Stained Glass Mushroom Repair

This unusual stained glass panel was made by my customer's father-in-law many years ago.  It reminds me of Alice in Wonderland!  I love the design and the colors of glass he chose.  Here's how it came to me .. Notice that the three amber pieces above the large mushroom sustained several cracks.  What can't readily be seen is that the pale green leaf on the upper left is cracked, as is he dark green leaf on the right and two of the border panels.

When any lamp or panel sustains a fall, its very common for the concussion of the fall to travel through the piece.

To prepare for replacement, my first step is to score the cracked glass with the oil-filled pistol grip glass cutter, then tap repeatedly onto the cracked piece to dislodge all the glass.  Whatever is remaining I remove with needle nose pliers.  Then I tug out the old solder and foil around the border.  I do this with either the pliers, or by melting it out.

Many artists who created these older pieces did not grind the edges of the glass.  I believe it helps the copper foil to adhere more readily.  Here I've cleaned out all the old foil and solder and I'm using a hand file to grind the inside border.  I also scraped and cleaned off any remaining old adhesive from the foil.

With two pieces of amber have been removed, I made two patterns for the replacement glass.  They fit perfectly into their intended spaces.

After I trace the patterns onto matching glass I use the cutter to score the edges.

Then I use the blue "running pliers" to snap the score lines.  I often use the black-handled "groziers" to nip out smaller pieces as shown.

Next, each piece gets ground.

Then adhesive copper foil is applied and burnished with a "fid" or flexible plastic wand.  I chose a width of foil to closely match whatever project I'm doing.  

After the border of the opening and the border of the newly cut glass are foiled and placed into the panel, I apply liquid "flux" to the foil.  Then I solder it, front and back.

Now both the side pieces of cracked amber have been replaced.  I wanted to replace the cracked side piece next but first I wanted to remove the border.  The artist on this piece used "lead came" to border his piece.  Lead came is used in a different type of stained glass.  This "came" is very soft and pliable and could be dangerous to handle with bare hands.  Therefore I'm wearing gloves.  Later I'll show that I used a sturdy zinc "channel" to replace this "came".

 
 Now I'm tracing the pattern for the side piece.

And now its soldered in place.

Moving on now to replace the cracked amber piece above the mushroom.   I generally do not repair pieces that are adjacent to each other.  It can weaken the panel or make it more difficult to repair.

Holding the cutter at a 90 degree angle and pressing firmly onto the glass.

Onto another cracked side piece ..

Now I'm removing another piece of the soft lead "came" which was originally on this panel.

The original lead came is on the left .. On the right is the new, sturdy zinc "channel" which I'm replacing it with.  Its a safer and more secure option.

Here my husband Eric is taking measurements and preparing the custom-cut the new zinc frame.

Here one side of the panel has a new frame on it.

Eric, cutting the zinc.

Tacking the zinc frame to the corners and the lead lines on the panel, both sides.

My customer asked for hooks to be installed, so here I've made two, using 12 gauge wire.

For this panel, it was important to the family that the original patina be maintained.  Since it was never patina-ed, but had aged quite a lot, I diluted a small amount of black patina.  It was a great match to the existing patina.

Applying the custom-mix patina. The panel was thoroughly cleaned and dried and then waxed afterwards.

And here's the newly repaired panel, with a stronger and safer frame and two new hooks for hanging.  Thank you for finding me, Cheryl!  It was a pleasure repairing this for you and your family!

For more information on my other projects, please click here to visit my website.

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Repairs to Stained Glass Panel

This stained glass panel was brought to me by the same customer who created the glue chip glass and bevel panel posted previously.  This panel had a few cracks in it, and needed hanging hooks installed.  Here's the process ..


This abstract panel has cracks to three pieces.  They're marked by the round colored stickers.

I began the repair by scoring and then cracking out the glass in the yellow piece as shown.  Here I'm tapping the scored piece with the metal end of a glass cutter, in order to loosen the glass.

All of the glass is removed.  Now I'm using needle nose pliers to tug off the old solder and copper foil.

The copper foil and solder have been removed.  Now I'm burnishing new copper foil which I just placed along the border of the open area.

Now I'm tracing around the border onto a piece of Manila folder which will serve as my template for the replacement piece of yellow glass.

The new yellow glass is in place.  With this piece of glass removed, I have access to the cracked red border piece.  Therefore I decided not to solder it in place until the red piece is replaced.  Here I'm preparing the template for the new red piece.

Here I've moved aside the yellow piece and the red piece is ready for foiling.

Now the red border piece and the yellow piece are both foiled.  I'm applying liquid flux to the copper foil.  This chemical enables the solder to flow freely over the foil.

Now the yellow and red replacement pieces have been soldered in place on the front and the back of the panel.

