Stained Glass Lamp Cap Repair

This beautiful lamp may look familiar.  A few months ago, I repaired a separation in the dome which occurred a few inches down from the cap. The repair was a good one, and it held well!  However, as the lamp settled down, the glass began to separate from the cap.  This is a "first" but with lamps, you never know.  I'm just happy it was caught in time.

Here's the lamp after it sat overnight.  Under the cap is the lighting fixture.  The lamp is normally hanging from the ceiling and when it was set down, the cap pushed up all the small pieces surrounding the cap.

Another view ..

My husband Eric detached the light fixture from the dome.  Then I got a better look.  Several of the green squares had detached, and many of them were loose. 

I removed the loose ones and numbered them all, to keep them in sequence.  Then I cleaned up the old foil and solder and added new copper foil to the edge, as shown.  One of the whitish pieces of glass was loose, so I removed and replaced that as well.

This lamp has a similar construction as my most recently repaired lamp.  It has a double cap, one on the bottom and one on the top.  This is a great design, as it "traps" the borders of the glass between the metal.

Here I'm applying copper foil to the edges of the squares.  (I used the Goo Gone to remove the old adhesive).

Here I'm burnishing the foil using a "fid".

Then I replaced the squares onto the edge as shown.  Prior to adding in the squares, I placed the lower cap into the opening to be sure of a good fit.

With caps, the more contact points, the better.  A strong bond is very important.  Here I'm applying 1/4" copper foil to the lip of the lower cap. When this is soldered to the border pieces, it will add more strength.

This is the view from inside the dome.  I've placed the lower cap into the opening after I soldered all of the small green squares back into place.  Then I added four "legs" of flat, braided reinforcement wire.  These are attached at the cap and at a few places radiating out, as shown.  These wires will serve to distribute the weight of the dome evenly.

Here I'm applying black patina to the solder.  After it sets, I spray clean it thoroughly.

Here's the view from the top side of the dome.  The lip of the lower cap is caught under the row of small green squares.  Notice the foil I just added.  It's just below the foil which borders the green squares.

Here I've added copious amounts of solder to the foil on the bottom cap.  In the process, I attached it to the small green squares.  All that solder, combined with the reinforcement and fresh foil and solder, have created a very strong bond.

And here is the lamp, repaired and ready for enjoyment again!  This view shows the top cap in place.  It is laid over the bottom cap and held in place by the lighting fixture, still to be replaced.

Another view of the repair.  Well, Elizabeth, I think we have it licked this time!  Thanks again for bringing it to me .. It was a pleasure meeting you. 

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