White Lamp with Checkered Edge - New Repairs

If this little lamp looks familiar, its because I repaired it in August.  A darling two year old knocked it over.  Well .. Toddlers being toddlers, the lamp went down again.  This time it sustained more damage than the first time.  No problem!  I can fix it .. Here's how I went about it.  To see the original repair .. Click here.

The lamp came in looking about the same as it did after the first fall .. A bit like a taco, with cracked and broken pieces on two sides.

The dent in the side is clearly visible here.  I've marked the cracked pieces with bits of blue tape.

Wearing gloves and using even pressure, I carefully pulled the lamp outward, back into its round shape.

After assessing the damage, I started removing the cracked pieces of the upper dome.  Here the piece on the right has been replaced and I'm tugging off the old solder and foil on the adjacent piece.  Whenever a piece of glass is replaced, its necessary to remove all old solder and foil and clean off any remaining adhesive from the borders.

After each piece of the dome was removed and the edges cleaned, I used manila folder paper to trace a template for the new glass.  Here I've taped each new template above the areas where the new glass will be placed.

I've applied new copper foil to the inner border.

Now the white pieces of the dome have been replaced and soldered.  Note that the lamp has retained its round shape.  As each dome piece was removed, the lamp "relaxed" into its proper shape.

Now I'm working on the border.  There were numerous pieces of green, white and amber that needed replacement.  They're marked here with blue tape.  I've removed a few pieces of white and green and have foiled the edges as before.

This piece of wire which is soldered to the outer edge of the lamp is a structural element which has to be maintained.  As I opened up this area, I noted that the wire was overlapped.  When I replaced that glass, I re-soldered it in place.

 As I worked my way around the border, it was necessary to remove more pieces of green.  At this point, I opted to replace that segment of wire with a stronger one.

 

Here all the pieces are foiled and ready to be soldered.  They're kept in place with wide blue tape.  I've set the lamp in a large box of packing peanuts so that I can solder it properly, face up.

Now that the pieces have been soldered, I laid a stronger segment of wire over the newly replaced piece of green glass.  I've taped it down on the edge so that when I soldered it, the wire bonded directly to the edge.  This gives the glass its structure and strength and also maintains its round shape.

Now that all the cracked and broken pieces have been replaced and soldered, I'm applying black patina using a metal acid brush.  After the patina is applied, I clean it off, then wax the entire lamp.

And here it is!  After two bad falls and extensive repairs, its back in action again.  

Mike, I appreciate your bringing the lamp back to me .. Let's hope that little Patrick is bored with the lamp by now .. But if not, you know where to bring it.  Thank you again!

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!

White lamp with Checkered Edge - Repair

Another lovely lamp came in last week for repair.  This one is rather small, about 13" across, but it sustained major damage requiring the replacement of 20 piece of glass.  Here's the process .. (Click on any photo to enlarge .. Click on "X" in upper right to return to blog.)

Here's how the lamp arrived.  It seems to have rolled when it fell because there was damage on all sides.  This caused the normally round lamp to be pushed out of shape.

 I marked the cracked pieces with rectangles of blue painter's tape as shown below.

The shape of the lamp is very evident when viewed from the side.

Below, I'm carefully pulling the sides of the lamp outward and turning the lamp in a circular motion, to try and help it regain its shape. 

After assessing and marking all the cracked pieces with squares of blue tape, I started replacing those which were closed to the cap.  Here I'm using needle-nose pliers to extract the cracked glass, one piece at a time.

Now I'm removing the old solder and copper foil using needle nose pliers.  For the smaller pieces of green or white glass, I melted it off using a hot soldering iron.  Either way is effective.

 After I completely cleaned the old adhesive off the borders of the opening using a de-greasing spray, I traced the opening onto a piece of an old manila folder as shown below.  This is then cut out and used as the pattern for the replacement glass.

 Here are a few of my tools .. a pistol grip cutter, a thin line Sharpie pen and an old flat plastic ruler.  I traced the piece onto the edge of the glass, and knowing that I had several, similar sized pieces to cut, I extended the score across the entire length of the glass.  Using the brass end of the cutter, I tapped repeatedly on the cutting score until the piece separated. 

Below, I've scored the glass with the pistol grip cutter and am using a (blue) pair of running pliers to snap the glass in a straight line.

 Below, I've lined the opening with adhesive copper foil.  To assure a strong bond for a new piece, its necessary to completely clean and re-foil the outer border for the replacement pieces.

 The next step is to grind the edges of the newly cut piece.  This protects the skin from cuts and allows the copper foil to adhere.  Notice that I'm wearing Staples rubber fingers which protect my fingers from the sharp glass.

 Next, I'm pressing the copper foil onto the glass using a "fid" or flexible, flat, plastic wand.  This prevents fluids from getting under the foil.

 Next I brush on liquid flux, then I solder the piece in place.  This piece has been taped in place from the inside of the dome using wide blue painter's tape.  Also, I've placed the lamp in a large box of packing peanuts so that the surface to be soldered will be face up.

 After 7 pale amber (whitish) pieces were replaced in the dome, I moved onto the green pieces at the edge of the lamp.  By this point, the shape of the lamp had recovered nicely.  Below, I'm pulling out a piece of the green edge using needle-nose pliers.  Notice the piece of blue tape on the triangle above the green piece.  This means that that piece is cracked and also needs to be replaced.

 All stained glass lamps are reinforced at the edge with a wire that runs along the outer edge of the glass on the border.  You can see that wire in the photo below.  I always keep that wire intact since it maintains the structure of the lamp.

 Below, I've removed the green piece as well as the white triangle which was also cracked.  I've also cleaned the inner border of the opening and then lined it with copper foil.

 Then, of course, I apply copper foil to the edges of each of the new pieces of glass.  I set them in place as shown below, apply liquid flux with an acid brush, and then solder them in place, both sides.

 Here is a view of that wire that runs the perimeter of the lamp.  It sits in the center on top of the copper foil. When I apply solder to that outer edge, the wire becomes fused with the glass, adding strength and shape to the dome.

 The next to final step is to apply Novacan Black Patina to the solder lines, using an acid brush as shown.  The patina works instantly.  I then let the lamp sit for several minutes before spraying the areas with Kwik Clean Flux Remover.  I then thoroughly dry the lamp with a cotton towel.

For the final step, I apply Clarity Stained Glass Finishing Compound to the inside and the outside of the dome.  This product protects the solder and gives the glass a nice shine.

I replaced a total of 20 pieces of glass in the lamp, 10 green, 7 white (pale amber) rectangles, and 3 smaller triangles. Below are three photos of the completed lamp, now round and free of cracks. 

Thank you Mike, and little Patrick, for bringing your lamp to me for repair.  It was a pleasure meeting you both and I hope you and your family enjoy the lamp for many years to come.

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!