Repair to small Amber and Red Stained Glass Lamp

This lamp came to me from a father who wanted it repair it as a gift for his daughter's first apartment.  It had one cracked panel and a bent border.  Here's how I went about the repair ..


“Before” photo showing the cracked piece and the bent zinc channel border.

Another "before" view

Here I've found a match for the glass in my inventory.

Using the light box to test for luminosity to confirm the match.

Using needle nosed pliers to pull out loose cracked glass.

Using an oil-filled pistol grip glass cutter to hashtag score the glass to get it to crack for removal.  After I score it, I tap repeatedly on the area using the brass end of the cutter (not shown).

Now all of the glass has been removed.  Now I’m using the pliers to tug off the old foil and solder.

For the areas of solder and foil which can’t readily be tugged off, I’m using a hot soldering iron to melt it off.

Now I’ve removed the bent channel border and cleaned off the old solder and foil.

Here I’m applying adhesive 7/32” copper foil to the borders to prepare for the replacement glass.

Next, I make a template of the opening.

Using the template, I trace the border onto the replacement glass.

Then I use the oil filled pistol grip cutter to score the glass along the line. (In actual practice, my left hand would be applying pressure to the green ruler.  It’s now holding the camera, however!)

After I make the “score” along the line, I tap repeatedly, front and back, along the line.  That helps to loosen and split the glass. Then I bring it to the electric grinder as shown.  I grind the edges of the replacement piece to make it safe to handle, and to make the copper foil adhere better.

Before foiling, I make sure the piece is a good fit.  I made a couple of adjustments by grinding it down a bit.

When I’m satisfied that its a good fit, I apply copper foil to the edges of the glass.  Here I”m using a “fid” or flat plastic wand to burnish the foil onto the glass.  This prevents any chemicals from getting underneath.

I’ve taped the piece inside the shade and I’m now applying green liquid “flux” to the foil.  This is a catalyst which enables the solder to flow freely.

At this point, I’ve soldered the replacement piece in place, on both the inside and outside of the shade.  I custom-cut a length of zinc “channel” or metal border.  Here I’m pressing it in place onto the edge of the shade.

Once the new “channel” is in place, I locked it in securely by applying solder to the lead lines and to the corners of the lamp.

After the soldering is completed, I use a neutralizing spray to remove the flux.  Then I use a metal acid brush to apply the black “patina”. This instantly turns the solder black.  After its allowed to set, I clean it again using the same neutralizing spray.

And here is the lamp, fully repaired.  After I clean it with the spray, I applied “stained glass finishing polish” which is a light wax.  It serves to protect the patina and give the glass a nice shine.

Another “repaired” view, this one on the light box to show how well the glass matches. Thank you Steve, for finding me and asking me to repair this for you, it was a pleasure!

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