Converting To A Lead Free Studio

We're Converting To A Lead Free Studio

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Glass Artists Newsletter - May 2012
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Do a search on Facebook for "Gomm Stained Glass" to join our group.

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We love the creativity of designing and building great glass. We've got several homes that we're imagining glass for right now. Design is Jeanne's favorite part!

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We also belong to the Utah Valley Arts Association and we think all artists in Utah Valley ought to be taking advantage of their influence and training.     www.artsUV.org

We installed some great sidelights in May and an exhibitor borrowed stained glass from us for a display in Las Vegas. We hope to be able to offer this backlighting system soon.

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Last month we showed how to drill using a grinder. I'm hoping that the technique will be very valuable to other artists. Now we're in transition, getting the lead out of our studio.
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Converting To A Lead Free Studio

Click Here For The YouTube Video

Recently Jeanne attended a health fair and they offered a blood-lead test for a small fee. She took it out of curiosity and found that she had 0.06 (6 micrograms) of lead per deciliter of blood. The old standard was 0.10 or higher in children and 0.40 in adults was considered dangerous. Recently the CDC has lowered the standard for children to be 0.05
No amount of lead is safe and 0 is normal. So we decided to get rid of it.

When soldering using lead free, the iron must be hotter, we use the same flux and the solder doesn't flow as readily.

Here I'm using 50/50 solder and it flows easier.

With the lead free, I have to drag the solder along and baby sit it every step of the way.

The tip seems to get dirty faster than with leaded solder and so you have to work to keep it clean.
Electronic manufacturers report that tips don't last as long in their industry now that they've converted to lead free soldering.

I use a water soaked sponge to keep the tip clean. I also use a sal ammoniac block to keep the tip "tinned" well.

I can tell that this method takes a little more work, but it will probably become easier as I get used to the new techniques.
The flow is different, it's almost like you forgot to flux.

With the lead free I have to put the solder right on the tip. It doesn't flow off easily.

The lead free costs about 50% more than solder with lead, but it is very shiney when applied. Folks who make sun catchers and jewelry will love the results.

We have found that working with lead free solder is almost impossible on 3D projects, so we've elected to continue with leaded stuff in those applications. And It just isn't worth it to use lead free when doing a large project where the window will be encased, so there are a few instances that we continue to use 50/50 solder.

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Email: david@gommstudios.com

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