Mario glass cutting complete!

So I've completed cutting all of the pieces for the Mario glass project.  There are a few pieces that don't fit quite right, so I'm thinking of recutting them, but here you can see the project in all its current glory. 

My next step is to start adding copper foil around the edges.  I don't currently own any foil and I want to talk to my instructor about a number of items, so I'm scheduled to meet with him in about a week.

Mario Update

I don't really have a lot to say, but I thought I would at least update my pictures.  I am at least 2/3 done cutting the glass.

Return to Mario Glass

Well, after a number of physical and emotional setbacks, I've decided it is time to revisit the Mario stained glass project.  After my last post, I cut my first piece of glass, and I had a terrible time of it - every time I tried to grind the edges, they would nick so horribly, the piece would be unusable.  I spoke with my stained glass instructor, and it turns out that even though the instructions that came with my grinder told me to lubricate it with Vaseline, the grinder would be better off without any lube at all.  Knowing that I had to take apart my grinder and clean all the Vaseline I had put on made me want to put off the project.  Combined with a number of illnesses and depression, I just didn't have the energy to face it.

Now that I've got things under control, I spent a day last week cleaning out my stained glass area and getting the Vaseline off my grinder.  I also took my instructor's suggestion to heart and reverted to the larger sized pattern - some of the smaller items like the piranha plant's teeth will be much easier to see.

With my desk area cleaned, I pinned down the new, larger pattern.  I began cutting new pieces.  I quickly found that the paper pattern was getting too damp from the grinder, making grinding the pieces into the right shape nearly impossible.  I decided to laminate my pattern using packing tape, and this really seems to help.

My pattern has 77 pieces.  So far, I've cut and ground 26, so I'm moving along at a nice pace, as you can see here:

Usually, you start in one corner (like the bottom left), and you work up and out.  However, once I got to the mushroom hat, I had to pull out my second grinder/saw.  It is used for the more intricate cuts, like the egg and piranha plant head.  I have no room on my desk, which means it's currently living on the floor.  I needed to just get those cuts out of the way so I could put the saw up for now, so I kind of skipped ahead.  hopefully everything will still fit in ok.  (FINGERS CROSSED!!!)

I know I've been really bad about update pics (the one above shows about three days worth of work), so I'll try to get more in.  I'm hoping to cut and grind at least a handful of pieces each day, which should mean I'll start foiling within a few weeks.