People often ask if Janet's house is made entirely of glass--here are the photos to prove it only nearly is!

How to Effectively Solder

Stained Glass

By James Veilleux

Note: Soldering Stained Glass can be a fun but sometimes frustrating process. There is a definite learning curve involved but, with time and practice, the end result will be worth the effort. In order to even begin the soldering process, you need to have the right tools to successfully create a stained glass piece.

Below are the 7 essential items necessary to Effectively Solder Stained Glass

1. Soldering Iron

The soldering Iron is the most important tool that you will need to solder stained glass. The soldering iron is used to melt the solder that will fuse the foiled stained glass pieces together. It is important to use a high-quality soldering iron, preferably with a means of controlling the temperature, to make the soldering process successful and increase the soldering iron's longevity. The soldering iron should be hot enough to allow the solder to flow over the seam of the foiled glass pieces. Too much heat will allow the solder to pass through the seam and possibly crack the glass. Soldering Irons & Accessories (stainedglassexpress.com)

2. Solder

Solder is a metal alloy that is used to join metal parts together. Solder comes in different variations, but for stained glass, the best choice is a solid-core wire solder. However, you will need to choose the solder that works best for your project or piece. Solder is usually made of Tin and one or two other metals such as Lead, Copper, or Silver. Solder comes in both Lead and Lead-Free variations. Stained glass uses solid solder with an external flux. 60/40 Solder is typically used for stained glass projects. The first number is the percentage of Tin (SN) while the second number represents the percentage of Lead (PB). 50/50 Solder is sometimes used for certain applications and requires more heat to work due to the increased lead content. Solder (stainedglassexpress.com)

3. Flux

Flux is the chemical solution that is used to clean and join the metals. It helps the solder flow with the Copper Foil or Came. It is placed on the joint before the soldering begins to create a strong bond and hold. Flux comes in either a liquid, gel, or paste form. You will need to find a flux that works with your solder. Flux comes in different forms including Organic Acid, Water-Soluble, Inorganic and other forms. Never use directly from the original container in order to preserve the strength of the flux. Soldering Flux (stainedglassexpress.com)

4. Sponge or Brass Wool

A Damp Sponge or Brass Wool specifically made for soldering is important to have on-hand to help while you solder to help preserve your soldering iron tips. When you solder a stained glass piece, you need to apply solder throughout the process or project. However, before adding any solder to your soldering iron, you need to clean the tip by lightly dragging it across a slightly damp sponge or inserting it into dry brass wool to remove the oxides and re-tin the tip. This needs to be repeated throughout the soldering process when you notice that the tip has oxidized (blackened).

5. Flux Applicator or Brush

A Flux Brush or Applicator (Q-Tip)is used to apply the Flux onto the metal areas to be joined. The Flux Brush can last a long time if rinsed at the end of each soldering session. If not rinsed, the flux will stay active and corrode the bristles and metal handle of the brush. Flux Brush 12 Pack (stainedglassexpress.com)

6. Heat Resistant Surface

You will need a Flat, Burn-Resistant surface to work on your soldering project. This surface should allow pins to be used for the purpose of securing your stained glass project from movement. A ceiling tile is a good choice for this surface. Always use the unpainted side to work on.

7. Gloves and Mask

If you are using Leaded Solder, it is important to wear chemical resistant gloves at a minimum. A Mask and Safety Glasses are recommended for protection from all flux fumes and solder splatter. We also highly recommend keeping Heavy Metal removing soap on hand at all times.

Credit for Info:

Amerway

Canfield

Novacan

Stellar Technical Products

Researched, Interpreted and Arranged By: James A Veilleux 03/08/2023

Temperature controllers are generally separate units that the iron plugs into. They are small, easy to use and relatively inexpensive.

It operates similar to a light dimmer switch. By dialing the control to a higher or lower setting, more or less electricity is fed to the iron. This increases or decreases the iron temperature, allowing the tip temperature to be controlled.

https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Glass-Tools/Soldering-Irons-and-Accessories/soldering-iron-temperature-controller.html

Ceramic Heating Element Irons

A temperature control/iron combination offers you greater control and flexibility than a temperature controlled tip iron when working with different metals and solder mixes. Look for one that is at least 80 watts. Since the flow of electricity to the tip is consistent and never completely stops, encounters with cold spots are nearly eliminated.

