Lead came and copper foil glasswork are the arts and crafts

Arts and crafts

Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...

 of cutting colored glass

Glass

Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...

 and joining the pieces into picturesque designs.

The traditional method uses lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

 came

Came

A came is a divider bar used between small pieces of glass to make a larger glazing panel, sometimes referred to as leaded glass. This process is then referred to as "leading". Cames are mostly made of soft metals such as lead, zinc, copper or brass. They generally have an H-shaped cross section,...

. This is the method used for centuries in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, mainly in religious buildings such as cathedral

Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

s, churches and monasteries

Monastery

Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...

, and including wealthy or aristocratic

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

 homes.

An alternative method, replacing the lead came with copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 foil

Foil (chemistry)

A foil is a very thin sheet of metal, usually made by hammering or rolling a piece of metal. Foils are most easily made with malleable metals, such as aluminium, copper, tin, and gold. Foils usually bend under their own weight and can be torn easily. The more malleable a metal, the thinner foil can...

, was invented in the 19th century, enabling creation of three-dimensional

Three-dimensional space

Three-dimensional space is a geometric 3-parameters model of the physical universe in which we live. These three dimensions are commonly called length, width, and depth , although any three directions can be chosen, provided that they do not lie in the same plane.In physics and mathematics, a...

 works, in addition to two-dimensional ones to which the lead came method is limited. The copper foil artwork is commonly called Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau  and Aesthetic movements...

  stained glass, even though there is a debate about whether John La Farge or Louis Comfort Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau  and Aesthetic movements...

 invented this alternative to lead came glasswork.

Overview

In both lead came and copper foil glasswork, cut pieces of stained glass are joined together in a framework of soldered metal.

In the lead came method the pieces of glass are embedded into the channels of the came, and the joints between the came strips soldered

Soldering

Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the workpiece...

 together.

In the copper foil method, the edges of the glass pieces are wrapped with adhesive copper tape, and soldered

Soldering

Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the workpiece...

 together along the adjacent copper strips.

The process

Design

The first step for both techniques is to create a design on paper. This draft must consider constraints such as reduction of buckling risk, overall structural integrity, limiting the convergence of lead lines, and cuttability of each piece of glass within.

The next step is to make a template copy of the design for cutting the glass. The width of the lead came or the copper foil that separates the pieces of glass may be compensated for with double blade pattern shears that remove a thin strip of material on the template copy.

For large designs, a scale model may be made, which is digitally photographed and further modified with AutoCAD

AutoCAD

AutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...

. After measurements and other notations are applied, the full pattern is printed on a large-format printer.

Transferring the design to glass

Four methods may be employed.

• The cut paper may be glued to the glass before cutting it
• The cut paper to may be pressed against the glass and its outline traced on the glass with a marker.
• The pattern may be affixed to a light box or light source. Sheet glass is placed over the pattern, and traced with a marker.
• The edge of the pattern piece may be followed with the cutter.

Cutting the glass

The glass is scored using a steel

Steel

Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...

 or carbide

Tungsten carbide

Tungsten carbide is an inorganic chemical compound containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. Colloquially, tungsten carbide is often simply called carbide. In its most basic form, it is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes for use in industrial machinery,...

 wheel glass cutter lubricated with cutting oil. Glass is broken at the score using breaker-grozier pliers

Breaker-grozier pliers

Breaker-grozier pliers are pliers used by glaziers to break and finish glass in a controlled manner. They are dual purpose pliers, with a flat jaw that's used for breaking out scores and a curved jaw that's used for grozing flares from the edge of broken glass...

, running pliers or built in groziers on a traditional glass cutter. This works because glass breaks along its weakest point when it bends.

The ball end on many glass cutters is used to break complicated cuts in a piece of glass. Tapping the ball end along the score on the opposite side of the glass sends a vibration through the glass that helps it break along the score. Also, the notches in most basic glass cutters can be used to grab small bits of glass for breaking.

Grinding the cut glass

At this stage, the cut glass pieces have sharp edges and inaccuracies in their shape. The glazier can use an electric glass grinder with a diamond

Diamond

In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...

-coated grinding wheel

Grinding wheel

A grinding wheel is an expendable wheel that is composed of an abrasive compound used for various grinding and abrasive machining operations...

 to smooth the glass pieces, or a carborundum

Silicon carbide

Silicon carbide , also known as carborundum, is a compound of silicon and carbon with chemical formula SiC. It occurs in nature as the extremely rare mineral moissanite. Silicon carbide powder has been mass-produced since 1893 for use as an abrasive...

 stone.

