Lavender Lamp Repair

While I continue working on repairing a badly damaged fire screen, I've fit in a few smaller repairs.  Here's a lovely lavender glass lamp which sustained some damage when its owner was practicing her tennis swing indoors.  Luckily, just one piece broke and it was a simple repair.  Since this lamp was a gift from the owner's daughter, she wanted to have it repaired.  Here's the process ... (Click on any photo to enlarge).

The broken piece is shown on the edge of the lamp.

 Close-up of cracked piece. 

 The first step is to use a glass cutter to cross-hatch the piece, then use the back of the cutter to tap on it repeatedly until the broken piece is completely removed.  Below, the dome is laying on its side and I'm working from inside.

 Below I'm using needle nose pliers to pull off the old solder and copper foil.  The outer edge of the replaced piece must be completely clear of old materials.

 Since some of the solder will not easily loosen, below I'm using a soldering iron to melt it out.

 After the inner border is cleaned out, I've placed a piece of manila folder beneath the opening and I've traced it to make a custom pattern piece.

 To check the fit, I've placed the cut pattern piece inside the opening.  Opalescent stained glass usually looks different on each side.  I needed to have the softer, lighter side of the glass facing out, so I labeled the pattern "inside" to be sure that the correct side of the glass would be facing the inside of the dome.

In the bottom left is a large piece of lavender glass from which I'll make the replacement piece.  I keep a rather large inventory of glass on hand at all times and I had the same glass available for this repair.

 Below, I've traced the pattern onto the glass using a fine Sharpie marker.

 After the piece has been cut, I grind the edges. I'm wearing rubber finger protectors from Staples.  After the piece is grinded, I run it under water and dry it off.

 Below, I've placed the newly cut glass into the opening, again just to assure a good fit.  Some glass requires multiple trips back to the grinder to get them just right.

 Below, I'm wrapping the new piece of glass with 3/8" copper foil.  Copper foil comes in several widths.  Most lamps are made with 3/8".

 After the foil is applied to the edge and pressed down on each side, a "fid" or flexible plastic wand, is used to press the foil even more tightly onto the glass.  This prevents any chemicals or other liquids from seeping under the foil and thus weakening the bond.

 Here I've placed the foiled piece of glass back into the opening.  I've also added copper foil to the inner border.

 Below, I've secured the new piece in place using blue painter's tape.  I've also set the entire lamp dome into a large box which is filled with packing peanuts.  Here I'm brushing on liquid flux to prepare the foil for soldering.

 The lamp is placed in the peanuts face up so that the surface being soldered is perpendicular to the floor.  Here I'm applying solder to the edges of the new piece.  Next, I solder the inside of the dome in the same manner. After soldering, each side is cleaned off using Kwik Kleen Solder and Flux Remover.

 Below, I'm applying Novacan Black Patina to the solder.  It instantly turns the solder black.  I let that set for 10-15 minutes, wash it off with Kwik Kleen, let it dry, and then apply Clarity Stained Glass Finishing Compound which adds a nice shine to the glass and also protects the patina.

 And here is the finished piece!

 Another view of the lamp after the repair.

Thank you Dotty for bringing your lamp to me!  And good luck with that tennis swing .. (Just stay away from the lamp next time .. LOL).

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!

Amber Diamond Lamp Repair

This lovely little lamp had been in storage for so long that it's owner couldn't recall how it broke.  But 5 pieces along the lower edge were cracked.  Here's how I went about repairing the lamp.  See more lamp repairs under "Projects" to the right of this post.  (Click on any photo to enlarge).

Below, three of the cracked pieces are shown, each marked with a piece of blue tape.

Because I repair so many lamps, I usually have amber glass on hand in a few different shades.  Each sheet of amber glass contains variations of color from pale creamy white to a medium caramel.  Below, I'm matching up a piece from the lamp to the piece in stock to be sure they have the same luminosity .. and they do. 

 The first step is to score the cracked piece with a glass cutter, then, using the brass end of the cutter, tap repeatedly on the piece until it cracks further and starts to fall out.

 Below, the glass has fallen out and I'm pulling off the old solder and copper foil with needle nose pliers.  Prior to replacing a piece of glass, the borders must be cleaned of old materials.

 Here I'm pulling off more old solder and foil.  I clean the border further by applying the hot soldering iron to areas which are resistant to the pliers.  Then I simply melt off the remaining solder.  Of course, a protective breathing mask must be worn whenever solder is being melted.

 Below, I've traced the cleaned-up opening onto a piece of manila folder.  This becomes the pattern for the new glass.

 Below, the pattern has been traced onto the glass .. The glass has been cut and grinded .. Copper foil has been applied to the edges of the new piece of glass as well as to the inner border of the space.  Once the glass is set in place, I put a piece of blue tape across it on the inside of the dome to hold it in place while I solder it.

 Here, the new piece has been soldered and the flux has been removed using Kwik-Klean Flux and Solder Remover.  After it dries, I apply Novacan Black Patina with a metal brush.  Then the newly patina-ed areas are cleaned again.

 And here it the repaired lamp!  At this point, I've cleaned up the lamp using glass cleaner and I've also applied Clarity Stained Glass Compound which gives it a nice shine and adds a protective coating to the patina.