Hakko Soldering Iron FX 601 (stainedglassexpress.com)

These irons are relatively new to the stained glass trade. They are made with highly efficient ceramic heating elements. Like a ceramic room heater, they produce a consistent temperature using less electrical wattage during operation. When initially heating and when reheating during "recovery" periods, they can draw a "burst" of power exceeding100 watts and then efficiently reduce electrical consumption, often below 60 watts, during the soldering process. The result is efficiency and economy.

A remarkable feature of ceramic heater irons is they generally reach operating temperature in less than 60 seconds. Of the three types of irons, the ceramic heater type best maintains consistent tip temperature.

Irons with Temperature Controlled Tips

These irons are supplied with an internal regulator in the tip that does not allow the iron to exceed a predetermined temperature. An example would be a 600°F tip. The iron heats to that temperature then "shuts off." When heat is required, the iron "turns on" again. Tips are available in predetermined temperatures up to 800°F. These irons are easy for beginners to use because the temperature is automatically maintained for you, however, as your skills increase, you may prefer to control the amount of heat yourself for different soldering situations. The limited amount of control may become frustrating as your soldering skills increase. With this type of iron you will likely encounter "cold spots" where the iron will not melt your solder. These cold spots occur when heat is being drawn out of the tip faster than it is being replenished. You will need an iron with a minimum of 100 watts.

The Weller 100 is one of these irons.

Stainless Steel Heater Technology

These are nice stable irons. Best to use them with a separate controller. The biggest advantage is if you drop this iron it does not have a ceramic element that is very easily going to break. These are little workhorses.

Weller SPG80 Soldering Iron (stainedglassexpress.com)

100 Watt Pro Soldering Iron (stainedglassexpress.com)

(I would like to give credit for this, but I no longer know where I got it)

Solder Law: Hot solder looks exactly like cold solder.

Solder Law II: One lead joint will always be unsoldered.

Breakage Law: The number of bad breaks you get is directly proportional to the price of the glass.

Breakage Law II: The number of bad breaks is an opposite proportion to the amount of glass on hand.

Breakage Law III: The number of bad breaks is proportional to the distance from your supplier.

Law of Studio Geometry: Any horizontal surface is soon piled up.

Law of Focus: At the most difficult point in construction of any project, the phone will ring.

Law of Focus II: The moment your hands touch lead, flux or patina, extreme hunger pangs will commence.

Law of Commerce: Everyone knows someone who does glass....cheaper.

Replacement Law: The moment you replace a lost tool with a new one, you will find the original.

Installation Law: The time required to install is proportional to the number of people watching.

Installation Law II: The tool you desperately need is back at the studio.

Common Sense Law: There is no such thing as a clean stained-glass window.

Common Sense Law II: The number of people you did not know were listening is proportional to the severity of the swear word used.

Common Sense Law III: Everything takes longer than you think.

Common Sense Law IV: Deadlines are always closer than you thought.

60/40 60/40 solder is 60% tin and 40% lead. It stays in liquid stage longer, giving you more time to set a smooth bead. It melts at 372 to 374 degrees F. It solidifies at 361 degrees F. This is the most popular solder. Easy to use, consistent, smooth. 60/40 takes all patina great. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/60-40-solder-1-lb.html 50/50 50/50 solder is 50% tin and 50% lead. It is more economical than 60/40. It has a higher melting point of 413 to 420 degrees F. It solidifies at 361 degrees F. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/solder-50-50-1-lb.html 60/37 Fast setting or also called eutectic, which means it melts and solidifies at the same temperature. That means it stays where you put it. Great for decorative soldering. The melting temp is 361 degrees F. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/63-37-solder-1-lb.html Lead Free - Do not be fooled. Lead certainly is the most toxic of the metals in solder. However, right behind lead is silver and antimony. Lead free melts at a higher temperature than lead solders which makes it more difficult to work with. Depending on the brand or type, the melting range is from 440 degrees to 482 degrees F. It is the least toxic of all the solders and should be used when making anything that will be in contact with the skin or handled often like jewelry, jewelry box or kaleidoscopes. Black patina works fine on lead free solder but copper patina does not. Some brands of lead free solder will have a satin finish, not the bright and shiny finish that most want. Amerway's Ruby and Emerald lead free solder do have the silver look. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/lead-free-solder-1-lb.html

On May 7, 2020 Youghiogheny and Oceanside announced a partnership where Oceanside will continue with the Spectrum line and accessory glass and Youghiogheny will take on the manufacturing of the Uroboros line. It is exciting to have the Uroboros line again. With Youghiogheny manufacturing the Uroboros line, we not only will get the glass we will see more options in the accessory glass line. I am taking a leap here, but I believe that this collaboration will bring back the "96" term which Oceanside has not been using. Both companies are saying the System 96 brand will be back. That is exciting news. No question that Y-96, Oceanside and Uro fusible will be compatible.