Glass saws

An alternative to the cutting and grinding steps is the use of a ring saw

Ring saw

A ring saw is a form of bandsaw where the band is rigid, rather than flexible. This requires the band to be circular, rather than the bandsaw's usual oblong of straight runs between two guide wheels....

 or bandsaw. Such saws permit the cutting of shapes impossible with a wheel cutter.

This is where the processes for each of the two methods split. The next section describes the steps for the lead came method. The equivalent copper foil steps are described in the copper foiling section below.

Lead came technique

The lead came has channels into which the glass pieces are inserted. There are two types of lead came: for the circumference

Circumference

The circumference is the distance around a closed curve. Circumference is a special perimeter.-Circumference of a circle:The circumference of a circle is the length around it....

 of the design, came with a U-shaped cross section

Cross section (geometry)

In geometry, a cross-section is the intersection of a figure in 2-dimensional space with a line, or of a body in 3-dimensional space with a plane, etc...

 may be used, as it takes glass only on one of its sides. For the middle of the design, came with an H-shaped cross-section is used, taking glass on both its sides. The channel or "heart" height of lead came is available in different thickness to allow for thicker or thinner glass as well as the "face" (profile) in various sizes for design options and construction.

Preparation of lead for assembly

Traditionally, lead came strips are stretched for straightening and stiffening using a lead vice attached at the edge of a work bench. The need for this is controversial. On one side there is a view that stiffening of the lead is crucial to achieve maximum lateral tensile strength to limit bowing of the window in the future and that the integrity of the lead is not compromised. However, it is the opinion of some practitioners that stretching is an undesirable practice as it might weaken, rather than strengthen, the lead http://www.debrady.com/technical/articles.htm#Stretchinglead.

Lead came is available in 5–6 foot pieces and on dispensing rolls for smaller gauge lead. Lead came is commonly cut with lead dikes or glazing knife. Table top chop saws are also used where repetitive sized pieces are needed or when working with a zinc based lead or zinc came. Cut lead came is also done in angles to allow for proper mitering where the stained glass design requires it.

Assembling the lead and glass

Each piece of glass is set in place upon a glazing drawing, with came shaped around it to make a matrix. Horseshoe nails and scraps of lead are used to hold the already-assembled pieces to the work surface. Horseshoe nails are used, because the steel is not tempered, and therefore has less chance of breaking the edge of a piece of glass. Sometimes on a delicate piece, a scrap of lead will cushion the glass from the nail. The glass and lead are assembled gradually, beginning from one corner of the work, and building-up away from it. The ends of the came are tucked under the ears of the other lead it meets.

Soldering the lead joints

The lead came is soldered at the joints between strips with lead/tin

Tin

Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...

 solder. This is in contrast to the copper foil method described below, where the whole length of the copper strip is soldered.

50/50 creates a flat bead, best used for tight lead joints and a base for copperfoil work.
60/40 creates a high bead, most commonly used for copperfoil work. It can be used on came but is not recommended.

Joints should be fluxed a few joints at a time, using a little bit of solder at a time. The iron should be moved in a circular pattern about a 1/2 inch. It is important to always test the Iron's temperature by testing it on a scrap piece lead first.

Cementing the lead and glass panel

The final step is applying a waterproofing putty made of linseed oil and calcium carbonate (commercial whiting). The glazing compound is worked into the space between the glass and lead, to strengthen and waterproof the work. Lastly, the ears are pressed down against the glass, securing the piece and further waterproofing the panel.
Whiting is reapplied to window sparingly for cleaning and removing excess oils left from cementing.
Do not rush this step, always read and follow the directions. Most products must sit for a few days.

Adding reinforcement bars

Lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

's malleability and ease of soldering make it perfect for the stained glass art. However, lead is one of the heaviest metals, so stained glass panels can be very heavy. Windows from Zettler Studio of Munich, Bavaria were made in 1928 for a church in Philadelphia. One of these sections alone can easily weigh 80 lbs and use a matrix of 7 bars in some examples. Because of this, the original installer included copper wires soldered onto the window to be twisted around bars set into the frame. These round bars and wires help carry the weight and prevent buckling, a potentially fatal problem for stained glass windows. The copper wire method is obsolete now, though still used in historical preservation. A modern technique involves soldering a flat bar perpendicular to the window. The ends of this bar are set into the frame and prevent deflection.

Copper foil technique

Copper-foil glasswork connects pre-cut pieces of glass by wrapping their edges with adhesive copper tape, then soldering

Soldering

Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint, the filler metal having a lower melting point than the workpiece...

 the copper-wrapped edges together. It is commonly called the "Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany

Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau  and Aesthetic movements...

