Protect your cartoonWhen grinding a lot of pieces, you can place a piece of clear float glass over top of your paper pattern, or encase it in plastic to protect it from becoming wet. Then you won't have to grind, dry, test, and repeat. You can just grind and test, quickly grinding where needed.
Placing your cartoonAlso try to have your pattern where you are test fitting right beside your grinder, to cut down on time spent moving from grinder to pattern.
Grinder resevoir maintenanceRinse out your grinder sponge often (at least daily), and replace when it becomes deformed.
Clean out the ground up glass in the bottom of your grinder regularly with a narrow putty knife. Scrape it out into a small old plastic container with a top, and then throw the container into the garbage when it is full.
Grinder head maintenanceMove your grinder head up or down, as it is wears, to a new section. You should be able to get three or four sections out of a typical grinder head.
Friday, 14 November 2008
Monday, 10 November 2008
Copper Foil vs. Lead
The copper foil technique may or may not have been invented by Tiffany, but he certainly used it extensively in his studio. Thus it is often referred to as the Tiffany method.
It is neither easier nor more difficult than lead. However, it’s significantly cleaner because it does not involve the use of whiting or cement, which is why this technique is most often taught to beginners in North America. In Europe leading is most often taught first.
Some people deduce that copper foil must be stronger than lead because the solder goes all the way around and between each piece, but lead is still the preferred method architecturally, holding up huge weight-bearing windows for hundreds of years.
One thing copper foil can do, though, is allow stained glass panels to curve, as you can see in the multitudes of Tiffany lampshades that are still around today.
There are a few other differences from lead in the construction of copper foil panels. First, copper foil is less forgiving in that there is no channel to hide errors in glass cuts. Precision in cutting becomes especially important.
However, while cutting may be a little more difficult, soldering foiled pieces is a little easier because you can’t burn through copper foil the way you can through lead. If you accidentally apply too much heat, the solder just drips through to other side and forms a ‘mushroom’ that must be cleaned up later. Or it cracks the glass.
Finally, lead panels are usually constructed from the corner out (pieces of wood form an “L” shape and the panel is started in that corner and grows up and out). Copper foil panels are usually started inside a (temporary) wood frame that goes all the way round the panel, like a picture frame. You don’t need to start in one particular spot because the pieces aren’t going to shift within their frame.
It is neither easier nor more difficult than lead. However, it’s significantly cleaner because it does not involve the use of whiting or cement, which is why this technique is most often taught to beginners in North America. In Europe leading is most often taught first.
Some people deduce that copper foil must be stronger than lead because the solder goes all the way around and between each piece, but lead is still the preferred method architecturally, holding up huge weight-bearing windows for hundreds of years.
One thing copper foil can do, though, is allow stained glass panels to curve, as you can see in the multitudes of Tiffany lampshades that are still around today.
There are a few other differences from lead in the construction of copper foil panels. First, copper foil is less forgiving in that there is no channel to hide errors in glass cuts. Precision in cutting becomes especially important.
However, while cutting may be a little more difficult, soldering foiled pieces is a little easier because you can’t burn through copper foil the way you can through lead. If you accidentally apply too much heat, the solder just drips through to other side and forms a ‘mushroom’ that must be cleaned up later. Or it cracks the glass.
Finally, lead panels are usually constructed from the corner out (pieces of wood form an “L” shape and the panel is started in that corner and grows up and out). Copper foil panels are usually started inside a (temporary) wood frame that goes all the way round the panel, like a picture frame. You don’t need to start in one particular spot because the pieces aren’t going to shift within their frame.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Copper Foil Repairs
Repair or not
First consider whether any repairs should be carried out at all. Repairing can sometimes cause more damage, and if it is an older piece, finding an exact match may be impossible. So gluing may be the better approach.
If small shards of glass are missing, daylight is visible through the broken part, or sharp bits are exposed, then it should be repaired, assuming the client is willing to pay.
Starting the repair
Having decided to repair, the first action is to use fine steel wool to remove any patina from the solder around the broken pieces, on both sides.
Removing the broken glass
Next, work out the shards using a fine blade to get between the broken pieces. You should be wearing safety glasses during all the processes of getting the glass out of the piece.