Here is the official announcemnt.

Our industry is long overdue for an announcement of excitement and positivity, so we are pleased to be the bearer of good news. Youghiogheny Glass, together with Oceanside Glasstile, is announcing the acquisition and launch of Uro by Yough, a resurrection of the Uroboros line of both traditional art glass and 96 compatible fusible glass. The machines and all of the equipment have arrived at our Connellsville factory, and we are just about ready to start production. We would like to thank Oceanside Glasstile for approaching us with this opportunity. Their transparency and cooperation throughout the entire process has resulted in a second thrilling announcement; a collaborative resurrection of the System 96 brand of fusible glass and products including Oceanside Compatible, Uro by Yough, and Y96!! So what this means is that Youghiogheny Glass will produce URO by Yough and will collaborate with OGT to resurrect the System 96 brand. The new agreement will allow for the most comprehensive product selection of hand rolled art glass And a complete line of System 96 compatible fusing glasses and accessories. The last 5 years have been tumultuous. Our passion for glass and the industry drove us to fill product voids created from the upheaval and expand Youghiogheny's palette. We viewed this time as an opportunity for growth and expansion into the 96 fusible market with our Y96 product line, even though the future seemed uncertain. In less than a year from the release of Y96, we unveiled the True Dichro line of Art Glass. This had been a 10 year experiment and an outstanding breakthrough in art glass manufacturing science. This was quickly followed by a line of Textured Streaky Art Glass and then Art Glass Irids. Finally, we expanded color options in Y96, more than doubling the original offerings. At the end of 2019, we thought we had done it all. However, opportunity arose once again when we were approached by Oceanside GlassTile regarding Uroboros production and System 96. Youghiogheny has a long history of producing high quality, handmade sheet glass and is the ideal landing spot for the products previously produced by Uroboros. Our niche and strengths are the perfect complement to OGT’s continuous ribbon and accessory products in order to expand the System 96 palette. The name Uroboros Glass carries a heavy weight with us. The brand and legacy created by Eric Lovell is of the highest quality and held in the highest regard. We consider it an honor and great challenge to properly reintroduce Uro, by Yough. An undertaking of this magnitude for our company will be a challenge, one of excitement and optimism. This is an area where we ask for your help. Any insight that you can provide us with from your previous years of experience with the Uro line of glasses will be helpful. The expansive line of art glass, with the many combinations of colors and textures, has many products that are very similar or identical to items currently produced within our existing product lines. Uro by Yough is striving to recreate the most sought after products previously manufactured without creating duplicates of what is currently available. With your valuable input we will be able to determine a production starting point more quickly. We thank you for your continued support and loyalty and look forward to providing you with even more excellent products. Stay Well, Tristan and Leanne Triggs

Other than basic opalescent and cathedral glass, there are further breakdowns of glass types under these two main headings. Opalescent is mixed with white and cathedral is see-through. Every manufacturer has its own variation of how it has handled these variations, so we end up with an industry filled with amazing options.

OPALESCENT

Opalescent glass was first developed and patented by John La Farge in 1879, but it was Tiffany who created the masterworks in glass using this type of glass. The Tiffany studio would often create a piece of glass just for the particular piece they were currently working on. So within this category, there are the following variants: Mixes. You can have a mix of one color and white. You can have a two- or three-color mix, or even a mix with more colors. The more colors that are mixed, however, the more difficult it is to not end up with a muddy glass. Mixing many colors with success is certainly a skill. Iridized. Many manufacturers were adding an iridized coating to their glass. This is very thin metallic coating that gives the glass a mother-of-pearl effect (or for those who don’t care for it, an oil-slick effect). Textured. There are many textures that can also be added to glass, such as flemish, granite, hammered, ripple, starburst, vertigo, corella classic and moss. Again, different manufacturers produce slightly different looks and may call them something different. Solid Opals. Glass that is a solid color.

