Handling Large Sheets of Glass Safely

Preparation
Use proper glass handling gloves.

Wear closed toe shoes, preferably with steel toe caps. This also allows you to set the glass on your toes prior to changing your grip to place the glass in the rack.

Clear the passage ways of all obstructions, whether on the floor or at the walls and door ways before moving any glass.

Carrying

To carry large sheets of glass safely (for yourself and the glass), you need to support it from below as well as the end. One gloved hand goes under the bottom and the other on the side edge. The glass is then carried vertically, with the edges at an angle. This is done in a manner so that the glass is on the side of your body with both palms facing outwards. If there is a trip or other accident, the glass will be tipped away from the body. This sounds awkward, but is safe and easy when you get used to it. It also is the glazing industry standard method of carrying glass.

If the glass is too heavy to lift in this way, use suckers and get others to help.

If the glass breaks while carrying it just let it drop. Trying to catch or save it will lead to a hospital visit.

Always set the glass edges down on a cushioning material. This can be wood, linoleum, carpet, etc.

Rebates in Stone for Leaded Glass

Side rebatesOne side of the rebate in stone should be deeper than the other. This allows the panel to be slotted in and then slid back into the shallower rebate. Which side the deep rebate is on is not important.

Adjusting the placement of the panelTo help move the panel from side to side stiff oyster knives and lead knives are important. This allows you to get behind the edge and slide the panel to the side, especially when it is sitting on top of another panel to make the fine adjustments to get the lead lines flowing correctly.

Top and bottom rebatesFor the top and bottom rebates it is important that the top is the deep one. You insert the panel up into the slot and let it settle into the bottom rebate. The panel edges should be completely covered by the stone.

Extra cameIn all installations into stone, you should carry extra came of at least 12mm (1/2”) to solder round the panel when the stone work is not as accurate as it should be, either through workmanship or weathering.

Wedges
Have some little blocks of wood and some whittling tool to hand to wedge the panel in till mortared. It is possible to use little scraps of lead for the purpose. These wedges don't need to be robust, they are just there to hold the panel in place until the mortar is in.

Mortars
Mortars for stone should be of lime cement, or sand mastic. Don't use silicon, you'll never get it out again! Also don't use putty as this stains some types of stone and the oils leech in to the stone, causing the putty to dry and therefore the window ceases to be watertight.

Hard Solder

As used for brazing, hard solder is generally a copper/zinc or copper/silver alloy, and melts at higher temperatures than tin/lead compositions.

In silversmithing or jewelry making, special hard solders are used that will pass assay. They contain a high proportion of the metal being soldered and lead is not used in these alloys. These solders also come in a variety of hardnesses, known as 'enamelling', 'hard', 'medium' and 'easy'. Enamelling solder has a high melting point, close to that of the material itself, to prevent the joint desoldering during firing in the enamelling process. The remaining solder types are used in decreasing order of hardness during the process of making an item, to prevent a previously soldered seam or joint desoldering while soldering a new joint. Easy solder is also often used for repair work for the same reason. Flux or rouge is also used to prevent joints desoldering.

Liquid Flux Use

Liquid Flux

It is important to put the minimum amount of liquid solder on the copperfoil seams. A surplus of liquid flux will bubble and splatter, leaving holes in the solder bead. Cutting your flux brush about in half, at a slight angle will reduce the amount of flux on your brush and ease the application.

Pour a small amount of flux, just enough for the task at hand, into a small container. Don't pour the leftovers back into the flux jar, it will contaminate the rest. Do not use the lid of your current flux jar, as it should be sealed at all times so it won't become sticky by evaporating.

When finished soldering, wash off the flux by washing it with warm water and a very little dish washing liquid and a soft sponge, then rinse with water. Clean your flux off right away after you finish soldering. Flux will oxidize your solder seams if left over time. It also becomes more difficult to remove when it has begun to dry.


See also:
Flux, an introduction
Fluxes, a description
The Purpose of flux
The action of fluxes
Soldering fluxes

Combination Grozing/Breaking Pliers

Description
The jaws of grozers are serrated and used to gently remove small pieces of glass which remain after the glass has been scored and broken. They are normally supplied with one straight jaw and one curved making them combination grozing and breaking pliers.

