the intact assembly map aside. Cut the second copy into 13 templates with copper-foil pattern shears. Their blades remove a narrow strip at each shared pattern line to allow for the foil and solder seam.

Number the templates. Add a direction arrow if a piece of glass has a visible grain, ripple or streak. Rotate the template on the glass until that movement runs in the intended direction; orientation will be noticeable against such regular geometry.

If you change the overall size, scale every dimension by the same percentage. Avoid making the squares very small until you are comfortable holding, grinding and foiling small parts. See how stained-glass patterns reveal their difficulty before reducing the design substantially.

3. Score and break the glass

Wear safety glasses. Clear slivers with a bench brush and dustpan, never your fingers. Put the smooth cutting face upward unless the glass manufacturer says otherwise.

Trace a template onto its glass. Hold the cutter upright like a pencil. Begin about 1/8 inch inside the near edge, move your shoulder and forearm together, and guide the wheel across the glass in one continuous pass and off the far edge. Keep the pressure even. Do not stop, saw back and forth or score the same line twice. These movements follow Delphi’s basic cutting instructions.

Break each score before making another one. With the score facing upward, place the running pliers at the start of the line and align the mark on top of the jaws with the score. Squeeze gently until the crack begins to run. If it stops partway, turn the glass and try from the opposite end. The movement is a gradual closing of the hand, not a hard snap.

Cut the 12 perimeter squares first and place them on the intact pattern. Cut the center last to fit the assembled opening. This allows the large center piece to accommodate small differences in the surrounding parts.

Grind only enough to remove bumps and return each piece to its pattern boundary. Rinse and dry every piece before applying foil.

4. Foil and check the fit

Center the foil on each glass edge, leaving equal margins on the two faces. Continue around each corner rather than using four separate strips. Press the foil onto the edge first, fold both sides down, and burnish firmly—especially at the corners.

Place all 13 pieces on the intact pattern between square layout blocks. Before fluxing, check that:

• The outside remains square.
• The gaps are narrow and reasonably consistent.
• The color order travels continuously around the perimeter.
• The panel lies flat without one piece riding over another.

Correct the fit now. Solder can bridge a planned seam, but it should not be used to fill a large cutting error.

5. Tack and solder the panel

If using lead-bearing solder, keep food and drink out of the work area, use local exhaust close to the soldering work, and wash your hands after handling solder or contaminated surfaces. Check the labels and safety data sheets for the particular solder and flux as well.

A NIOSH evaluation of one small stained-glass studio found lead dust on studio surfaces even though most measured personal air exposures were low. The report attributed those low exposures in that specific studio to its ventilation and hygiene practices, reinforcing the need to control both airborne emissions and contaminated surfaces (NIOSH).

Apply only enough flux to the joints you are ready to solder. Tack the intersections and several points around the perimeter. Recheck that the panel is flat and square before forming the seams.

Feed solder just ahead of the iron and draw the tip along the joint at a steady pace. Let the iron’s heat melt and move the solder; do not press the tip into the foil. Pause periodically to limit heat buildup, and stop if the flux chars. Do not touch the glass to test its temperature.

Complete one face, let the panel cool, turn it over carefully and solder the second face. Clean away flux as directed by its manufacturer, then dry the panel thoroughly. The solder selection guide can help if you have not yet chosen an alloy.

Display the color wheel safely

Place the finished panel in a stable tabletop display stand and use it when planning later projects. Hold a candidate scrap beside different parts of the wheel to find:

• A neighboring, analogous hue
• A strong complement across the center
• A warmer or cooler alternative
• A lighter, darker or more transparent version of the same hue

Do not hang the panel from an unsupported foil edge. A solder-coated edge is a finish, not automatically a structural frame. If the wheel will hang, plan an appropriate perimeter and attachment points; begin with how stained-glass frames vary by function.

The completed wheel records how your actual glass—not a printed chart—changes between transmitted and reflected light.