Lamp Cap Repair

This lamp was made by my customer's dad.  Over time, the cap disconnected from the dome.  Here's how I went about repairing it ..

Here's a photo of the almost disconnected cap ..

A view of the lamp.  As you can see, the small cap is being asked to support quite a bit of weight.

My first step was to remove the cap entirely.  Then I melted out the old beads of solder around the edge.

Next I melted off as much of the old solder as I could.  This is a good quality brass cap, which is a "heat sink", meaning that it draws a lot of heat out of the iron.

I asked my husband Eric to use his sanding drill bit to remove more of the old solder.  Here the brass is clean and shiny, so it will adhere much better to the solder and the dome.

Many older lamps have un-grinded edges on the glass.  This lamp was no exception.  I took the time to use a hand file to smooth down the sharp glass. This makes the glass easier to handle and allows copper foil to bond more securely.

To give this cap added staying power, and to distribute the weight of the dome more evenly, I decided to add in three segments of flat braided reinforcement wire, shown here.  To prepare it, I applied liquid flux to the flat wire, then added a thin film of solder to both sides.  This process is called "tinning."

Then I attached the three strips of tinned reinforcement wire as shown.  When I applied the soldering iron to the strips, they bonded with the fresh solder beads that I added earlier.  Note that I also added new copper foil to the interior of the dome's opening.

Eric assisted me on this one, by soldering the outer edge of the cap to the dome.  The solder dots fused with the brass and the copper foil for a good bond.

As seen from inside the dome, he melted the flat reinforcement wire into the solder lines of the dome, then extended them onto the interior of the brass cap.  Then he melted on a generous amount of solder to assure that the three contact points will be firmly attached.  This creates a very strong bond between the cap and the dome.

After the soldering was complete, I applied black patina to all of the solder, inside and outside the dome.  After it dried, I applied stained glass finishing compound.  This is a light wax which protects the patina.

And here is the repaired lamp.  Thank you Geri, for entrusting your dad's lamp to my care.  I hope you and your family will enjoy it for many years to come!

For more information on my other projects, please click here to visit my website.

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Gray Stained Glass Lamp Repair

This beautiful lamp sustained a great deal of damage, primarily to one side.  Read on to see the repair process ..

Here's how it came to me .. With multiple cracks and chunks of glass missing.

Another view, from the side.  Here the purple border cracks can be seen.

I'm a stickler about matching glass when I do a repair.  Fortunately, I had some of the exact purple in inventory.

To assure the stability of the lamp as I worked, I opted to start on the far right.  Here I'm using the oil-filled pistol grip glass cutter to cross-hatch the cracked piece, starting from the inside of the dome.

Turning the lamp over, I used needle nose pliers to tug out the glass from the borders.  Notice I'm wearing gloves, which I normally don't do when I'm working on a lamp.  There were many sharp pieces here, so safety first.

Now the glass is removed and I'm pulling off the old solder and foil using needle nose pliers.

The border is clear now, so I'm tracing a pattern for the replacement glass using an old manila folder.

Here I've traced the pattern onto a new piece of glass.

Cutting the glass.

Running the edges through the grinder, to make it safe to handle, and to enable the copper foil to adhere tightly.

Applying the copper foil to the edges of the glass.

Now the new replacement glass is in place on the lamp.

Here I'm applying liquid flux to the copper foil, to prepare for soldering.

Now the piece is soldered on one side.  Since the purple below needs replacement, as does the neighboring glass, there's no need to solder those sides yet.

Now the neighboring piece is cut and in place.

More old solder and foil being tugged off.

Another piece is in place and being soldered.

Now five large pieces of the gray glass have been replaced, as well as two pieces of the purple and two gray border pieces.

The lamp became a bit unstable at the point, so I taped it well and replaced the four border pieces, to regain the stability.

Almost done .. The border has been replaced, as have most of the larger gray pieces.

One more piece to go.

Now all of the cracked pieces have been replaced, foiled, and soldered.  In between each step, the area receives a thorough cleaning,

Here I'm applying black patina to the solder.  It reacts instantly with the solder.  After it sets, I rinse it off.

Using Kwik-Clean Patina and Flux Remover.  After the cleaning is done, I applied stained glass finishing compound to the lamp.  This is a light wax which protects the patina and makes the glass shine.  

And here's the lamp, fully repaired.

Another view .. Thank you Jeanne and Earl for entrusting your beautiful lamp to me.  May you enjoy it for many years to come!

For more information on my other projects, please click here to visit my website.

If you're on FaceBook, please click here to "like" my BoehmStained Glass Studio page to keep up with all the latest projects.  Thank you!

Stained Glass Mirror Repair

This beautiful mirror, over time, had one of the shelf brackets come loose.  My task was to repair it.  Click through to see the process ...

Here's the mirror showing the bracket on the right side about to detach.

To begin the repair, I took it off the mirror by melting away the existing solder and foil.

Then I took off the existing metal channel on the side, which had bent slightly.

Here I've replaced the metal channel with a new piece, which I cut to size.

To prepare for the re-attachment, I used steel wool to clean off remaining patina from the area.

Here's the partially refurbished bracket, ready for re-installation.

Along the seam where the bracket will be re-installed, I put down a series of solder beads. 

On top of the beads, I lightly soldered on a strip of flat braided reinforcement wire. It's 1/8th" wide, the same width as the glass.  By using this wire, the bond will be much stronger than without it.

Next I positioned the bracket on top of the reinforcement wire.  When the soldering iron was applied, the bracket bonded to the wire, and thus to the mirror as well.  Then I added more solder to the sides, as additional reinforcement.

 After I smoothed out the soldering, I applied black patina to the solder, as shown.  I checked the strength of the left bracket and saw that it was also beginning to loosen.  So I repeated the process on the other side. 

And here is the mirror, with both brackets now firmly in place.

Another view of the finished project.  Thanks for finding me, Marita. It was a pleasure doing this repair for you .. May you enjoy it for many more years to come.

For more information on my other projects, please click here to visit my website.

If you're on FaceBook, please click here to "like" my BoehmStained Glass Studio page to keep up with all the latest projects.  Thank you!