Use as breaking pliers
When used as breaking pliers the flat side should be up and the nose of the jaws almost touching the score line. The breaking pressure should be down and slightly to the side to bend and pull the piece away from the main piece of glass.

Use as grozers
When used a grozers – to gently wear away some small part of glass - the curved jaw should be up. The plier jaws should be used slightly open, and a downward motion of the plier does a “rasping” of the glass edges, taking away small bits of glass. With experience, a lot of glass can be removed quickly shaping the glass with a fair degree of precision. The edge can then be tidied by a grinder if required.

Waxing up Recipe

Beeswax alone isn't good for waxing up glass pieces on a glass easel, but combining it with Venice Turpentine makes a secure fixing material.

Recipe
250gm block of beeswax
2 teaspoons of Venice Turpentine

Method
Bring the two elements just to a simmer, stir it well and cool.

This produces a tacky material that when warmed in the hand sticks to the glass and the easel. When it cools it sticks firmly.

Use a palette knife to loosen the wax from the easel.

Hanging Panels - Hooks

If you wish to attach hooks to the panel so that the appropriate chain length for its setting can be attached later, you need to use brass or other strong metal that can be securely attached to the frame of the panel.

An easy solution is to use brass chain links. Cut one link from a suitably heavy chain at the centre of the long side of the link. Straighten one part of the opened link with two pair of pliers or a vice and pliers. Solder the straight leg with the open part of the hook facing outwards, to avoid the chain (which is pulling inwards) from slipping out of the hook. The open part of the hook should give only enough room for the chain links to be inserted between the frame and the opening of the hook

Hanging Panels – Chain, Wire, Line

The choice of hanging material is both aesthetic and practical.

Whatever material is chosen must be strong enough to support the panel over a long time.

Chain is reliable and can be obtained in many sizes, styles and metals. You can use a split ring to join the chain to the loops on a panel, or directly if the panel has been fitted with hooks.

Twisted picture wire is a reliable material too. It normally is twisted brass with at least one steel strand embedded. It can be soldered at various points around the panel and at the place where the eye if formed to insure that the twists will not come undone.

Fishing line can be used. You should use the highest test you can find. 50 pound test is sufficient but still not obtrusive. However, it is subject to deterioration with constant light exposure, and so should be renewed every 4-5 years. Also you need to be careful in the knots you use. It is very slippery and a surgeon’s know should be topped up with a second for security.

Fine cable enclosed in plastic can also be used. This is fine enough that it can be tied, but should be joined with knots that cannot slip.

Refining Edges

You can make the freshly cut glass safer to handle by gently wiping the edges of the cut piece with the waste piece. This removes the sharpest edges without chipping the glass.

After the glass is scored and broken, you can remove small, unwanted chips with grozing pliers. The serrated jaws of these pliers are used to gently nibble away at the jagged edges.

Rough edges can also be smoothed with a carborundum stone. You rub the stone along each edge, upper and lower, to remove any sharp edges. You can remove more glass with the stone if you wish by a little more aggressive grinding action or just a longer light rubbing of the stone against the edges.

A diamond smoothing pad removes glass in much the same way as a carborundum stone, but does it more quickly with the coarser grades. You can use a number of grades to get an almost bright polish to the edges. These pads must be used with water.

A glass grinder is used by many people. Many models of grinders are available. The grinding surface of the bit is covered with fine diamonds, which grind away unwanted glass very quickly without chipping the edges. In addition, they are water-fed which keeps the glass from cracking due to heat, prolonging the life of the diamond bit, and preventing the powdery ground glass form flying around.

A glass grinder is not a substitute for accurate cutting.

Silhouettes in Leaded Glass

There are also times when you may want to have a silhouette, you can cut it out of lead foil and solder it into place. This allows intricate shapes to be made when a dark representation of the shape is required. If the panel can be seen from both sides, the overlays should also be on both sides. This can be applied to copper foil too.