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I had been working on a fairly large glass piece, about 32" x 30" quarter inch plate, which I had just finished glue-chipping. Because it was too big to soak off the excess glue in the shop sink, I took it home to soak it in our big tiled shower stall. I hadn't taken the mask off the back side of the glass, and like an idiot, tried to do that in the tiled shower stall - and broke a 6" chunk out of the corner. Needless to say a few choice epithets were used . Not a good way to start a Saturday morning. My next goal is to have a sheet-metal shop make me a 3'x3' pan for washing and soaking large glass projects. Meanwhile, I'm starting from scratch on this job, again.
Cam,
I am sure we can all share your pain. We've all heard that sound and understand that split second realization of all the work spent and lost, followed by knowing how it has affected your work flow and scheduling of that job. The whole event passes through your head in less than a second, because you know and recognize the sound.
One of the hazards of working with glass is it is not very forgiving, unlike, lets say, wood. A little bondo, putty or filler and most problems can be repaired and never seen by a customer or the public. Vinyl signs can be peeled and relettered if you get something out of alignment, off center, or misspelled. Even a hand lettered sign can normally be fixed. But glass gives you one shot and it better be right. Scratches are difficult to remove or polish out. Cracks and chips mean starting over. But, if you manage to get through the process, they are worth the effort.
Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY
Cam,
Confuscious say: "It is better to place soft woman in shower than sharp glass."
Whenever working on glass that holds a lot of invested time take these precautions.
Work on a soft surface, even if it's a bench with an old clean bath towel to soften the surface. If putting force on the piece such as pulling off masking or even wiping, keep a good safe distance away from other objects near your piece just in case the mask breaks, or the towel grabs a corner sending your treasure rebounding into another object. Before your muscles can react, some asassin object will have found it's mark!
If you have a metal shop make a pan, you will be paying for their material and labor and you will still have an unfriendly glass situation. Also you will have to make sure that you don't introduce anything that will react with the galvinized coating. My suggestion would be to purchase 1/8" thick ABS plastic sheets. They can be easily cut on a table saw, and assembled into any container shape you desire. Glue the tub together with the ABS/PVC glue found at home depot in the plastic pipe glue section. I make mine with "lap" joints and they are extremely strong and leak proof. Just cut a few
3/4" lengths off a sheet and interstack and glue them on the inside to reinforce the primary butt joints. These ABS tubs can double as safe containments for conducting acid etching on your glass projects because ABS is uneffected by HF. ABS comes in white and black. I prefer the black because liquids are more easily seen which can add to safety. Water deposits left in the tub dissappear with HF or tub and tile cleaner.
When building large tubs or sinks that may require more support, I build a 3/4" plywood outer tub and fabricate the ABS tub to fit close inside. This unit can be mounted onto a support of welded 2" thin wall square steel tubing.
Pat
Glass... it never forgives you if you treat it badly.
Coroplast!
Cheap, lightweight and easy.
I made myself a coroplast pan for angel gilding, just slit the one face for the folds and siliconed the corner seams. I made another one for soaking the glue off when I realized how easy it was to make and handle.
I store mine on an overhead shelf I built. They are so light it takes nothing to get them up and down. I'm going to make a backsplash to fit into my utility sink to spray larger pieces in. Best part is they cost less than $10 and only take a few minutes to make.
Cheap insurance.
I believe there is no shame in failure. Rather, the shame lies in the loss of all the things that might have been, but for the fear of failure.
Lay the glass on a table as Pat suggested, put several layers of paper towels on top of the glue chipped glass and pour warm water over the towels. That's what Rick did when the project was larger than his sink. Let sit for a while, replace with new towels, more warm water, then scrub down with a stiff bristle brush.
If your glue doesn't chip off completely, DON'T put it under a light thinking the heat will get it to chip. All it does is break your glass.
Fix it the correct way, soak the glue off, and reapply.
Oh, how many lesson there are to learn. BUT, good news! You can research what you're doing on this and other sites, then follow the directions! A lot of mistakes have already been made for us... all we have to do is follow the directions. If you think there's a better way to do something, try it on a sample piece first. ...If it works, share the results here!
...waste not a moments time before starting your project over...
I had a similar episode last week as I tried to blast my own glass, for I did not have time to drive to the blasters. After the wind blew the finished piece over while I got my son off the bus, I realized it was funny how I thought I didnt have the time to get it blasted the right way, but now I have to make time to get a new custom piece made.
You can bet I'll be drivign over to the blasters right from the glass shop.
...is something you never get used to. 
Needless to say a few choice epithets were used 
. Not a good way to start a Saturday morning. My next goal is to have a sheet-metal shop make me a 3'x3' pan for washing and soaking large glass projects. Meanwhile, I'm starting from scratch on this job, again. 
Denver Chapter of the Letterheads