Fixing A Light

I did some stained glass hobbying many years ago, and just used regular

60-40 rosin core electrical solder and a 200 watt Weller solder gun to join the lead pieces together. (IIRC the lead was called "cane".)

Can't tell from your photos whether real lead was used or some other kind of metal, but a little scraping should tell you.

Have at it, if it isn't lead, then maybe you'll have to use an acid flux like Denton's "tinner's fluid" which is available at most hardware stores, along with either the same rosin cored solder or uncored plumbing solder.

I never had a piece of glass crack from soldering heat on me either.

As far as refinishing goes, depending on how anal you are about matching the original finish eggsackly, the easiest thing to use would probably be bronze or gold paint, available at crafts supply shops, or go whole hog and pick up a brass brush plating rig and lay real yellow metal on it which you could darken as needed by wiping on "liver of sulphate".

HTH,

Jeff

well, using rosin core solder is really bad for longevity of stained glass panels use a flux that can be washed off, and solid core 60/40 or 50/50 solder. also, a 200 watt iron is a lot and would cause more damage for someone not used to it. a 100 watt would be better. furthermore, the higher wattage does cause glass cracking.

these are almost never done with lead came, as it's too soft and would bend over time. these are done with brass, which can be soldered with the same iron and solder, but takes more heat than lead to do a good job. the joints are colored with a brass colored paint pen, or the whole thing could have been plated (this is unlikely though).

if you haven't done stained glass before, fixing a lamp is pretty hard. usually a fix in one place will cause damage somewhere else because you have to bend things to get it back in line. it should also have some reinforcement wires soldered to the inside which would prevent this from happening again. you could take it somewhere to be fixed, but unless it's an heirloom, it would cost almost as much to fix it than to buy a new one.

regards, charlie

Yes, this lamp _really_ needs some repair. I would start with a light bulb to get brighter photos. :-)

OK, this is a Tiffany-style lamp. They are all soft soldered with "radio solder" no big secret. If it is gold plated (it doubt it), no problem. If it is brass plated, no problem either. Remove any (transparent) paint before soldering.

Nick, let there be light!

I defer to your obvious knowledge and experience Charles.

And while I don't doubt what you say, I'm curious about why rosin core solder affects longevity. Does it make the glass deteriorate or discolor somehow?

The stuff I was working on was definitely made with a lot heavier lead came than his fixture, so a 200 watt gun is probably on the high side.

Jeff

On Fri, 16 Sep 2005 17:31:50 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, "Barry" quickly quoth:

Yes, it's just soldered. Yes, you'll have to worry about cracking the glass, but it was put together that way so you know it's doable.

If it's fairly new, it's probably a lead-free, fluxless solder with which they used soldering paste. If older, it could have lead in it. Either will work, and any good soldering paste will work with it.

Use a good soldering iron (40-100w) with a temp-controlled tip for best results and fewer cracked panes. ;) Practice on scrap first. DAMHIKT.

Color the solder with a patina like

Better yet, I suggest taking it to your local stained glass place (or high school or community college shop with stained glass classes) and having them fix it for you for $5-10 unless you want to buy a bunch of new tools and supplies for you and/or your wife's new stained glass hobby. (Caveat: Like metal- and wood-working, it ain't cheap.)

Sorry about the lighting. This was taken with a Nikon CoolPix 5000. I quit using it years ago because of the exposure problems with the flash. It was the simplest to use now since it was out and available ( I let my 5 year old use it now ).

Thanks for the advice.

Barry

I probably have all the stuff I need. Could even TIG it if I needed to.

Thanks for the advice

Barry

Not a good idea! Or do you want to inhale lead vapours? Not me!

Nick

it's brass, not lead. there's a little lead at the joints, so if that were cleaned, it might be possible to weld it.

rosin core leaves a residue of flux, which continues to corrode the joint over time (ever see stained glass with a white crud on it?), doesn't look very pretty, and makes it hard to patina the joint. for stained glass, use a solid core solder (even 63/37 which is a lot better, but more expensive) and a liquid or paste flux (even tallow candles work) which can be rinsed off a lot more easily. use baking soda in some water with a drop of dishwashing liquid added to make the water wetter.

regards, charlie

""Nick Müller"" wrote: (clip) If it is gold plated (it doubt it), no problem. If it is brass plated, no problem either. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It is not uncommon to dip the finished work in a copper sulfate solution, which puts a thin copper coating over both the solder and the lead. Clean first, of course.

So there is lead.

If something has been soft soldered, it is nearly impossible to clean the solder off and to brace or weld the part.

Nick