100 + Year Old Came Window Restoration 2016

Brenda & her husband who live in Central Alberta, brought us this 100+ year old came window which is a family heirloom that they rescued from a century old family farm home.

This is what the window looked like when it was brought to our studio.

StainedGlassBrendaCameWindowJuly2015-001

The following picture shows the window after it was cleaned and before removal from the the wooden frame. Unfortunately there were 3 broken pieces in the rose colored border,  4 greens in the center were all cracked and or broken along with one center clear.

StainedGlassCameWindowBrenda2015

In the next photo the came window has been removed from the old wooden frame.

DSCN7200

In the next photo the numbered pieces # 2 top left – 4 top left center- 15 bottom right center (rose border pieces) 26 (clear center piece)  28 – 29 – 45 – 47 (the 4 center greens) were all broken.  The best alternative we could come up for the dusty rose border glass was an English Muffle Dusty Rose #4902. Our friends at Rubaiyat Stained Glass Studio in Calgary helped us to locate an older piece of clear as well as a very close matching green.

StainedGlassBrendaCameWindow2016

We take lots of photographs of these old windows before taking them apart, as well we number each piece. We set up a frame then start in one corner and work our way across the window, cleaning each piece of glass as we go along (we also re-number after clean each piece to ensure that it is put back in the window in the exact manner that the original stained glass artist installed them. Having good photographs certainly helps as we can bring them up on our computer to ensure that we have replaced each piece as it was originally placed in the window.

What we did was replace the 4 corners with the new English Muffle #4902, then carefully working with 2 of these unbroken border pieces we used them to replace broken border pieces # 4 & 15. The 4 green pieces in the center were also replaced and the 4 center clears were all replace to even out the look of the panel.

StainedGlassBrendaCameMay2016

Our clients were most appreciated of our work in restoring their family heirloom panel. They have now found an old photograph of the 100+ year old farm home and it shows 2 of these windows. They plan on residing it and there is a possibility that the 2nd window could still hidden away behind the siding. If so and they find the 2nd window there is a very good chance that it might be there in its original state with no broken glass, but no doubt will need to also be fully restored.

115 + Year Old Came Window Restoration November 2015

This is a sneak peak of the 2nd very old came window restorations that we are doing for a museum.

Unfortunately due to the damage we had to find some similar colored glass for the centre portion as it was impossible to find matching glass for such an old window.

The first picture shows the window before restoration and the second picture after completion.

In due course we will be providing a very detailed account of these windows. We still have 1 more to do which fortunately has no broken glass, along with a fairly large stained glass door insert.

MuseumWindow-001

As you can see from the above photo the window was in extremely poor condition.

StainedGlassCameWindowNovember2015

The above photo shows the completed restoration, and it was safely transported to the museum where it will go on display.  We have no idea who constructed these windows originally, however have a reasonable determination as to their age.

 

125+ Year Old Came Window Redesign and Restoration

For many years this very old came window rested secured under a bed. It measured 16 inches high by 40 inches wide. Was in poor structural condition as well had numerous lightly colored broken border pieces.

Our clients had just built a new home in a smaller Central Alberta community and wanted to have it restored to go into their new transom window above their front door entrance. But the new transom window measured 12 inches high by 49 inches wide, so we had to redesign the window to those measurements, as well as come up with a design that would use the existing glass.

The following picture shows the window in it’s original condition.

CameWindowRestorationRedesign2014

Before we start a came restoration and after taking the initial photo we then number each piece and photograph the window again.

Then we proceed to carefully cut away the rotten came and sort each piece by color etc and place them in separate boxes – beer flats and smaller soup can cardboard flats work well as it provides lots of room to spread out the various varieties of glass.

We used to clean each piece and renumber but found that was more time consuming than just cleaning each piece when we are ready to use it in the reconstruction process.

StainedGlassCameWindow2014

The next 2 pictures can give you an idea as to how much we had to stretch the length from 40 inches to 49 inches as well as shrink the height from 16 inches to 12 inches.

These measurements also included the new 1/2 inch came frame. We use a piece of 3/4 inch plywood for the base and make the frame from hickory hardwood with intermittently placed drill holes, then using  fine wood screws we attached these frames to the plywood base.

CameWindowMeasuring

You can see that we had to be creative to figure out how we would have enough of the colored border glass to go around.

CameWindowMeasuring#2

After numerous measurements to ensure final fitting accuracy, we built the wooden frame, miter cut the 1/2 zinc came frame and started the rebuilding process.

