Repair to Lamp Cap

I'm happy to back in the studio after having my left knee replaced about six weeks ago.  Its a long recovery process but I'm glad to be back working with my beloved stained glass again!

Here is a beautiful lamp which I repaired last night.  See below the process from start to finish .. (Click on any photo to enlarge).

This photo shows where the lamp disconnected from the cap.  Since the cap holds the weight of the entire glass dome, this is a very common place for a stained glass lamp to fail.

When the cap separated from the dome, so did the solder and foil from a few pieces of glass, two of which can be seen here.  (The left side of the greenish piece on the bottom left .. and the left side of the brightly lit piece in center right).

The view from inside the dome shows several light leaks caused by the foil separating.

 

 To begin the repairs, its necessary for me to remove three pieces of glass which have the most separation.  Here I'm pressing onto the solder to melt it out.

In order to ensure that the copper foil adheres well, its a good idea to file down the glass.  This lamp, and most others, were made with sharp glass, not ground.  Here I'm using a hand file to sand down the glass.

The view from inside the dome .. A section of foil and solder which I'm tugging off of the glass in preparation for replacement.

Now the piece has been removed.  I've also cleaned off the old solder and foil and leftover old adhesive.  Then I've applied self-adhesive copper foil (the roll shown).  Here I'm using a "fid" or flexible plastic wand to burnish the foil evenly on each side of the glass.

Then I cleaned off all the old adhesive from the area and encircled it with fresh copper foil as shown.

I did the same process to three pieces which had disconnected from the solder.  When all three pieces were removed from the dome, I repaired the cap which had bent.  Once the cap was repaired, I carefully pressed on the dome to tuck all of the edges into the channel between the top and bottom of the cap.  Using blue painter's tape, I taped each of the three pieces into place, to ensure that they will be flush with the rest of the dome.  I also taped the cap in place.  (Two of the three replaced pieces are shown here).

I've applied liquid "flux" to the copper foil.  This chemical is a catalyst which allows the solder to flow freely.  Here I'm soldering the foil to fill in the gap between the pieces.

The view inside the dome.  Now, I've added a strip of copper foil to the interior of the cap, to secure it together.  Then I cut a 1-1/2" piece of flat, braided, reinforcement wire and extended it from the solder line so that it overlaps and is bonded to the cap in three places, as shown.  This serves to give the cap more strength and longevity.  There were two minor separations of the glass from the solder, so I covered them with copper foil which I then soldered. These pieces did not require replacement.  After the inside and outside of the dome were fully fluxed and soldered, I spray cleaned off the remaining chemicals with Kwik-Clean Flux and Patina Cleaner.

Here I'm brushing on black patina.  This chemical reacts instantly with the solder, turning it a rich black.  After it sets for a few minutes, I washed it off with Kwik-Clean.  Then I let it dry overnight and waxed the lamp, to protect the patina and give the glass a nice shine.

And here is a view of the completed, repaired lamp.

And, another view.  Thank you, Leroy, for entrusting your gorgeous lamp to me for repair.  May you enjoy its light for many years to come!

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

If you're on FaceBook, please "like" my Boehm Stained Glass Studio page to keep up with all the latest projects.  Thank you!

Dog Portrait in Stained Glass .. Two Standard Poodles and an "Oodle"

Creating pet portraits from photographs ..  It's my latest passion in stained glass. See below the design and creation of a portrait of two Standard Poodles, Fabian and Dante, and an adorable little Poodle mix, an "Oodle" named Spencer.  These beautiful dogs are owned by dear friends, Georgeann and Bob.

And here they are!  Dante and Fabian are sibling purebreds and little Spencer is a rescue of indeterminate origin.  I shot this photograph for the family Christmas card, and modified it for the panel.

Here is my original computer rendition.  It's 15" square.

Tracing the markings from the original "cartoon" pattern onto the working pattern below.

