Floral Stained Glass Lamp Repair

This lovely little lamp was brought to me by the same customer who had the prior lamp repair (click here).  She drove down from CT to see me in NJ on her way to PA.  Happy to be of service!

This lamp needed only 4 cracked pieces to be replaced.  Here are two, marked in blue tape ..

And here are the other two, also marked with blue tape.

The first step is to score the cracked piece with a glass cutter (shown). Then the piece is repeatedly tapped with the metal end of the cutter to loosen the glass.

Here the glass is nearly all removed.

The adjacent piece also needs replacement, but for the time being, I left it in place.

In the process of removing the larger cracked piece, an adjacent smaller one loosed.  Here I put it back in place after I applied new copper foil to its edges, and to the borders of the nearby pieces.

After the larger piece of glass was removed, I cleaned off the old solder and foil.  Then I traced a pattern as shown.

Using the pattern, I cut a new piece of green glass.  Here I'm using "groziers" to chunk out small pieces of glass along edges. This saves time at the grinder.

Then I apply copper foil along the edge of the replacement piece, as well as inside the borders of the dome where it will be soldered.

Now all three pieces have been replaced and soldered into place.  This is the view from inside the dome.

Moving around to the other side of the lamp, I've removed the piece of cracked glass which extends up to the border.

After making a pattern, cutting new glass, and preparing it, I've replaced it into the lamp as shown.

Here I'm applying black patina to the solder.

Soldering and patina-ing is complete .. Next I'll wax the lamp for protection and shine.

Here is one side of the lamp, repaired and ready to be enjoyed again.

And here is the other side, repaired. Thanks so much Sandhya, for bringing me two lamps to repair for you!

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!

Art Deco Lamp Repair

This small lamp had cracks in two panels at the border, beneath decorative metal plates.  In order to repair it, I went in from the inside and removed and then replaced the cracked pieces.  Here's the process:

Notice the iridescent glass on this lamp, very pretty. 

The cracks can be seen best from the inside of the dome.  These two panels marked with blue tape required replacement.

I began by tapping on the cracked glass with the back of a glass cutter.  Then I removed the pieces of glass with needle nose pliers.

Next I pulled off the old copper foil and solder.

This is a Quoitzel brand lamp. Some of the older lamps made by this company are solid and well made.  This one, however is a newer lamp which was made in China.  The materials used to construct the lamp are somewhat suspect, and not of the quality of a true, soldered stained glass lamp.  To read more, please click this link ..  
Protective gear is mandatory on Chinese lamps such as these, simply because it is not possible to identify the black substance between the glass.  Here is my breathing mask, worn throughout the soldering process.

After I removed the cracked piece of glass, I cut a new one in the same type of glass.  Then I ground the edges as shown.

I applied new copper foil to the borders.  Here I'm pressing the foil onto the glass using a "fid".

After I placed the glass, I soldered it in place.

For added security, I added solder to the front of the piece as well.

Then I removed the adjacent cracked panel as shown.

The view through the "grating" or decorative border, with the glass removed.

Now both inside pieces that were cracked have been replaced.

And here is the finished lamp.  Thank you so much Sandhya, for stopping in with your two lamps from CT on your way to PA.  It was a pleasure meeting you! (Click here to see the repair of the second lamp).

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!

Split Stained Glass Lamp Repair

This beauiful lamp sustained a separation along the dome which extended two rows down into other areas.  My challenge was to re-attach the pieces and reinforce them to prevent a recurrence.  Here's how I went about the repair ..

A light leak is evident just below the thick solder line near the top of the lamp.

Here's another view a bit closer.  The split extends down one row, then moves to the right, affecting 4 of the rectangular pieces of glass.

 At this point, I wedged my soldering iron into the separation and melted out the old copper foil and solder.  The piece which is marked with a Sharpie pen was very loose so I removed it.  This gave me better access to the split area and to the other 3 pieces of glass.

 Here's a view from inside the dome with the loose piece removed.

Here I'm in the process of removing more of the old solder and copper foil

I've cleaned up the old adhesive which were along the split, then I applied new copper foil to the piece I removed and to the three adjoining pieces of glass.  Here I'm applying liquid flux to the foil.  This is a liquid agent which allows the solder to flow smoothly on top of the foil.

 Now the pieces are firmly soldered in place.

 In order to prevent the split from re-occurring, I cut a few short lengths of flat braided copper reinforcement wire as shown, then I "tinned" them.  This means that I gave each side of the wire a thin coating of flux, then a dot of hot solder which flowed over and through the braiding.  This solder will bond with the lamp when its in place.

 Next I foiled, fluxed and soldered along the separated portion of the lamp as shown.

In the original construction, wires were placed along the solder lines with the intention of preventing the separation. However, the zig-zag decision proved to be ineffective on the side which split.  That small straight portion gave the lamp a good half inch of "play".  This side held well, the other side (which I'm repairing) did not.

 To reinforce that zig-zag, I soldered on a strip of the flat braided copper reinforcement wire as shown.  This effectively makes the zig-zag a straight line, giving the lamp more stability with much less chance of separation.

Then I used four more lengths of flat braided copper reinforcement wire and soldered them from the pale area of the lamp to the dark area.  This distributes the weight of the lamp around the dome and gives extra security that another separation cannot re-occur.

Here I'm applying black patina to the solder.

Then I clean the lamp of all flux and patina by using Kwik-Clean spray as shown.  After the lamp dries, I applied stained glass finishing compound, which is a light wax.  Once the wax dried and was buffed, the lamp is as good as new again.

And here's the repaired lamp, ready to go for many more years of service.  Thank you so much, Elizabeth, for bringing your lamp to me.  It was a pleasure to repair it!

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!