" stained glass method. One of the advantages of copper-foil glasswork over lead-strip glasswork is that you can assemble the glass pieces in three-dimensional shapes when soldering them together. Lead-strip enables the creation of only two-dimensional panes. The three photos below show the use of this technique for fixing a glass jar of a candy vending machine

Vending machine

A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....

.

The steps of the copper foil process are depicted in the images below.

• Tip: Before you wrap, Wipe the glass with Rubbing Alcohol. This will remove excess oils and allow the adhesive to adhere better.
• The edges of the glass pieces are wrapped in copper foil. This is similar to the lead came method, where the edges are inserted into the came channels. The foil is then burnished onto all three glass surfaces using a burnishing tool, such as a fid
  Fid
  A fid is a conical tool made of wood or bone. It is used to work with rope and canvas in marlinespike seamanship. A fid differs from a marlinspike in material and purpose. A marlinespike is used in working with wire rope, may be used to open shackles, and is made of metal. A fid is used to hold...
  
   or basic, to ensure there are no gaps between the foil and the glass.
• Flux
  Flux (metallurgy)
  In metallurgy, a flux , is a chemical cleaning agent, flowing agent, or purifying agent. Fluxes may have more than one function at a time...
  
   is applied to all visible copper sparingly.
• The copper-wrapped glass pieces are soldered together. A bead of solder is run across every spot of visible copper foil, in contrast with the lead came method, where only the came edges called "joints" are soldered together.
• A finishing patina is applied to emphasize details or to quickly achieve the natural black patina that all lead develops with age.

General

• Safety glasses
• Sheet glass
• Pattern shears (make sure they are for the method being attempted)
• Adhesive
  Adhesive
  An adhesive, or glue, is a mixture in a liquid or semi-liquid state that adheres or bonds items together. Adhesives may come from either natural or synthetic sources. The types of materials that can be bonded are vast but they are especially useful for bonding thin materials...
  
   or paint pen oil-based
• Glass cutter
  Glass cutter
  A glass cutter is a hand tool used to make a shallow score in one side of the surface of flat glass that is to be broken in two pieces. The scoring encourages the glass to break along the score, and not in an undesired direction...
  
  
• Cutting oil
• Glass pliers
• Electric glass grinder
  Grinding machine
  A grinding machine, often shortened to grinder, is a machine tool used for grinding, which is a type of machining using an abrasive wheel as the cutting tool...
  
   with diamond
  Diamond
  In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
  
  -coated grinding wheel
  Grinding wheel
  A grinding wheel is an expendable wheel that is composed of an abrasive compound used for various grinding and abrasive machining operations...
  
  
• Soldering iron
  Soldering iron
  A soldering iron is a hand tool most commonly used in soldering. It supplies heat to melt the solder so that it can flow into the joint between two workpieces.A soldering iron is composed of a heated metal tip and an insulated handle...
  
  
• Solder
  Solder
  Solder is a fusible metal alloy used to join together metal workpieces and having a melting point below that of the workpiece.Soft solder is what is most often thought of when solder or soldering are mentioned and it typically has a melting range of . It is commonly used in electronics and...
  
   50/50
• Flux
  Flux (metallurgy)
  In metallurgy, a flux , is a chemical cleaning agent, flowing agent, or purifying agent. Fluxes may have more than one function at a time...
  
   (tallow
  Tallow
  Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. It is solid at room temperature. Unlike suet, tallow can be stored for extended periods without the need for refrigeration to prevent decomposition, provided it is kept in an airtight container to prevent oxidation.In industry,...
  
   is usually used with lead) and applicator brush
• Patina

For lead came work

• Lead came
• Lead knife
• Lead nippers
  Nippers
  Nippers in surf lifesaving are young Surf Lifesavers aged between 5 and 14 years old. Unlike senior Surf Lifesavers, the majority of them do not patrol the beaches. The focus for Nippers tends to be on fun, and surf awareness....
  
  
• Glazing hammer
• Fid
  Fid
  A fid is a conical tool made of wood or bone. It is used to work with rope and canvas in marlinespike seamanship. A fid differs from a marlinspike in material and purpose. A marlinespike is used in working with wire rope, may be used to open shackles, and is made of metal. A fid is used to hold...
  
  s (tapering pins)
• Cement
  Cement
  In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
  
  for lead came glass (glazing compound)

For copper foil work

• Copper foil tape/sheets
• Burnisher
• rubbing alcohol and cloth
• Solder 60/40 tin lead