The following picture shows the start of the redesign process.

OldCameWindowRebuild

In the next photo we have expanded the left and right sides of the center bevel cluster, along with enlarging the colored border.

OldCameWindowRebuild#2

 

The following 2 photos show the completed redesign first the right side and then the left side.

RightSideOldCameWindowRebuild

 

LeftSideOldCameWindowRebuild

In the next photo the redesigned window is ready for joint soldering, cementing, whiting, then patina and polish.

StainedGlassCameWindowAugust2014

In the next picture the window is finished and ready to be taken to our clients. After soldering the came joints (cleaning the flux with Kwik Clean), cementing, cleaning with whiting, applying black patina to the came, cleaning again with Kwik Clean and applying polish, followed by lots of further cleaning, polishing with soft rags, along with using tooth brushes and X-acto knives to pick away any missed cement etc. we then have a beautiful window ready for our clients.

StainedGlassCameWindowCompleted2014

Here is the window installed in it’s new home location. Our clients were more than pleased with the results and how it fitted into the new transom window opening along with how it complimented the new door and sidelight beveled panels.

Stained GlassCame Window 2nd 2014-001

Redesign/Reconstruction by Bob & Flory Wilkins

 

Lamp Repair – Restoration July 2014

A picture story of a broken Stained Glass Lamp Shade. The picture below shows the damage to the lamp’s crown.

StainedGlassLampBrokenCrownJuly 2014

The next photo shows the one large lamp panel with serious cracks in it.

StainedGlassLampBrokenPanelJuly2014

This last photo shows the broken bottom panel. There were 4 crown pieces, 1 large panel and 1 bottom panel which were broke.

StainedGlassLampBrokenBottomPanelJuly2014

When we take out broken lamp pieces we use a large low sided box filled with crumpled newspaper for support of the lamp shade, then slowly and carefully remove the broken panel. What helps in this process is to take steel wool #0000 only to clean the old solder seams of their dirt and patina, as it allows faster melting of the old solder and less chance for heat build up to damage other pieces.

StainedGlassLampRemovalofBottomBrokenPieceJuly2014

The next photo shows the lamp shade with all of the broken pieces and the crown removed. Then all of the edges need to be thoroughly cleaned and scraped of all of the old foil, using an X-acto knife, #0000 steel wool along with Kwik Clean. Then new foil has to be applied and burnished on to the existing cleaned areas and the new pieces to be used.

StainedGlassLampBrokenPiecesRemovedJuly2014

The next picture shows the crown fully restored.

StainedGlassLampRestoredCrownJuly2014

Once all the new pieces have been properly soldered in place, with beading as required along the edges. In this case we did our best to match the soldering techniques used by whoever made the lamp. Then the completed lamp shade is cleaned with Kwik Clean to remove flux. We then mixed some black and copper patina’s together to match the antique brass look. After that another cleaning with Kwik Clean, then Clarity stained glass polish applied, with final polishing using soft cloths and tooth brushes for the seams. Then double checking when on a lighted lamp stand which allows to see and find polish etc that we may have missed.

StainedGlassLampCompletionJuly2014

 Designer Unknown

 

Alberta Rose Came Window Restoration # 1

We have now finished the restoration of the 1st of 2 old Alberta Rose Came windows. This first one has a rose/pinkish granite background glass. Fortunately none of the background glass was broken however we did have to use some the green leaves, stems and amber border from the 2nd window, which allowed us to make one complete window with all original glass. This window was delivered to our client in Stettler Alberta a few days ago. He was most impressed and eventually we will be given photos of where he intends on placing it in his home.

AlbertaRoseCameWindowRestored2014

The second picture below shows of just how much the granite background glass glistens in sunlight as the sun’s rays change during the day.

AlbertaRoseCameWindowSunlight2014

To view more of the construction details about this Alberta Rose window follow this link on our website

Alberta Rose Came Window Restorations

We love to do these restorations of very old came windows but they are an intense labour of love on our part, requiring many hours of reconstruction from photographing, numbering of each piece of glass, then lots of cleaning of those pieces of glass to remove decades of dirt, paint and grime, then restoring them in new came, soldering, cementing, cleaning and polishing. These windows that have lots of this granite glass takes many hours of intense cleaning with various brushes, X-ACTO knife blades, polishing cloth’s etc. but the finished restoration gives our clients and ourselves a great deal of  pride and satisfaction.

 

 

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