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Glass
Artists Newsletter - February 2008 |
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You
can read our current newsletter here
on-line each month, free of charge. We
hope you will take the opportunity to let
your stained glass artist friends know
about the newsletter and if you have
students, encourage them to read it.
If
you'd like a reminder when a new issue is
published simply send us your e-mail
address.
In
the meantime, we welcome your input and
support. Let us know if you have tips and
techniques or product information you'd
like to share. |
When
talking with people, Jeanne and I are
often accused of having a lot of fun. They
will say, "It must be so fun doing
what you do for a living!"
And
they're right! It is a lot of fun, and a
lot of work.
The old
saying goes something like, "If you
love what you do for work, you'll never
work a day in your life."
It really
is true.
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January
has been cold. We took a day off and
walked on Utah Lake with Christopher and
his kids.
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Jeanne
worried about the thickness of the ice,
but felt the existing bridge would be
safe. |
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| Last
month we introduced our Painted Leaf
project, this month we're showing the
coining technique we developed for one of
our favorite designers.
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How
To Add Coining To A Panel For A Very
"French" Look
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When we work with Candace, a designer of note in
Salt Lake City, she loves to have us build windows with
"French" diamonds. In January 2007, the newsletter was
about cutting the glass in that diamond pattern efficiently. This month
we show how to achieve the coining look that really makes this glass
style pop.
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Before we show how to do it right, we have to show
our first attempt. In this window, we cut the glass leaving spaces,
which we filled with solder, to simulate the coined look. The results
just weren't good enough. Some spots were the size of dimes, others the
size of quarters. It looked okay, but it just wasn't good enough. We had
to abandon 2 weeks work and start over.
*Note how bad the corrosion is on this panel. It was never cleaned after
soldering.
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To get really good
"coining" we reasoned that we were going to have to actually
apply real coins. So we started with pennies, after all they would only
cost a penny each!
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As you start by tinning the pennies (applying a
thin coat of solder to them), you'll find that you need to use a strong
flux. We used the strongest we have in the studio. There's a lot of corrosion
on old pennies. |
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When soldering, first solder one side by heating
the penny and allowing a little solder to melt unto the surface. You'll
want to try to coat the surface of the coin evenly. (Gravity will assist
you in doing this, but the corrosion on the penny will make it a
challenge to get the solder to stick. |
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You'll want to use a pair of pliers to turn the
coin over to solder the backside. The melted solder will start to ooze
out from the bottom of the coin and this will help cover the edges of
the coin with solder. |
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Once you have enough coins for both sides of the
window, you'll want to wash off the gunk created when tinning them. It
would be difficult to clean the back of the coin when it's applied to
the glass. |
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Coins will be applied to all intersections of the
diamonds where there's room for them. So start by tacking the entire
window together. You'll notice that instead of tacking the glass at the
intersections, like normal, we choose to tack the glass away from the
joints. This allows an easier install of the coin. We've tried it both
ways, this way is faster and easier. |
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Now, you can lay the coin down and center it over
the intersecting lines. |
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Hold the iron directly on top of the coin and allow
the solder to melt under the coin. You'll see it melt on top and then
you'll see a little bit of solder run out onto the copper below the
coin. The only trick here is to apply even pressure so the coin doesn't
start to slide around. |
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Next, create a bead of solder up each of the lead
lines that go under the coin.
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Bring the solder right up onto the coin.
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Then heat the whole top of the coin so that
everything is smooth. You may have to rejoin the lead lines to the coin if
too much solder runs under the coin and creates an "undercut"
next to the coin.
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Continue on, soldering a coin at each joint. When you
turn the panel over, simply line up each coin so that it's directly over
the coin on the bottom of the panel.
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Here are the insulated panels,
ready to be installed. You know the job's a success because they look
like ancient, old world windows that have been rebuilt.
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