Nails

Horseshoe nails are normally used to temporarily hold glass and lead in place while assembling the panel. The flat side of the nail goes against the lead. If the final lead is in place, try to put nails where there will be a solder joint. This will hide any "dings" in the lead. If no lead is yet in place, use a piece of scrap lead to protect the glass from chipping and to raise the glass to a common level before placing the nail. When pulling a nail, rock it in the narrow, side-to-side direction in order to prevent bending the tip.

An even more convenient nail is the round German nail which is hardened steel and sharply pointed. This nail can be started with one hand which is handy when your other hand is busy holding everything together. Use a twisting motion to pull the nail.

Lead-Free Solder

Most of the advice around lead free solder is to avoid using it. However, lead-free solder is essential for making jewellery (which may have skin contact) or any project that may be in contact with food.

Lead-free solder does require a hotter iron than lead bearing solders, plus it does not flow easily. This is in spite of its relatively low melting point.  It has a pasty state between solid and liquid that is prone to lumps and spikes. If this is not bad enough, it also does not take patina designed for lead bearing solders well.

Those using rheostats with their soldering irons, should get rid of the rheostat (see tips on soldering irons), as they limit the ability of the iron to recover the soldering temperature. The best iron to use with lead free solders is a temperature controlled iron, like the 100 watt Weller, or even a higher powered one like the Weller 200 watt. You can get tips that run at 800F to replace the standard 700F tips. This helps with the higher temperatures needed for the lead free solder. But you should not be vaporizing the solder as that is what could hurt you.

Consider the effects of the flux that you are using. Experimenting with various kinds (see the flux tips) can lead you to one that works better than the others.

As always, good hygiene and good ventilation are required when soldering. Also you should wash your hands well and frequently, and eat in a separate room.

Flux Core Solder

A tube of multicore electronics solder is used for manual soldering in the electronics industry - the flux is contained in five cores within the solder itself.

Solder often comes pre-mixed with, or is used with, flux, a reducing agent designed to help remove impurities (specifically oxidised metals) from the points of contact to improve the electrical connection. For convenience, solder is often manufactured as a hollow tube and filled with flux. Most cold solder is soft enough to be rolled and packaged as a coil, making for a convenient and compact solder/flux package.

The two principal types of flux are acid flux, used for metal mending, and rosin flux, used in electronics, where the corrosiveness of the vapours that arise when acid flux is heated could damage components. Due to concerns over atmospheric pollution and hazardous waste disposal, the electronics industry has been gradually shifting from rosin flux to water-soluble flux, which can be removed with de-ionised water and detergent, instead of hydrocarbon solvents.

Fids or Lathkins

Fids or lathkins are available in hardwood or plastic in a variety of shapes. They are used to open the channel of lead came, press the leaves of the lead tight against the glass, and burnish the copper foil against the glass. They can be purchased or made from hardwood.

Soldering Lead Came

Historically soldering tips were copper, placed in braziers. One tip was used until it became too cool, when it was placed back in the brazier of charcoal and the next tip was used. Later gas irons were used and currently electric soldering irons are most commonly used.

The lead needs to be clean and bright to enable the solder to stick to it. If it's fairly new lead it may be solderable without further preparation. However, if the lead is dull and oxidized, you should scrape the lead in the area to be soldered with the blade of a lead knife.

Then apply the flux.

The iron is held over-handed (as you would a bread knife) in order to get the handle low enough to have the tip flat on the lead. You can allow the weight of the iron to press gently against the joint to transfer the heat into the lead or foil.

The solder is fed to the iron tip so as to melt an approximately five millimetre long piece of blowpipe solder.  Move the solder away as soon as it is melted, so it doesn't become attached. As soon as you see the solder at the joint melt and spread, slowly lift the iron straight up.

This image represents the principle of soldering any metal, not just computer boards

Avoid "painting" or dragging the iron across the joint. The object is to have a shiny, smooth, slightly rounded solder joint. There should be no points sticking up from the solder joint. If a solder joint is not satisfactory you can re-flux and re-solder. Don't apply too much solder. It's easier to add more solder than to remove excess.