In some cases in may be necessary to score the remaining part of the broken piece with your cutter in a criss-cross pattern, from edge to edge. Also try to go toward the centre of the piece from each corner while making the score lines.
Now start tapping the centre of the broken, scored piece of glass with the ball on the end of your cutter and then work out to the edges. Keep tapping the glass and it should start to fall out. When most of the glass in the middle has fallen out, take out small pliers and gently wiggle the broken shards out, one at a time. Remove all the glass possible, but you might not be able to get the glass in a tight corner.
Removing the solder and foil
Now take your soldering iron and melt off the bulk of the solder seam, slowly going all the way around the hole. Wipe excess solder off on your iron stand sponge. Do the same on the other side. During this process you will be able to remove any remaining small pieces of glass.
Apply the hot iron to the corner joint to expose the piece of copper foil that was wrapped around the broken piece of glass. With a pair of tweezers, grasp and very gently tug out that inner piece of foil while keeping the iron on the solder line to keep the solder molten. Try not to pull the foil off adjoining pieces. If some other foil does come off, then remove that entire length, scrape clean, wash off, dry, and re-apply a piece of the same type of copper foil, cut to size.
Re-flux the exposed foil lines, remove any solder blobs - particularly in any corners - with your iron, wiping excess off on your sponge again.
Replacing the glass
Taking the shape
Take your piece of glass that best matches the broken piece, and position it underneath the hole. Trace the shape of the hole onto the glass. This works best for flat panels. Curved forms usually need to have a paper template made by tracing from the back onto the paper. Cut the shape out of the paper and put it on the piece of new glass. Make sure that the grain of the new glass is in line with the original. Cut the piece out, grind to shape, doing lots of test-fitting in the hole, until it fits.
Foil
Clean any flux off the new piece from your test fittings, and apply the same size and colour backing of copper foil that was used on the piece that you removed.
Soldering
Fit your replacement piece into its place, making sure that it is level with its surrounding pieces. You might want to tape it into place. Check its position, and if you are happy with it, then tack it twice per side.
Proceed to solder it into place. If your fit wasn't perfect, or the piece is a little rough, fill in any gaps with some 50/50 solder. Let it cool, and then finish off with 60/40 solder. Blend your new solder lines with the quality of the solder lines on the rest of the piece.
Cleaning
Wash off the flux, scrub clean, and patina if required. If copper patina was used on the piece, don't worry when you apply the copper patina. It will not match if the panel is not brand new as copper patina ages much more than black patina. Wash the patina and polish it to blend the piece in.
First consider whether any repairs should be carried out at all. Repairing can sometimes cause more damage, and if it is an older piece, finding an exact match may be impossible. So gluing may be the better approach.
If small shards of glass are missing, daylight is visible through the broken part, or sharp bits are exposed, then it should be repaired, assuming the client is willing to pay.
Starting the repair
Having decided to repair, the first action is to use fine steel wool to remove any patina from the solder around the broken pieces, on both sides.
Removing the broken glass
Next, work out the shards using a fine blade to get between the broken pieces. You should be wearing safety glasses during all the processes of getting the glass out of the piece.
In some cases in may be necessary to score the remaining part of the broken piece with your cutter in a criss-cross pattern, from edge to edge. Also try to go toward the centre of the piece from each corner while making the score lines.
Now start tapping the centre of the broken, scored piece of glass with the ball on the end of your cutter and then work out to the edges. Keep tapping the glass and it should start to fall out. When most of the glass in the middle has fallen out, take out small pliers and gently wiggle the broken shards out, one at a time. Remove all the glass possible, but you might not be able to get the glass in a tight corner.
Removing the solder and foil
Now take your soldering iron and melt off the bulk of the solder seam, slowly going all the way around the hole. Wipe excess solder off on your iron stand sponge. Do the same on the other side. During this process you will be able to remove any remaining small pieces of glass.
Apply the hot iron to the corner joint to expose the piece of copper foil that was wrapped around the broken piece of glass. With a pair of tweezers, grasp and very gently tug out that inner piece of foil while keeping the iron on the solder line to keep the solder molten. Try not to pull the foil off adjoining pieces. If some other foil does come off, then remove that entire length, scrape clean, wash off, dry, and re-apply a piece of the same type of copper foil, cut to size.