Note that there is glass missing in the reddish-white strip beside the flower-like design in the center.  I sent off that chip in hopes of finding a good match for it.  However, there was nothing available.  Therefore, after consulting with my customer, I suggested replacing both panels beside the flower with the light blue glass which appears on the border.  I thought it would be a nice tie-in and bring more cohesiveness to the design.  She agreed, so I went ahead.

Here's a blue panel being run through the electric grinder.

Now I've replaced both sides of the flower with a nice strip of blue which matches the borders.

One of the final steps is to clean off the liquid flux, let it dry, and then apply the black patina as shown here.  Its a blue liquid which makes the solder turn black instantly.

Using a product called Kwik-Clean, I'm washing off the excess patina after giving it some time to set.

Now I'm moving on to creating and installing hooks as requested by my customer.  Since this is a heavy panel, I'm using 12 gauge wire which I cut into short lengths.  I wrapped them around a pen as shown, and crimped the ends together using the needle nose pliers.

Then I used a steel brush to scrub off the old patina from the corner needed a hook which I marked with blue tape.  Then I applied some liquid flux onto the scrubbed area.

I added some hot solder to the area.  When it cooled off, I used the needle nose pliers to hold the new hook in place.  Then I heated up the hook until it sank into the pool of solder, creating a very strong and permanent bond to the frame.  I repeated this process on the other side.

And here is the repaired panel, with new hooks for hanging.

Another view, on top of a light box.  Thank you Jane and John, for bringing this panel to me also!  I'm pleased that I was able to put it back in service so you can enjoy it for years to come.

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!

Custom Stained Glass Angel

This little angel is only 8" x 8" but it has given my customer a great deal of joy which will be shared when she gives it to her boss as a Christmas gift.  The design came from an inspiration stained glass window in her home, which I modified to suit its smaller size.  Here's the process, start to finish ..
 
I prepared several different variations of the angel .. Here is the "winner"

Here I'm preparing the pattern.  I sized the design to 8" x 8", then made a "sandwich" of Manila folder on the bottom, then carbon paper, then the printed pattern on top.  Then I transferred all markings. I keep a color rendition of the piece nearby so that I can mark the glass colors as well.

I use stained glass pattern shears to cut the pattern pieces.  They are double-bladed and leave a small bit of paper between each piece.  This leaves room for the copper foil to follow later.

The glass palette and the recycled envelopes where I keep the pattern pieces.

The metal "fence" which keeps the glass in place as I work.

Tracing pattern pieces onto the glass with a black Sharpie.

 

 Cutting the glass by hand by resting an oil-filled pistol grip glass cutter against an old, flat ruler to get a straight "score".  After I score the glass, I tap on it repeatedly with the brass end of the cutter.  Eventually the glass will loosen and split along the score.

  

 Cutting some pieces with a ring saw.  Here I'm coating the Sharpie markings with lip balm to prevent the water from the saw from washing them off.  Because the glass is still sharp, I'm wearing gloves.  The ring saw enables me to accurately make deep curves and unusual shapes that would not be possible to cut by hand.

 

Now all the glass has been cut and fitted onto the pattern.  I call this a glass jigsaw puzzle.

Here I'm applying the copper foil to the edges of each piece of glass.   Since the solder will be blackened with patina, I'm using "black back" copper foil.  On some of the clear pieces, the inside of the foil will show through.  The black interior of this foil will make it invisible.

 

Now she's all foiled.

 Brushing on liquid "flux".  This chemical allows the solder to flow freely over the copper foil.

 

Now I'm "tack soldering", meaning I'm putting dots of solder at random places on the design, to lock the pieces together.

 

Since the pieces are locked in, I've removed the "fence" and I'm sliding out the paper pattern.  Now that the angel is free from the fence, I can maneuver it around to get good angles for soldering.

Here I'm soldering the front.  The back follows soon after.

After the front and back are fully soldered, I apply "black patina".  This is a blue chemical which instantly turns the solder black.  After it sets a few minutes, I wash it off carefully with a spray called "Kwik-Clean" and I allow it to dry.

Here's the angel with the black patina applied.

Next, my husband Eric custom cuts a metal frame and pins to the panel.

Making hanging hooks from paper clips. Sometimes I make hooks from wire, but since this piece is small and lightweight, the small paper clips work just fine.

To prepare for soldering the hook, I add flux to the area, then I place a blob of solder over it.  I hold the hook in place using needle nose pliers, then I heat it and let it sink into place.

Here's the computer rendition again ..

And here's the finished angel in the sunlight.

Another view showing the beautiful textures of the glass. The angel will look different depending on the amount of light nearby.

And another view .. Thanks so much for asking me to make this for your boss, Diana .. It was a really fun project .. I hope she loves it.  Merry Christma to you, your boss and to all of my Boehm Stained Glass Studio customers!

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!