The most common concern is whether there is enough solder on the joint. Very little solder is required to stick the joints together. Often a securely soldered joint shows the ends of the cames. For cosmetic reasons it is usual to use enough solder to disguise the ends of the cames. It is not a structural requirement.

Trimming Lead Came on Site

There are a variety of reasons for the panel not fitting the opening easily. These can range from poor measurements through parallelogram, trapezoidal openings or irregular perimeters of the openings.

In the cases of irregular openings, you can trim the edge cames if you have made them 12mm (1/2”) or more wide. The quickest way of trimming cames to fit the opening is to use a rasp or “surform” tool. The open nature of the teeth, allows the lead to fall away. It is much quicker than using a lead knife, and it puts less pressure on the panel.

Filling Gaps Between Glass Pieces

Gaps along the bead line

When you have a gap between pieces of foiled glass, fill the gap with small pieces of lead or copper foil tape that has the adhesive side folded together. These will have to be cut to a width of just less than 3mm to keep them from projecting above the surface of the glass. This material helps to fill the gap and reduce the amount of “melt through”. Put a bit of masking tape on the top surface of the gap and turn the panel over.

Solder the back first. You can do this with 50/50 or 40/60 solder as it does not change from solid to liquid and back so quickly as 60/40. (See melting points of solders.) However the masking tape will keep the solder from dripping through if you apply too much heat. When you have finished soldering the back, apply masking tape to the now filled gap and turn over.

When completing the soldering of the top, you will need to take care to avoid over-heating the solder filling the gap. Over heating will allow the solder to melt through the existing solder and flow along the back. Usually, an application of dots of solder next to each other avoids transmitting as much heat as running a bead will. When you have passed the gap area, you can continue running the bead in the normal way.

Gaps between pieces

When you have gaps between glass that cannot be cut or re-cut, such as globs, fill the gap with a piece of lead or copper foil sheet cut to the size and shape of the gap. This is better than folded up pieces of lead or foil as it carries the solder over the gaps to the foiled pieces of glass. It allows for a smoother surface, and uses less solder.

Note:
Remember to avoid moving the panel for a while, as the large solder bead will require longer to become solid.

Exposed Foil

After soldering, inspect the solder seams for small areas or strips of copper foil edges that aren't covered with solder.

If this exposed foil is where you want the solder bead to be, you need to clean the foil and re-apply solder. Usually scrubbing with “000” steel wool is sufficient. If, after scrubbing and applying flux, the solder still does not stick, you need to wash the piece and after drying, scrub the exposed foil, re-apply flux and solder again.

If the exposed foil is surplus or where you do not want any solder, take a craft knife, and carefully trim off the exposed foil.

Transporting Glass

Store, carry and transport glass as near to vertical as possible.

If you are transporting a number of sheets, place paper between the sheets to avoid scratches and vibration damage or breakage. The glass should be tied tightly together, preferably on a rack.

If you do not have a rack, you can put into the back of your vehicle and put the seat belts around the glass to keep it from flying forward in the event of an emergency stop. Cushion the seat belts from the edges of the glass to avoid cutting the belt with emergency breaking.

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.

Representing Acute Angles in Leaded Glass

False lines are used in leaded glass where the design calls for an angle that cannot be cut into the glass. This includes right angles and even more acute angles. E.g., the petals of a fuschia flower. The design would call for an angle of about 60 degrees. This is impossible to achieve through cutting. So the glass is cut in a curve and the cames on the side and bottom of the petal have their hearts cut out so they overlap each other. The overlap is then trimmed to the shape of the outside of the petal. When soldered, the appearance is of the glass being cut at the angle required for the flower.

Dams for Drilling

For those who find putty or plasticene too insecure, it is possible to use a plastic bottle with the bottom and top cut off, and secured with hot glue. This will provide a non-slip dam for the water while drilling.

Glass Painting Tools

The tools needed for glass painting are few and relatively common, although the blender is specialised. The minimum you need are:

Glass palette –
A slightly etched glass sheet on which to grind and mix the paints

Palette knife –
A paint knife with a flexible metal blade used to mix and pile the paint

Tracing brush –
A thin and long-haired brush used to apply paint to glass. Sable is considered superior, as it can hold a lot of paint allowing long lines.

