The second stage is to get the design onto the prepared mould and make adjustments to give a balanced and pleasing appearance
Trace the pattern onto the template
Take your design elements and trace them onto the masking tape on the form. The use of carbon paper enables you to put the design element and trace right on top of the taped mould so that the image is transferred onto the tape.
An alternative method is to use a pounce wheel to perforate the design element. The element is placed on the form and dusted along the perforated line with a bag of dark coloured powder such as powdered poster paint. This will leave a temporary trace on the form that can be changed easily, but needs to be pencilled in before too much other work smudges the shape.
Do this tracing with each design element, flipping and rotating them around so that you don't repeat any element exactly. Fill up major sections of the form using this method. Drawing the main feature first and filling with the minor elements helps provide a pleasing composition.
Fill in blank areas
Now that the key design elements are onto the masking tape template, create background pieces by linking your design elements. Use pencil, since you will probably need to do corrections. Remember, avoid creating large horizontal pieces. Larger vertical pieces are usually better. However, try to keep all the pieces of similar size.
Correct any pieces and number them
Once you are satisfied with the design, go over every line with a fine felt tip pen or other ink pen so that each is clear and distinct. Number each piece and mark colour and glass textures as necessary.
Based on work by Christie A. Wood, Art Glass Ensembles
Showing posts with label Copper Foil Tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Copper Foil Tips. Show all posts
Wednesday 19 November 2008
Thursday 6 November 2008
Cleaning Solder Beads
After soldering, cleaning and drying your piece, use fine (000) or extra fine (0000) steel wool and a brass wire brush to go over all the beads. Use the brush first if you want to use it, and follow with the steel wool, since it will provide fewer scratches. This helps remove any leftover flux that on solder lines.
Omitting this step increases the chances of developing whitish blotches later on the solder lines. However, including this step makes a better base for applying the patina, if you are using any. After using the steel wool, use a soft brush to remove any residues from the steel wool, brush, flux or solder.
Omitting this step increases the chances of developing whitish blotches later on the solder lines. However, including this step makes a better base for applying the patina, if you are using any. After using the steel wool, use a soft brush to remove any residues from the steel wool, brush, flux or solder.
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.
Monday 13 October 2008
Lamp Panel Lengths
If you have determined the length of the shade and the diameters of the top and bottom, you can determine the length of the panel by maths or by a scale drawing.
Calculation of length
The maths is about right angle triangles. The dimension of the vertical part of the right angle triangle is the height of the lampshade. The horizontal dimension is the radius of the bottom minus the radius of the top. The length of the angle is the square root of the sum of the square roots of the vertical and horizontal sides.
E.g., a lampshade 200mm high with a 50mm vase cap and 400mm bottom width:
The vertical of the triangle is 200mm.
The horizontal is 400/2 = 200mm – 25mm (half the diameter of the vase cap) = 175mm.
The length of the panel is equal to the square root of the sum of the squares of the sides.
In this example, 40000+30625=70625 of which the square root is 265. So the panel is 265mm long.
Measuring the length
If you don’t want to do the maths, do a scaled or full size drawing. It only needs to be one side of the shade, but it can be the full shade.
This drawing method does have the advantage of allowing you to see the angle of the proposed shade and adjust it if necessary.
Calculation of length
The maths is about right angle triangles. The dimension of the vertical part of the right angle triangle is the height of the lampshade. The horizontal dimension is the radius of the bottom minus the radius of the top. The length of the angle is the square root of the sum of the square roots of the vertical and horizontal sides.
E.g., a lampshade 200mm high with a 50mm vase cap and 400mm bottom width:
The vertical of the triangle is 200mm.
The horizontal is 400/2 = 200mm – 25mm (half the diameter of the vase cap) = 175mm.
The length of the panel is equal to the square root of the sum of the squares of the sides.
In this example, 40000+30625=70625 of which the square root is 265. So the panel is 265mm long.
Measuring the length
If you don’t want to do the maths, do a scaled or full size drawing. It only needs to be one side of the shade, but it can be the full shade.
- Draw a vertical the length of the shade.
- At the top draw the radius of the vase cap on each side of the vertical.
- At the bottom draw the radius of the shade on each side of the vertical.
- Join the two end points of the horizontal lines on each side of the vertical.
- Measure this line to determine the length of the panel.
This drawing method does have the advantage of allowing you to see the angle of the proposed shade and adjust it if necessary.
Lamp Panel Dimensions
Calculating the top and bottom widths
When doing custom lamp sizes is not too hard to calculate the panel sizes. You need to remember the value for pi (3.1417)
Start with the bottom diameter you want. Multiply it by pi. Divide this distance by the number of panels required for the lamp. This gives the size of the bottom of the panel.
Do the same for the top, but make one more calculation. As the top has to fit into the size of the vase cap, you need to take account of the thickness of the glass. So, subtract the thickness of the glass time 2 (the glass thickness is on both sides of the circle). Do the calculation as for the lower edge of the panel, and then subtract the thickness of the glass from that width. For most glass this will be 3mm.
Worked example
Bottom diameter: 200mm
Top diameter: 50mm
Panels: 8
Pi: 3.1417
Glass thickness: 3mm
Formula for bottom: dia. * pi = circumference / no. of panels = width of panel
Bottom diameter: 200*3.1417 = 628mm/8 = 79mm
Formula for top: dia. - glass thickness *2 * pi = circumference / no. of panels = uncorrected width – thickness of glass =width of panel
Top diameter: 50-6= 44 * 3.1417 = 138mm / 8 = 17mm
Determine the shape of the panel
When you have determined the widths of the top and bottom of the panel, you are ready to draw up the shape of the panel. Set up a horizontal line the calculated width of the bottom of the panel. Divide it and draw a vertical from the centre of the line. This line should be as long as the panel you are making. This is determined by the method outlined in the Panel Length tip. At the top of the vertical line draw another horizontal. Measure off one half the calculated top distance on each side of the vertical line. Join the points on the lower and upper horizontals to give the shape of the panel.
When doing custom lamp sizes is not too hard to calculate the panel sizes. You need to remember the value for pi (3.1417)
Start with the bottom diameter you want. Multiply it by pi. Divide this distance by the number of panels required for the lamp. This gives the size of the bottom of the panel.
Do the same for the top, but make one more calculation. As the top has to fit into the size of the vase cap, you need to take account of the thickness of the glass. So, subtract the thickness of the glass time 2 (the glass thickness is on both sides of the circle). Do the calculation as for the lower edge of the panel, and then subtract the thickness of the glass from that width. For most glass this will be 3mm.
Worked example
Bottom diameter: 200mm
Top diameter: 50mm
Panels: 8
Pi: 3.1417
Glass thickness: 3mm
Formula for bottom: dia. * pi = circumference / no. of panels = width of panel
Bottom diameter: 200*3.1417 = 628mm/8 = 79mm
Formula for top: dia. - glass thickness *2 * pi = circumference / no. of panels = uncorrected width – thickness of glass =width of panel
Top diameter: 50-6= 44 * 3.1417 = 138mm / 8 = 17mm
Determine the shape of the panel
When you have determined the widths of the top and bottom of the panel, you are ready to draw up the shape of the panel. Set up a horizontal line the calculated width of the bottom of the panel. Divide it and draw a vertical from the centre of the line. This line should be as long as the panel you are making. This is determined by the method outlined in the Panel Length tip. At the top of the vertical line draw another horizontal. Measure off one half the calculated top distance on each side of the vertical line. Join the points on the lower and upper horizontals to give the shape of the panel.
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