Pendant Lamp Stained Glass Repair

This small pendant lamp is part of a matched set.  One of the four panels of clear seedy glass had cracked from the outer part of the lamp.  Here's how I went about repairing it .. Click on any photo for a closer look.

Here's how it looked with the panel badly cracked and a chunk of glass missing.

After I located a piece of glass to match the existing glass, I tapped on the cracked piece repeatedly to loosen the remaining pieces.  Then I carefully pulled out the glass with a needle-nose plier and with leater-palmed gloves.

Here's the lamp with all the cracked glass removed.  I've added blue tape to the top to strengthen the lamp as I work.

 This was a nice find.  The builder of the lamp inserted lengths of straight wire in the seams, in order to strengthen the construction. I left those in place.

Below, I've applied 7/32" copper foll to one of the sides, and wrapped it around the support wire shown in the photo above.

Now both sides of the opening have been copper foiled.

Below, I'm tracing a piece of Manila folder to make a pattern for the replacement glass.

The pattern is then traced onto the glass with a black Sharpie pen.

Leaning against a flat ruler to "score" the glass with an oil-filled pistol grip glass cutter, my preferred tool.  Behind it is a pair of blue "running pliers" which I use to snap glass such as this which has been scored in a straight line.

After the glass is snapped, I run the edges through a grinder.

Then the new piece of glass is rinsed and dried and copper foil is applied to the borders.  Below, I've taped the replacement glass onto the rest of the lamp. The next step is to apply liquid flux to the copper foil.  Then I went and soldered the sides, top and bottom of the replacement glass.  The soldered areas then receive a thorough cleaning with Kwik-Clean Flux and Patina Cleaner.

After the soldered areas are thoroughly clean and dry, I apply Novacan Black Patina with a metal acid brush, as shown.  This chemical instantly turns the silver solder to black.  After it sets up, I again clean it off with Kwik Clean and allow it to dry.

Here is the finished lamp ...

And here it is, atop the smaller, secondary part of the fixture.  I also repaired that as well, by adding some solder to the fitting at the top. Its now ready to be re-hung and enjoyed for many more years!

Please visit my website to see my custom windows and repairs (click here).  And if you are on FaceBook, become a fan and I'll keep you up to date on all my stained glass projects.  Call me any time at 201-600-1616 or email with your questions. Thanks!

Repair of Pendant Lamp

This lovely little pendant lamp arrived a few weeks ago.  Its owner was kind enough to wait for me to complete a major segment of a commission before I could repair it.  Here's how I went about the repair:

This is one of a set of pendant lamps.  One of the four sides was very loose and the cap which attaches to the light fixture had failed.

As is the case with many manufactured lamps, the edges of the glass had not been ground.  This is an important step, not only to protect from cuts, but to aid in the proper adhesiveness of the copper foil.  I used a hand file to rough up the glass on the open sides.  Prior to hand grinding though, I carefully tugged and melted off the existing old solder and copper foil which was around these pieces of glass.

Below< I've added fresh strips of 7/32" copper foil to the top and sides of the affected areas.  

Next, I laid the lamp on its side so that I could apply liquid flux, and then solder the joints together.

The ring of course is round at the top.  Part of the issue with the design is that it is attached to the square topped lamp base.  I worked around this by melting the old solder off the ring and then using new foil at the touch points to re-solder it in place.

For extra security, I added solder to 1-1/2" strips of flat reinforced copper wire. Then I placed them under the ring and on top of the square top.  After a healthy dose of solder was applied, the bond became even stronger.

Viewed from the inside of the pendant, I added additional solder at the top corners for more security.

Following the soldering, I cleaned the flux off the lamp with spray Kwik Clean.  Then I applied Novacan Black Patina to the solder, as shown, with a wire craft brush.  The patina reacts instantly with the solder.  After letting it sit for a few minutes, I cleaned it again with Kwik Clean and applied Livia Stained Glass Finishing Compound to the lamp.  This gave it a nice shine and will serve to protect the patina.

And here is the repaired lamp!  Thank you Heidi for bringing it over to me.  It was a pleasure meeting you, your sister and your parents.  Keep up your good work~!

Please visit my website to see my custom windows and repairs (click here).  And if you are on FaceBook, become a fan and I'll keep you up to date on all my stained glass projects.  Call me any time at 201-600-1616 or email with your questions. Thanks!

Pendant Lamp Repair #2

This is the second identical pendant lamp to come in for repair.  Its very small and lightweight but as mentioned in an earlier post, the top part of any lamp is generally the weakest point.  Even on a small lamp such as this, it can detach.  (Click on any image to enlarge) ..

Here is the lamp with the hanger detached.  

In this view, you may be able to see that about half of the wire circle is missing.

The first step is to add new copper foil around the perimeter of the opening.

 For this lamp, I decided to make small "clips" out of flat braided reinforcement wire.  Here I'm "tinning" or adding flux and then a small bit of solder to each segment.  This will enable the "clips" to adhere to the foil as soon as the hot soldering iron touches them.

Shown below are the "clips" surrounding the edge of the perimeter.  I attached them in such a way as to "nail down" the wire ring.  I added more wire to replace the missing half of the ring, also.

"Clips" can be seen from the inside of the pendant.  I added some thin copper foil to the outside of the pendant, to fill in the missing solder line shown in the above photo.  Then I soldered all the new foil and the "clips", inside and outside the pendant.

 Below, I'm applying black patina to the solder.  I'm taking the patina from the bottle cap so as not to contaminate the bottle.  The patina reacts instantly with the solder.  After its allowed to set, I washed it off.

 And here's the repaired pendant, repaired and ready to be installed back into the kitchen.  Thank you Camilo, for bringing the pendant to me for repair (and for making your wife happy in the process!).

To see the other pendant lamp of this type being repaired, please click here. 

Please visit my website to see my custom windows and repairs (click here).  And if you are on FaceBook, become a fan and I'll keep you up to date on all my stained glass projects.  Call me any time at 201-600-1616 or email with your questions. Thanks!

Small Pendant Lamp Repair

This little lamp gets the prize for the tiniest lamp I've ever repaired.  Its a pendant lamp with a metal bracket which detached.  Here's how I went about repairing it .. Click on any photo to enlarge.

The Sharpie pen next to the pendant lamp shows the small size.  To the right is the metal bracket which became detached.

My first step in a repair of this nature is to remove any old copper foil, solder or adhesives.  In this case, I melted off the old debris, including some clear glue, from the surfaces.

Hard to see in the photo, but for a stronger bond, I tinned and soldered two short lengths, about 1/2" each, of braided copper wire to each interior side where the bracket will be re-attached.  Before soldering the wire on, I applied Novacan Blu-Glass Flux with an acid brush, shown in the background.

Now the debris has been removed and I'm using a 100W soldering iron to heat up the bracket so that it will accept the flux and solder.  I'm "tinning" it on both sides of the "feet".  This thin layer of solder will act as the glue to adhere it to the lamp.

I'm using blue painter's tape to hold the bracket in place, perpendicular to the work surface, while I fill in the gap with solder.  The hot solder will melt the tinned areas of the bracket and bond the two pieces together.

After the solder set, I placed the lamp upside down, resting between stryofoam blocks.  I then filled in the area between the "feet" of the bracket with solder.  As a final step, not pictured, I applied black patina to the new solder and waxed the entire piece.  The owner came to pick it up soon after and was very happy with the repair.

Please visit my website to see my custom windows and repairs (click here).  And if you are on FaceBook, become a fan and I'll keep you up to date on all my stained glass projects.  Call me any time at 201-600-1616 or email with your questions. Thanks!