CATHEDRAL

This glass has been around a long time. References as early as 675 A.D. talk about colored glass in buildings. Textured: There are many different textures of glass available. Some examples would be waterglass, reeded, English muffle, artique and Celtic. Streakys. This style of glass is still a bit see-through. Some color is mixed with clear.

How close should your glass pieces be? They should be close enough so that you are comfortable with how heavy a solder line you will end up with. To help prevent uneven spaces, here are some hints:

• Use push pins or jigs to hold your glass in place while building and checking the fit. That way, you won’t get one piece fitting perfectly as you are pushing another one out.
• Make sure you have not flipped any glass over. Label your pieces to avoid this.

Before you say “good enough,” think about any holes or uneven spaces you are filling with solder. When your piece is held up to the light, those places will not let light through. They will become part of the design. Another problem is overheating the glass due to reworking it with a hot soldering iron. You don’t want to crack your glass with thermal shock because you are adding so much solder to fill the gap. Often when you are doing this, one side looks good and then you turn the piece over and there is a gob of solder. So you fuss with that, going back and forth, heating and heating, and then you hear the dreaded tink—the sound of glass cracking and your heart breaking! The best fix—sorry to say—is to recut. Be patient with yourself. This is a skill—so practice and don’t give up. Photo courtesy of Inland.

We often see people just standing in front of our foil display looking overwhelmed! Here is a picture of our display just so you can see how overwhelming it is! As you can see, we have three different brands in our store. We just recently switched from Venture Tape to Edco. Venture has been sold twice in the last couple of years and seems to struggle with the consistent great product quality we have always had. We are hoping we will have better luck with Edco. We still have some Venture because Edco did not have a few we wanted. We also stock one Studio Pro in 7/32 black back because it is a good value and we have had good feedback. They do not have a wide variety so that is the only one we have from them. To explain the variety: First is width. We were thrilled that Edco comes as wide as ½”. That is great for people who are putting two pieces of glass together. Other sizes: 5/32, 7/32, 5/16, 3/16, ¼. If you want a very thin solder line you use thinner foil. If you need strength or you like a heavier line, use wider foil. Next is thickness. It is measured in millimeters. It is how thick the foil is. It might be as thin as 1 mil go to 1.25 of 1.5. Venture shows this on the label and by the color of the core the foil is wrapped on. Next is the backing. There is copper, black and silver. This is important depending on the transparency of the glass and if you are using patina. Let’s say you are making a piece in all clear glass and you plan to not patina it. You should use silver backed foil so the solder line is silver looking on the exterior and because you can see into the glass, it will look silver on the inside. If you use copper, it just jumps out and ruins the piece. If you were using clear and going to patina it black, use black backed. If you are going to patina it copper, use can use the regular copper foil that is copper on the outside and the sticky side. There is also a foil that is called silvered. It is silver on the outside and the inside. Often used when doing suncatchers and eliminates the need to solder the outer edge. Then there is new wave which has a scalloped edge. Decorative. Also sheets of copper so that you can cut for overlays or have it wide. It also has a sticky side. Use this link to see our full line of foils. https://www.stainedglassexpress.com/metals/copper_-_silver_foil/

Corella Classic is made by Wissmach Glass. Wissmach glass is the second oldest glass manufacturer that is still in operation. Corella Classic is one of their many lines of cathedral glass. As always, glass is not the easiest to photograph so these don’t particularly show the special characteristics of Corella Classic. Wissmach’s description is “In contrast to the more traditional and defined patterns, with Corella Classic the color flows across the non-directional pattern for that special illumination—A shimmering reflection of light from watery surface of glass. On our website, Corella Classic is mixed in with the other cathedrals of Wissmach. http://www.stainedglassexpress.com/Stained-Art-Glass/Wissmach-Glass-Art-Glass/Wissmach-Glass-Cathedral In the store they are in their own section of the stock glass.

Just look at their thumbs! They are lined with little cuts! Right! So annoying! Comes from pushing little pieces of glass against the grinding wheel. Unlike when we started out in business in 1988, now there is a gadget to solve your every problem. There are lots to solve the cut thumb problem. Above: Thumb Pushers by Inland. Sku 2753tp. Low price and simple and easy to use. Above: Grinder tongs by Morton. Morton is the gadget king of the glass industry. Of course, they would have something. Sku 2779ga04 Above: The most substantial solution is by Glastar. The Griffi Glass Gripper. Sku 2051 Above: The most unusual solution are Finger Gloves. Not really made for this purpose but folks tell us they use them for grinding. Sku fg