Beveled Panel Repair

This repair is not copper foiled stained glass, but since I have the tools and materials, I did it as a gesture for our bird sitter.  Its a glass panel which fits into a small coffee table. Its made with brass channel, which are straight lengths of "U" shaped metal which are soldered in place around bevels and rectangular pieces of clear glue chip glass.  Here's the process of the repair ..

Here's my customer's photograph showing the panel in place and missing corner piece.

Another view which shows the whole panel.

In order to access the corner, I needed to start by melting off some of the solder on one side. The channel had become tarnished due to age, so here I'm using steel wool to get back to the bare solder.  This will make the melting the solder an easier process.

After I melted off much of the connecting solder, my husband Eric gently sawed through the bond using a special bit on a small electric drill. After the separated the bonds, I detached the side of the panel.

Now the side of the panel is gone.  A few of the solder joints on the interior of the panel had split, so I used steel wool again to refresh the solder, then I added a dot of solder there to melt the metal back together. I used push pins to press the panel together while I completed the soldering,

Here I've traced a simple paper pattern from which to cut the replacement glass.

Using an oil-filled pistol grip cutter to score the glass.  Then I use another tool to snap the glass in a straight line along the score.

Grinding the edges of the glass, to make it safe to handle and to allow the copper foil to adhere strongly.

I slid the new corner piece of glass back into the panel.  Then I replaced the side piece of metal channel and matched up the old solder joints.  Here I'm applying liquid flux to the connection points.  Then I re-soldered that side channel back in place, on both sides.  Then I gave it an overall cleaning.

And here's the panel with a new corner piece, ready to go back into the coffee table. Thanks Jennifer, for taking such good care of our birds when we travel!  If you're in northern Bergen County, NJ and need a pet sitter or dog walker, please contact Jennifer, she's fantastic! Please visit her website http://www.worryfreepetcare.com/. Or give her a call: 201-652-6350. 

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