How to Master the Art of Stained Glass Soldering©
Posted: Friday, December 30, 2011
by Arlene Wright-Correll
http://www.learn-america.com
This week’s email question asks, “Just how hard is it to learn and make a stained glass panel?”
Basically creating stained glass is not hard because if you know how to cut a pattern with a pair of scissors then the remaining steps are very easy to learn. Though I know how to do this I went right to the stained glass guru, Carl Correll and asked him this question. Here is his answer.
The best advice I can give you is to learn how to solder and that is what I am very good at teaching my students. We use the very best professional tools at Avalon Stained Glass School & Creativity Center in Munfordville, KYand one of those tools is the soldering iron.
Preheat the soldering iron and then apply flux in small areas at a time with a little flux brush. Don’t worry about making mistakes because if you make a mistake (using copper foil), you can re-flux and go over it again.
First, solder the corners to secure the glass, and hold it in place. Remember that throughout the process to let the solder flow at it's own pace. Just be the guide.
For the right handed student, hold the solder iron in your right hand and the solder in your left hand. Just do it visa versa if you are left handed and it is best to start at the top of your pattern and solder down. This is so your hand doesn’t accidentally hit the solder before it dries.
Place the solder close to the foil. With the soldering iron tip, slowly melt the solder onto the flux and foil to create a bead while smoothing it out along the foil. Finish by soldering the balance of the foil remembering to apply the flux a little at a time. Patience is a virtue in any art form and especially this art form so just take your time.
Solder the entire front side then carefully turn over to solder the back. There is a simple trick to turning over stained glass panels, especially large one and I will show you that in the workshop. Once turned over do the back using the same method as above. Not having enough flux or heat will result in thick and bumpy appearances so make sure you are not stingy with the flux and you are using a good heat controlled soldering iron.
It is important to NOT hold the soldering iron too long in one area. Just move your soldering iron and solder with a steady flow because if you hold it too long in one area, you might break the glass.
I recommend when soldering having an Exacto knife handy to remove solder from the glass. Let the solder dry- scrape if off the glass with the edge of the Exacto knife. The solder will only stick to the flux and the foil so it will pick off the glass easily and I find an Exacto knife also comes in handy to trim the foil if needed.
If you feel you must then try practice on sample pieces to perfect the easy flow of soldering. After a couple of times, you'll feel like a pro! Don’t worry if you feel you have messed up. Just keep working on it and you're bound to get better. Following and mastering these stained glass soldering steps and you'll have no problems finishing your stained glass projects.”
May the Creative Force Be With You
Arlene Wright-Correll
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)By the way, have I told you how much I love your logo. Well written, thorough and full of your usual charm.Thank, I designed that and had an 8 x 6" made and it is up on the side of the Creativity Center building here at the school.
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