Step 1- Designing and Concept sketching to final design. |
Step 2- Colouring in the values of the panel for a basic "look" |
Step 3- Design is traced onto pattern stock paper. |
Step 4- Pattern is numbered according to colour, and grain of the glass is marked. Any other notations on shading are also made. |
Step 5- Glass is carefully selected for maximum brilliance, transmission of light, and markings (streaks and blends) |
Step 6- Pattern is cut with special triple-bladed pattern shears to allow for the copper foil and solder between the glass pieces. |
Step 6- Careful attention must be paid to *how* the pattern is cut out to preserve the design and natural flow of the lines. |
Step 6- More pieces are cut. For this window, I'm using two sizes of shears, which will give thicker and thinner lines in the finished piece. |
Step 7- Gluing of pattern pieces down on glass. I do this b/c I work on several windows at one time. They are usually colour coded, this window has no additional markings on pattern pieces. |
Step 7- Pieces glued down on the clear, maximizing the use of the glass. Cutting this piece will not be for the faint of heart! LOL! |
Step 7- These greens are on the day easel for "actual" light transmission. Note the varying shades to work with- careful placement of the pattern pieces is essential in this step for the most "realistic" effects possible. |
Step 7- Here you can see the dark green layout, and how the lighter/ darker streaks play on each other for shading- all in "real colour" of actual sunlight. |
Step 7- To further illustrate what I'm looking for, this yellow has a perfect "zig zag" effect for tulip petal veinings. |
Step 7- Here I've placed the pattern piece on the glass, and used my grain markings as a guide for perfect placement! :) |
Step 8- Scoring (cutting) the glass. |
Step 8- Tapping the underside of the glass with the cutter to "run" the scoreline. |
Step 8- Using running pliers to break the score. |
Step 8- Piles of "blocked" glass.... now onto detail cutting! |
Step 9- Initial Cutting, separating out individual pieces before cutting up to the pattern piece. |
Step 9- Score lines are right up next to the pattern piece. There were 11 cuts just for this piece alone. |
Step 10- Grozing (pliers upper right corner) is to basically "chew" the edges of the glass for an accurate fit. Ultra tiny detail pieces such as #79 here are mighty easy to snap in two if one isn't careful! (But I'm a daredevil!) |
Step 11- Prep for grinding. There are 112 pieces in this window, so each of the previous "cutting" steps listed had to be repeated for each and every piece of glass. |
Step 12- Grinding. Glass dust can be inhaled and stick to the lungs, so we fill the diamond bit grinder w/ water to minimize the dust. |
Step 12- Grinding all 112 glass pieces up against the spinning diamond bit. This
smoothes the rough edges to a uniform plane. |
Step 12- This piece is what raw glass edges look like before grinding. Foil has trouble sticking to this, and that sharp jag on the right isn't safe. |
Step 12- These pieces are all ground, you can see the more scraped look. (It's not exactly easy on the fingers, either! LOL :D ) |
Step 13- Washing off the pattern. Each piece is washed in warm water, paper removed, dried then placed on the Cartoon (layout pattern). |
Step 13- All pattern pieces washed off, laid out on the Cartoon, and ready for foiling. Note the glass grain, swirls, and markings which lend to a nicer effect. |
Step 14- Foiling the glass pieces. A copper foil tape is wrapped around each piece. |
Step 14- Crimping the foil around the edges. No "zip lock" strokes, or nasty copper foil cuts can ensue! ;D |
Step 14- Burnishing down the foil with a lathekin. (The lathekin is that funny red thing.) This makes the foil stick securely to the glass edges. |
Step 14- Process is repeated for all the pieces until they are all foiled! :) |
Step 15- Layout. Squaring strips are tacked down, and they must be accurate, or the window will not be square. |
Step 15- Careful shifting of the pieces to create shading lines once it is soldered. |
Step 15- More careful shifting for shading lines... |
Step 16- After all the pieces are arranged for maximum effect, I'll stabilize them by tack soldering them in place. First brush on the flux... |
Step 16- Tack Soldering in the joints will keep the pieces still. |
Step 16- Fluxing a longer seam between the pieces.... |
Step 16- I use a 60/40 solid core solder. Using the iron on the side tip, carefully melt into the solder along the fluxed copper lines. :) |
Step 16- Soldering in detail... |
Step 16- Half soldered, half tacked |
Step 16- Front side completely soldered. |
Step 16- The panel is carefully turned over, here you can see the back seams- and the clear bleed through of the molten solder between the pieces. |
Step 17- Cutting the zinc came framing on a came saw... I LOVE POWER TOOLS!! :D |
Step 17- Cutting the came at 45 degree angles for proper mitering. |
Step 17- Testing the mitered cuts for accurate fit. |
Step 17- Measuring for the next mitered cut using another short piece of zinc stock as a guide. Corners are soldered together once all frame pieces are cut, then the back side of the window is soldered. |
Step 18- Soldered front and back. Last inspection to see for any bubbles in the solder, or drips of solder to pop off the glass. |
Step 18- Scrubbing with Dawn dish soap to remove all flux residue, loosen solder drips, and any coatings on the glass. Then the panel is towel tried. |
Step 18- Glass inspection to ensure that the pieces looked the way I thought they would, but also checking for any cracks which could have happened during soldering or scrubbing. I'm happy to report this panel is perfectly intact. |
Step 19- Applying the polishing wax to protect the glass, polish the seams, and clean any remaining residue. |
Step 20- After it's polished front and back, the window is signed and dated with a diamond tipped pen. |
Step 21- Photograph the window for the archives. This is without light behind it. |
Step 21- Photograph of the window in the bright natural light. This panel is finished! |
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