Re-flux the exposed foil lines, remove any solder blobs - particularly in any corners - with your iron, wiping excess off on your sponge again.
Replacing the glass
Taking the shape
Take your piece of glass that best matches the broken piece, and position it underneath the hole. Trace the shape of the hole onto the glass. This works best for flat panels. Curved forms usually need to have a paper template made by tracing from the back onto the paper. Cut the shape out of the paper and put it on the piece of new glass. Make sure that the grain of the new glass is in line with the original. Cut the piece out, grind to shape, doing lots of test-fitting in the hole, until it fits.
Foil
Clean any flux off the new piece from your test fittings, and apply the same size and colour backing of copper foil that was used on the piece that you removed.
Soldering
Fit your replacement piece into its place, making sure that it is level with its surrounding pieces. You might want to tape it into place. Check its position, and if you are happy with it, then tack it twice per side.
Proceed to solder it into place. If your fit wasn't perfect, or the piece is a little rough, fill in any gaps with some 50/50 solder. Let it cool, and then finish off with 60/40 solder. Blend your new solder lines with the quality of the solder lines on the rest of the piece.
Cleaning
Wash off the flux, scrub clean, and patina if required. If copper patina was used on the piece, don't worry when you apply the copper patina. It will not match if the panel is not brand new as copper patina ages much more than black patina. Wash the patina and polish it to blend the piece in.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Choosing Copper Foil Widths
Width of the foil relates to:
Glass thicknessThin glass requires thinner foil to maintain a neat solder line of about 3mm. Thicker glass requires thicker foil to maintain the same width of solder line. So 2mm glass would require 4mm foil, and 3mm glass would need 5mm foil.
Glass textureHeavily textured glass usually needs thicker foil, as the thickest part of the glass is greater than the thickness of average glass. This requires a little experimentation to get the one you like best, but usually is one step up in thickness from your usual. Remember you are looking at only one half of the resulting solder line thickness on each piece of glass.
Desired width of solder lineThe desired width of the solder line will also affect the choice of foil. If you like a thin line of solder, you should choose foil that is only 1 or 2mm wider than the thickness of the glass. This will give a solder line of 1 or 2mm wide. Be careful when choosing a thinner width. You still need enough foil on your glass to maintain the strength of the solder bead. If you like wider lines, a foil that is 3 or 4mm wider than the glass thickness will give a 3 to 4mm wide solder line.
Of course is possible to trim the copper foil to be thinner after foiling. This can be to even up the line, or to thin it. Gentle pressure with a sharp craft knife will cut the foil to the width you want. You may want to do this when all the pieces are assembled before soldering. This gives you the opportunity to see how the width of the resulting solder line will be. It is also the time when you can see what the line of the solder bead will be and make adjustments before begining the the soldering.
Glass thicknessThin glass requires thinner foil to maintain a neat solder line of about 3mm. Thicker glass requires thicker foil to maintain the same width of solder line. So 2mm glass would require 4mm foil, and 3mm glass would need 5mm foil.
Glass textureHeavily textured glass usually needs thicker foil, as the thickest part of the glass is greater than the thickness of average glass. This requires a little experimentation to get the one you like best, but usually is one step up in thickness from your usual. Remember you are looking at only one half of the resulting solder line thickness on each piece of glass.
Desired width of solder lineThe desired width of the solder line will also affect the choice of foil. If you like a thin line of solder, you should choose foil that is only 1 or 2mm wider than the thickness of the glass. This will give a solder line of 1 or 2mm wide. Be careful when choosing a thinner width. You still need enough foil on your glass to maintain the strength of the solder bead. If you like wider lines, a foil that is 3 or 4mm wider than the glass thickness will give a 3 to 4mm wide solder line.
Of course is possible to trim the copper foil to be thinner after foiling. This can be to even up the line, or to thin it. Gentle pressure with a sharp craft knife will cut the foil to the width you want. You may want to do this when all the pieces are assembled before soldering. This gives you the opportunity to see how the width of the resulting solder line will be. It is also the time when you can see what the line of the solder bead will be and make adjustments before begining the the soldering.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Choosing copper foil Thickness
Foil comes in different thicknesses as well as widths. Thinner is easier to form round curves, but tears more easily. Thicker is more robust, but crinkles up more on inside curves and so needs more burnishing. Mostly it is personal choice on what is easiest to work with.
