Wood glazing beads may be used as a substitute for the sloping putty around the outside of a window. You will still need to use bedding putty between the glass and the rebate, but in this case it need not be quite as thick-about 2mm thick as for ordinary glazing with putty.
Materials needed:
Prepared softwood beading-square, splayed, quarter round, or other shape as required panel pins l9mm- 25mm, and glazing felt.
Glazing lightweight glass in small areas
Measure the top, bottom and sides of the rebate separately and then the diagonals to check that the frame is in square. Cut four lengths of beading slightly over-size for the sides, top, and bottom, and mark these accordingly. (Cutting slightly over-size will help the lengths to fit snugly when mitred.) Smooth off any roughness with glasspaper and carefully mitre the ends using a mitring block and dovetail saw. Paint the backs and mitred corners with priming paint. Lay the beads flat. Take one and gently tap two panel pins part way into the centre of the bead width, about 25mm from the face of each mitre. When you have worked out the direction the panel pins should run in, remove them and drill the nail holes; this will prevent the wood from splitting.
Continue doing this, positioning the pins at equal distances, about l50mm apart, along the length. Do the same for the remaining beads and check to see that the beads fit into the rebate. Spread bedding putty as described above, place the glass in the rebate leaving an equal expansion gap around each edge. Holding the glass firmly with the palm of the hand and pushing a side bead squarely into place with the thumb, gently tap the pins down to the face of the bead with a hammer.
Do not fix the beads permanently until all four are in position. Similarly, fit the opposite side bead, then the top and flnally the bottom, checking that the glass has not slipped down. With a centre punch and the hammer gently punch the heads of the pins about l6mm below the bead surface. Use a square-ended filling knife to fill in these indents with putty or filler and smooth off. A final rubbing over with glasspaper and the beads are ready for priming. Finish with an undercoat and an oil-based top coat.