The pattern "sandwich".  A layer of file folders covered with a layer of carbon paper with the "cartoon" on top.  They are push-pinned onto my work surface to prevent shifting as I trace.  Behind the pattern is the glass I've selected for the project.

Here are the specialized stained glass pattern shears.  They cut a thin channel between each piece to allow room for the adhesive copper foil which will follow later.

After I cut out the pieces, I group them by glass color, and set them aside in recycled junk-mail envelopes.

The patterns are then traced onto the glass.

This design has a lot of intricate pieces which I elected to cut on my electric ring saw, as shown.  Its a wet saw, meaning that water flows onto the glass to prevent the saw from overheating.

For straight cuts such as these, I score the cut with a pistol grip glass cutter, then I snap it with these blue "running pliers."

Here I'm chunking out a small arc using "groziers".

Each piece of glass has to have the edges grinded.  The ring saw will do this in one step.  Here I'm doing a touch-up with my grinder.  I'm wearing leather fingered gloves to guard against cuts.

The glass jigsaw puzzle is coming along .. I generally cut all of one color glass at a time.

Applying lip balm to the markings.  This prevents the ring saw from washing them off as I cut.

I try to make good use of every bit of glass.  Here I fit together five patterns onto a small space.

Now the dogs are cut and I'm about to cut the background.  Notice that the border is trapped in a "jig" or "fence".  This is on to assure that the glass doesn't shift while I work.  Also note the photo in the upper right which I use as my guide.

Etching my name and the date onto the glass.  For pet portraits, I also engrave the pets' names onto the window.

All the glass is now cut, including the background.  Now I'm applying 7/32" adhesive copper foil.  There are three types of foil, regular copper, black back and silver back.  This refers to the inside color of the foil, which can be visible from the outside of the glass, depending on its opacity.
For this panel, I decided to use black foil on the wispy and clear glass background.  I used copper back foil for the amber poodles, and silver back foil for the little white guy. 

Here are the pups' eyes which I will paint later to add realism.  Each one is wrapped in black back copper foil.

A little tip for fast-burnishing small pieces is to pop them into a small container, such as this 35mm film container.  Then just shake them for several seconds.  They will bump up against each other and voila! Burnished dogs' eyes.

The more conventional means of burnishing the copper foil is to use a "fid" or flat plastic wand, as shown.  The copper foil is pressed evenly onto the sides and edges of each piece of glass.

As the foiling process continues, there are invariably some pieces which must be trimmed slightly for a good fit.  Here's a piece of the background which I've marked with a series of small dots where I will grind down for a better fit.

Now all of the glass has been properly fitted and foiled.

Here I'm applying liquid flux to the copper foil, which is a catalyst to help the solder flow evenly.

This process is called "tack soldering".  I'm adding small dots of solder at the intersections of the glass pieces and randomly on longer lines.  This serves to lock the pieces together.

Now that the pieces are bonded, I removed the "jig" and slid out the paper "cartoon" to protect it from the chemicals which follow.

Here the front of the panel is completely soldered.

At this point, I hand the panel over to my husband Eric who custom-cuts a zinc metal frame.  Here he turned the piece over and push-pinned the frame in place.  Then I soldered the back (shown here), being sure to solder all the corners and also all the lead lines to the frame, for stability and strength.
At this point, I took a step back and painted the eyes with black permanent paint to represent the irises.  Then I added a dot of permanent white to bring out that spark of life which makes the glass portrait realistic.

After the frame is in place and both sides are soldered, I clean the entire panel.  Then I apply Novacan Black Patina with a metal acid brush, as shown.

I let the patina set for a few minutes, then I wash the excess off.  After it air dries, I apply Liva Stained Glass Finishing Compound to both sides and the frame.  This is a light wax which buffs to a nice shine and protects the patina.

And here's the finished window!

Here's the trio of images .. The original photograph, my computer rendition, and the finished panel.

Here are the boys, gracing the dining room window.  It was a real pleasure creating this for you, George and Bob.  Your reaction at seeing it was priceless!