Monday, 3 November 2008
Choosing copper foil backing
The question most people want to know is why there are different colour backs to the foils. The answer has to do with the finished piece, and only matters if you are using transparent glass. If you are using opaque glass that you cannot see through it doesn’t matter which type you use.
The backing should be of the same colour as finish to the solder lines. Since you can see through transparent glass, you will be able to see bits of the back of the copper foil, especially at certain angles. It would look peculiar to have a piece with a beautiful black patina, only to catch glimpses of copper when you are looking at it.
Therefore, if you are planning to patina your piece black, use black-backed copper foil. If you are planning on leaving it silver, use silver-backed copper foil. If you are planning to patina it copper, use copper backed copper foil.
The backing should be of the same colour as finish to the solder lines. Since you can see through transparent glass, you will be able to see bits of the back of the copper foil, especially at certain angles. It would look peculiar to have a piece with a beautiful black patina, only to catch glimpses of copper when you are looking at it.
Therefore, if you are planning to patina your piece black, use black-backed copper foil. If you are planning on leaving it silver, use silver-backed copper foil. If you are planning to patina it copper, use copper backed copper foil.
Friday, 31 October 2008
Applying Patina
Patinas are acids. You should wear gloves while doing this work.
Cleaning
After cleaning the solder beads, wash the panel off with warm water and a little dish washing liquid to remove oils and other residues. When washing use a very soft scrubbing brush to get in all the little crannies.
Dry the piece with a soft old towel. If the piece is framed in zinc, make sure that any trapped water is eliminated and the piece is entirely dry. Often letting it stand overnight will be sufficient. A panel with no moisture will help the polish of the solder lines to be more even.
Application
Pour a small amount of the patina into a small container so as not to contaminate the rest of your patina. Do not pour the remainder back into the bottle, as it will begin to neutralise the main supply.
Apply your patina with a small flux brush reserved for the purpose, or a piece of a rag. If you use a rag, renew it frequently. Do not be afraid of putting too much on. If you are not happy with the colour when dry, you can rub the solder over with a 400 gauge (also known as 000) wire wool to abrade the surface. Then give it a further coat. Rub with a soft cloth to a shine.
Preservation
To preserve the desired finish, a coat of beeswax helps, but you must remember that copper will oxidise over time no matter what you do. It is this that gives it a rich deep antique lustre.
Cleaning
After cleaning the solder beads, wash the panel off with warm water and a little dish washing liquid to remove oils and other residues. When washing use a very soft scrubbing brush to get in all the little crannies.
Dry the piece with a soft old towel. If the piece is framed in zinc, make sure that any trapped water is eliminated and the piece is entirely dry. Often letting it stand overnight will be sufficient. A panel with no moisture will help the polish of the solder lines to be more even.
Application
Pour a small amount of the patina into a small container so as not to contaminate the rest of your patina. Do not pour the remainder back into the bottle, as it will begin to neutralise the main supply.
Apply your patina with a small flux brush reserved for the purpose, or a piece of a rag. If you use a rag, renew it frequently. Do not be afraid of putting too much on. If you are not happy with the colour when dry, you can rub the solder over with a 400 gauge (also known as 000) wire wool to abrade the surface. Then give it a further coat. Rub with a soft cloth to a shine.
Preservation
To preserve the desired finish, a coat of beeswax helps, but you must remember that copper will oxidise over time no matter what you do. It is this that gives it a rich deep antique lustre.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Applying Foil by Hand
There are a number of tools and machines to assist centering the foil on the edge of the glass pieces. Sometimes, though, you want to do foiling where use of the machines is not convenient. This describes a method of doing foiling by hand without centering tools.
Clean the edges of the glass of any powders, or dust from grinding and oils from handling to ensure the foil sticks tightly to the glass. You do not have to be particularly careful about marks on the surface of the glass.