Thanks Joan, for thinking of me when you decided to repair your lamp .. It was my pleasure!

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!

Floral Iris Lamp - Repair

This beautiful floral iris lamp dome suffered extensive damage during an accidental fall.  Over 20 pieces cracked.  Per the owner's request, I did only the "necessary" repairs which amounted to replacing 15 pieces.  The remaining cracked pieces will not interfere with the strength of the lamp.  Here's how I did the repairs.  (Click on any photo to enlarge for a closer look).

Here's the lamp shade which is 25" across.  The "must replace" cracked pieces are marked with an oblong of blue tape.  The "may replace" pieces are marked with white tape.

 I started first on a yellow piece, so I'll follow through all the steps using the yellow as an example.  First, I am working from the inside of the lamp dome to cross-hatch the cracked piece using a pistol grip glass cutter.

 Next, I tap repeatedly on the scored piece with the brass end of the glass cutter to break it up.  I use needle nose pliers to remove any remaining shards of glass.

 Below I'm melting off the old solder and copper foil from the interior of the space occupied by the cracked yellow piece.  I'm wearing a 3M Tekk "Professional Multi-Purpose Respirator" to protect myself from harmful fumes.  The mask is specifically made to filter out lead fumes.

 Much of the old solder and foil was removable using just needle-nose pliers.  Below, I'm in the process of pulling more off.  Its important to clear off the entire inner edge before replacing any pieces.

 Below, the edges are now clean.  I've laid a piece of manila folder below the opening and traced it to make the pattern, which I cut out with regular scissors.

 Below, I've traced the pattern onto the glass using a fine Sharpie marker and I'm cutting the piece using the pistol grip cutter.

 Cutting curves is a bit of a challenge.  They  need to be done in thin segments, as shown below.  I cut the curves in rows and remove each row with grozier pliers.

 Running pliers (blue) are used to snap a straight cut as shown here.

 Once the piece is cut close to the outline, I grind it.  The purple sponge is drawing water up from the reservoir below the cutting surface, to make sure that the spinning grinder is always wet.  I'm wearing rubber finger protectors from Staples Office Supply.

 Next comes the copper foil.  I've chosen to use 7/32" foil for this lamp.  It is self-adhesive and is laid onto the center of the sides of the replacement glass.

 Below I'm using a flexible plastic wand or "fid" to press the foil onto the glass on all sides.

 Here the new piece is placed into the opening.  Note that I've lined the opening with copper foil as well.

 To secure the new piece in the dome while I solder it, I've taped it in place on the outside.

 Below I'm brushing liquid flux onto the copper foil.

 Here, I'm applying solder to the copper foil.  The solder will receive an application of black patina later in the process.  First I'm going to score, cut out and replace all the "must replace" cracked pieces, working from the inside of the lamp dome.

As the work progresses, note that the yellow and turquoise pieces have been cut from patterns and placed into the dome. As the repairs progressed, I ended up replacing a few more pieces than I originally intended, but I'd rather do additional work than leave a lamp in less-than-top-notch repair.

 

Below, those two pieces and the interior of the spaces have been copper foiled.

 Now they've both been soldered.  Note that I've placed a piece of blue tape on the left side of the right piece of glass.  Since the neighboring piece of glass is also cracked, I won't solder this side until that piece is in place.

 Below, its a bit difficult to see, but the edge of the lamp is reinforced with wire.  Here I'm melting off the old solder and copper foil from the wire.  To maintain the stability and strength of the lamp, I'm leaving the original wire in place.

 Note the original wire, cleaned up.  I'm repeating the process of laying down a piece of manila folder to trace a pattern for the edge.

 And here's the edge piece in place.  Again, since the neighboring piece (marked with blue tape) will also be replaced, I won't solder that edge until it is also replaced.

 Below is a summary of the pieces replaced so far.  Click to enlarge for a closer look.  The pieces must be replaced in a logical order so as not to compromise the strength of the piece as its being repaired.

 Another piece is copper foiled and is ready for soldering.  I've used some glass from my inventory for this repair and I also purchased a few new pieces of glass for closer matches to the existing colors.

 At this point, all the pieces destined for replacement are completed from the inside of the dome.  Its time to solder the outside, which must be done horizontally to the floor so that the solder will flow properly.  Here I've placed the dome in a large box full of packing peanuts.  They serve to cushion the dome and enable the top surface to be moved to the proper orientation.

 Below I'm applying liquid flux to the outside of the pieces.  Soldering is not shown here, but that is the next step.

 After the dome has been soldered, I clean off any residue by spraying on "Kwik-Clean Flux and Patina Remover" followed by drying with a clean cloth.

 Here I'm applying Novacan Black Patina to the solder lines.  It instantly turns the solder black.  After letting it sit a few minutes, I spray on more Kwik-Clean.  Then I dry it off, apply stained glass finishing compound (wax) and buff it to a shine.

And here it is, repaired. The shade is very large and obviously uses a much taller fixture, but this will give an idea of the lamp after the repairs. 

 Thank you Gail, for the pleasure of repairing your beautiful lamp!

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!