Please contact me if you'd like to see your dog, cat or other pet rendered in stained glass.  Remember, we also work long distance.  These panels can be safely packed and shipped to your door.

Click here to see my stained glass portrait of two small poodles ..

I have two more pet dog portraits in the works .. One is in the design stage and another will follow after that.  But first, I'll be getting my knees replaced.  Back soon!

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

If you're on FaceBook, please "like" my Boehm Stained Glass Studio page to keep up with all the latest projects.  Thank you!

Stained Glass Lamp Cap Replacement

This gorgeous Tiffany style rose lamp was pounced on by a curious cat.  The cap bent when it fell.  The lamp also had a non-functioning "on-off" switch. Our challenge was to repair the lamp cap and switch.  With my husband Eric's help, here's how we repaired it.

Here's the dome of the lamp, with the badly bent cap. The damage to the cap was too extensive to hammer out, so I opted to replace it. 

My husband Eric used a Dremel tool to cut and detach the bent cap from the top of the dome. Then I used a hand file to smooth out the edges of the glass, as shown.

In order to use the new brass lap cap, it needed to be "tinned" and then "patina-ed".  Here's the process. The first step is to apply "flux".  This is the substance used as a catalyst for the solder to flow freely onto the metal, or copper foil. In the majority of cases, liquid flux is used for copper foiled stained glass. But this brass cap is considered a "heat sink". This means that it will quickly absorb all of the heat from a soldering iron.  This makes it very difficult to "tin" or coat it with a thin layer of solder.  Therefore, as shown, I'm using "paste flux".  I applied it evenly over the entire top of the cap.

In order to "tin " the brass cap, two soldering irons are recommended. Here I've positioned my 100W soldering iron so that I can insert the cap over the heated tip.  In this way, the paste flux will melt as the heat radiates out from the center to the outer edge. As soon as the paste flux melts, I use a small, lower power second soldering iron to lightly "brush" on a thin coating of solder.  This is called "tinning".

Here, the cap is tinned.  I'm now applying Novacan Black Patina to the cap using a metal acid brush.  The patina reacts instantly with the solder, turning it a dull black. After it sets, I spray-clean it with Kwik-Clean Flux and Patina Cleaner.  Then I wrap a strip of 1/4" wide copper foil around the outer edge and down the sides of the cap.

Next, I go back to the dome and line the opening with 1/4" copper foil as shown.

Here's the view from inside the dome. I've applied liquid flux and a liberal amount of solder to the interior and exterior of the cap, for a very solid bond. For additional security, I added three tabs of braided reinforcement wire which overlap the inside edge of the cap and are bonded to the underside of the dome.

Here the cap is firmly soldered onto the dome with several melting points between the cap and the body of the dome.

Here I'm applying more black patina, this time to all the solder.  After the patina set, I cleaned off the remainder with Kwik-Clean spray.  Then I polished the entire lamp, top and bottom, with Liva Stained Glass Finishing Compound.  It protects the patina and gives the glass a nice shine.  The lamp will only need occasional dusting for maintenance. 

Eric replaced the existing switch with a 3-way model.  The positions are: base on, dome on, whole lamp on (or off).  So now the lamp has been restored to its original beauty and functionality!

Another view of this beautiful rose lamp.  Thank you so much, Janine, for entrusting this lamp to our care.  May you enjoy it for a long, long time.  Happy New Year!

Here is a lovely note from Janine, posted to my BSGS FaceBook page .. Thank you Janine!
"This is my stained glass lamp that I had on a table in front of my window, when my curious cat caught sight of a squirrel and knocked the lamp off the table and bent the cap. I was heartbroken. I found Kathy Boehm of www.BoehmStainedGlass.com in Ridgewood and explained what happened and left her my lamp. Within a week, she called and said the lamp is ready. Take a look at her work. I would highly recommend her for any stained glass needs. A true professional."

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

If you're on FaceBook, please "like" my Boehm Stained Glass Studio page to keep up with all the latest projects.  Thank you!