Keep your hands dry and clean while foiling, as oil or moisture on your hands will prevent the foil from sticking to the glass.
Start foiling on a straight length of glass. If the glass is only curves, begin the foiling on an outside curve. If the end of the foil wrap doesn't meet perfectly with the beginning, you can trim off the uneven overlap with a sharp craft knife. Only light pressure is required to trim the foil. Be careful not to scratch the glass, which can happen if your blade is dull, or you apply too much pressure.
To centre the foil on the edge of the glass, hold the piece vertically and look on both sides of the glass while you apply foil to the bottom edge with the sticky side of the foil facing you. This enables you to judge the evenness of the application. It may take a bit of practice to look down both sides of the glass as it requires overcoming the habit of using the dominant eye. To practice, you can look down the side that matches your less dominant eye and judge the amount of foil that overlaps the edge. You can switch your concentration from side to side to determine the equalness of the foil overlap on each side.
Burnishing the foil onto the edges and then on the upper and lower surface with a fid will help the foil adhere firmly to the glass throughout the soldering.
Clean the edges of the glass of any powders, or dust from grinding and oils from handling to ensure the foil sticks tightly to the glass. You do not have to be particularly careful about marks on the surface of the glass.
Keep your hands dry and clean while foiling, as oil or moisture on your hands will prevent the foil from sticking to the glass.
Start foiling on a straight length of glass. If the glass is only curves, begin the foiling on an outside curve. If the end of the foil wrap doesn't meet perfectly with the beginning, you can trim off the uneven overlap with a sharp craft knife. Only light pressure is required to trim the foil. Be careful not to scratch the glass, which can happen if your blade is dull, or you apply too much pressure.
To centre the foil on the edge of the glass, hold the piece vertically and look on both sides of the glass while you apply foil to the bottom edge with the sticky side of the foil facing you. This enables you to judge the evenness of the application. It may take a bit of practice to look down both sides of the glass as it requires overcoming the habit of using the dominant eye. To practice, you can look down the side that matches your less dominant eye and judge the amount of foil that overlaps the edge. You can switch your concentration from side to side to determine the equalness of the foil overlap on each side.
Burnishing the foil onto the edges and then on the upper and lower surface with a fid will help the foil adhere firmly to the glass throughout the soldering.
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Are you ready for a wholesale show?
This gives some guidance on deciding whether to take on wholesale work.
Body of work
Do you have a 'body of work'? If someone picks up one of your pieces, and knows that it is yours rather than anyone else’s, then you have an identifiable look/style/technique = body of work.
Repetition
Can you repeat the colour/style/technique accurately? It's fine that colour varies, but within a very small range. Repeatability is important when a buyer is looking at your sample and expects to receive an exact copy. Most buyers choose from samples. They do not expect one-offs.
Production processes
Your processes must be robust enough that you can produce the quantity that retailers order with the quality that they expect. Figuring ways to make quality pieces quickly is necessary to be profitable.
Profit
Is your product such that you can double your material costs and give yourself a healthy hourly wage? Remember the buyer will need to double or triple the wholesale price and still sell it to customers. If not, you need to determine what can be done to reduce your expenses and time. You also need to consider what you can do to increase the desirability of the work.
Cash flow
You need to create samples, pay the booth fees etc, make the work that is ordered, pack and ship, and get paid a month or two after the buyer receives the work. You need to have the reserves to meet the ebb (up to six months before the show) and flow (three months after the order or longer, depending on production time scales) of cash.
Marketing
You have to like the marketing of your products, as well as the creating, producing and selling.
Customer relations –
This relates to after-show communications and information, in addition to what you do on the show floor.
Promotion –
Getting into the right publications is important to create a visible profile.
Advertising –
This is another expense, so research carefully the publications and media that will be used by your potential buyers.
Catalogs –
Not only do you have to have a catalogue and a line of products you can produce that is distinctive and desirable to the buyers, you also have to guard that catalogue and only issue it to genuine buyers to avoid rip-off merchants.
Next steps
If you are still interested, find wholesale shows, get an artist’s pass and look at:
travel, accommodation and food cost of promotion – catalogues, advertising and other marketing cost of samples – materials and preparation
Body of work
Do you have a 'body of work'? If someone picks up one of your pieces, and knows that it is yours rather than anyone else’s, then you have an identifiable look/style/technique = body of work.
