Artist Spotlight: Mary Harris
Tree of Life
1st place popular vote
Professional Stained Glass
Under the Cherry Tree
1st place popular vote
Professional Mosaic
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Tree of Life
1st place popular vote
Professional Stained Glass
Under the Cherry Tree
1st place popular vote
Professional Mosaic
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
Credit for Info:
Amerway
Canfield
Novacan
Stellar Technical Products
Researched, Interpreted and Arranged By: James A Veilleux 03/08/2023FLUX
Flux is one of the worst we deal with. It contains acids, sometimes solvents and other chemicals. We heat it up and create fumes. If you are not careful, you will be breathing these fumes. Set yourself up with a fume trap or at the very least something that is blowing the fumes away from you.SOLDER
Solder is made with lead (unless you are using lead-free). I don’t know anyone who wears gloves when soldering. People generally have the soldering iron in one hand and a strip of solder wire in the other. Lead is absorbed through your skin so that is the real health issue there. If you are not going to wear gloves, then wash your hands after use with heavy metal soap. Years ago, we had Safety Works in doing some safety testing for us. He told me to get the soap and have it at the sinks and then sell it and not be bashful about pushing it on people. They are touching lead and they need it! So, yes, we have it in our bathrooms and at our classroom sink and we sell it.GLASS HANDLING
Stained glass people love to pick up a big sheet of glass and hold it over their head and look through it. DON’T DO THAT! If it breaks it is breaking into your open eyes! Don’t let glass slide down in your hands. That cut will need more than a band aid. In our retail store, we take care to push the glass into the display cubbies every day. We don’t put short sheets down into the record racks where people can skin their hands trying to get the pieces out. We put the taller glass to the back so people are not reaching over it. We are checking the scrap glass all the time as it is sharp and pointed.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.
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.
(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.
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