Badger blender –
A wide and flat brush made of badger hair used to blend or evenly disperse a layer of paint on the glass, or to stipple a fine layer for a pin-hole effect

Stippler –
A round, thick brush used to apply wet paint and create a stippled matt

Soldering Irons and Rheostats

People often want to have variable temperatures for decorative soldering.

It is often recommended to use a rheostat in circumstances where the soldering iron does not have an internal temperature control. The rheostat reduces the current reaching the iron. The degree to which you have to do this is related to the speed or amount of work you are doing with the iron. With reduced current, the iron can not build up to its previous temperature so quickly. Therefore, it is a matter of individual practice on the rheostat setting you use.

Temperature controlled soldering irons attempt to maintain a set temperature. This is controlled by the combination of the microchip in the iron and the tip. So to adjust your temperature all you need is a few different tips. For example, a number 7 tip lets your iron heat to 700F degrees. For decorative soldering your need tips of lower temperatures, usually a number 6 or 600F degree is enough of a reduction for most decorative stuff. A number 8 tip (800F) will let you work at a higher temperature if you work quickly.

You can buy an iron (not temperature controlled) and a rheostat but buying tips for the temperature controlled iron is cheaper. A rheostat is NOT a temperature controller. A rheostat actually reduces the power supplied to the iron, thereby making it take longer to heat or re-heat after a period of soldering. Many people advise that using a temperature controlled iron with a rheostat can damage the thermostat. Using an iron without a rheostat, provided you work relatively quickly, you will probably be able to solder all the joints in a small or medium panel without stopping to let the iron 'catch up'. In this case the temperature is controlled by the heating power of the iron balanced by the cooling effect of making the soldered joints.

With a temperature-controlled iron, if it is left idle, it will quickly reach its maximum operating temperature - just as quickly as an uncontrolled iron of the same power. When you start soldering, the cooling effect will trigger the temperature controller to provide full power until the operating temperature is reached again. Using an iron with a rheostat, you will need to slow down a little if you are to do that same panel without stopping to let the iron re-heat. In this case the temperature of the iron is controlled by the (reduced) heating power of the iron balanced by the same cooling effect of making the soldered joints.

Without a rheostat, if an iron is left idle, it will eventually reach its maximum temperature. This is usually too hot for soldering lead, but OK for joining other metals. With a rheostat, if an iron is left idle with the rheostat set to (say) '6', it will still reach its maximum temperature but very much slower than the one without a rheostat.The big advantage of the temperature-controlled iron is that you know it will never get too hot for the work you are doing, and that it truly provides that 100 watts (or whatever) power to keep it hot even when you are soldering at top speed.

Soldering Irons

GeneralHistorically soldering tips were copper, placed in braziers. One tip was used, when the heat had transferred from the tip to the solder (and depleted the heat reserve) it was placed back in the brazier of charcoal and the next tip was used.

Much later gas irons were in common use. These used a gas jet to heat the soldering bolt/tip. They are very fast, but require significant amounts of experience to properly regulate the temperature.

Currently, electric soldering irons are used; they consist of coil or ceramic heating elements, which retain heat differently, and warm up the mass differently, internal or external rheostats, and different power ratings - which change how long a bead can be run.

SelectionThe soldering iron used must be of a high enough wattage to readily melt the solder and be able to reheat fast enough to maintain the necessary melting temperature. The tip can't be so small it can't maintain the heat and not so big it covers more area than wanted.

For soldering leaded panels a 100w iron with a 3/8" temperature controlled tip that maintains a constant 370°C (700° F) is suitable.

For copper foil a higher temperature controlled tip is used. This normally runs at 425°C (800°F). Sometimes a tip of ¼” is used where more delicate beads are being run.

If a lot of soldering is required that has sustained heat requirements, you might consider a 200W iron. These can deliver heat more quickly and evenly than those with lesser wattage.

Silver Stain as a Colour Modifier

Silver stain can also serve a useful purpose to modify the colours of glass. If you add a silver stain pattern to a piece of light blue glass, for example, the result will be a green pattern. This creates all sorts of creative opportunities, particularly when used in conjunction with etched flash glass.

It is also possible to use the silver stain successfully with other paint and enamel colours to warm the colours.