Repetition
Can you repeat the colour/style/technique accurately? It's fine that colour varies, but within a very small range. Repeatability is important when a buyer is looking at your sample and expects to receive an exact copy. Most buyers choose from samples. They do not expect one-offs.
Production processes
Your processes must be robust enough that you can produce the quantity that retailers order with the quality that they expect. Figuring ways to make quality pieces quickly is necessary to be profitable.
Profit
Is your product such that you can double your material costs and give yourself a healthy hourly wage? Remember the buyer will need to double or triple the wholesale price and still sell it to customers. If not, you need to determine what can be done to reduce your expenses and time. You also need to consider what you can do to increase the desirability of the work.
Cash flow
You need to create samples, pay the booth fees etc, make the work that is ordered, pack and ship, and get paid a month or two after the buyer receives the work. You need to have the reserves to meet the ebb (up to six months before the show) and flow (three months after the order or longer, depending on production time scales) of cash.
Marketing
You have to like the marketing of your products, as well as the creating, producing and selling.
Customer relations –
This relates to after-show communications and information, in addition to what you do on the show floor.
Promotion –
Getting into the right publications is important to create a visible profile.
Advertising –
This is another expense, so research carefully the publications and media that will be used by your potential buyers.
Catalogs –
Not only do you have to have a catalogue and a line of products you can produce that is distinctive and desirable to the buyers, you also have to guard that catalogue and only issue it to genuine buyers to avoid rip-off merchants.
Next steps
If you are still interested, find wholesale shows, get an artist’s pass and look at:
- Which booths get most interest
- Try to isolate the important elements
- booth appearance
- uniqueness of products
display of samples - quality of interaction with buyers
- marketing ploys
- literature/catalogues
Write all these down as you discover them, so you won’t forget anything.
Determine the costs:
If your answer to all the bold headings are “Yes, I can do that”, then you are ready to design your booth and apply to a selected wholesale show.
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Selecting Craft Shows
Not all craft shows are equal. Some are stupendously good, while others are poor. You won't have any advance guarantees which it will be. Some shows that appear to be terrific turn out to be a waste of time. Other shows that seem ordinary are some of the best ever. Although you will always have a few of these surprises, there a few guidelines that will help you guess what a show will be like.
Seasonal
Christmas shows are best, and the closer they are to Christmas, the more you will sell. It's not that summer shows are bad - some are great. It's just that outdoors can be dangerous at any time of year – rain, wind or worse.
Admission
Shows that charge admission will usually have more sales than those that let people in free.
Rent
At higher rent shows you will usually sell more expensive work than at lower rent shows. It doesn't matter how much the space rent is, just how much you sell from that space.
Juried Shows
Because "juried" shows are selected, they usually have high-grade work. Customers come to these expecting to find high quality, expensive work. These shows also attract a higher ratio of customers to browsers.
Community and charity shows, on the other hand, usually get customers looking for very cheap goods.
Festivals
Shows that are attached to some kind of festival (like music, harvest, etc.) are usually poor - especially if the craft is only a secondary part of the show. But, then again, these are the shows that are most likely to surprise you.
The full article by Dennis Brady.
Seasonal
Christmas shows are best, and the closer they are to Christmas, the more you will sell. It's not that summer shows are bad - some are great. It's just that outdoors can be dangerous at any time of year – rain, wind or worse.
Admission
Shows that charge admission will usually have more sales than those that let people in free.
Rent
At higher rent shows you will usually sell more expensive work than at lower rent shows. It doesn't matter how much the space rent is, just how much you sell from that space.
Juried Shows
Because "juried" shows are selected, they usually have high-grade work. Customers come to these expecting to find high quality, expensive work. These shows also attract a higher ratio of customers to browsers.
Community and charity shows, on the other hand, usually get customers looking for very cheap goods.
Festivals
Shows that are attached to some kind of festival (like music, harvest, etc.) are usually poor - especially if the craft is only a secondary part of the show. But, then again, these are the shows that are most likely to surprise you.
The full article by Dennis Brady.
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