Glue Chip Glass panel Repair

This small panel was made by my customer about 25 years ago.  It was her first piece which I thought was very impressive!  She learned to work with bevels and cut curved and straight lines, and also framed the piece.  Since she no longer has her tools, she asked me to repair it for her.  Here's how I went about it ..

Here is the panel, showing cracks in the two pieces on the right side. The glass is called Glue Chip and is very popular.  It's also known as Jack Frost glass and is commonly used with bevels

Close up.  Notice how thin the chain is.  This was the reason for the damage.  The chain is too thin for the piece, and it eventually gave way.

Here I'm "scoring" one of the cracked pieces by cross-hatching it with a glass cutter as shown.

Now I'm using the metal back of the glass cutter to smash through the glass and remove all of it.

I've removed the old glass and the solder and foil that was around it.  Now I'm using a piece of Manila folder to trace the inner outline.  This will be used for the pattern.

The pattern is a perfect fit.

 I've traced the pattern onto a new piece of glass and I've scored a straight line.  Here I'm tapping on the glass to "loosen" it so that it will split.

The glass has been cut in more detail by hand, using the glass cutter.  Then I ground the edges using the electric grinder.  Here I'm applying pressure-sensitive 7/32" silver back copper foil to the edges.  I'm using silver back because the solder will remain silver.  Since the glass is clear, the inside of the foil will be visible.  By matching the interior color of the foil to the color of the solder (black or silver), it becomes essentially invisible.  

Now the new piece is in place.  I've shored it up underneath with a few squares of cardboard.  Its important that the new piece of glass be soldered in on the same plane as the rest of the piece.

The first piece is repaired and soldered in place.  Now I'm scoring the second cracked piece, to prepare for its removal.  Then I'll repeat the same process.

And here it is, fully repaired.  I removed the thin chain and suggested a heavier chain to prevent breakage in the future.

Here's another view which shows the nice textures of the glass.  Thank you Jane, for entrusting me with your first stained glass project.

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