Loon Panel Restoration 2017

Filed under Birds, Canadiana, Repairs, Restorations, Wildlife by on January 12, 2018 at 5:30 pm {no comments}

A client from Rimbey Alberta brought us this panel which if memory serves us correctly had been knocked off the window by her cat. When doing restorations like this we first do a rub by laying over the panel a taped down piece of white freezer paper. We then take carbon copy paper and rub the entire panel which traces the solder lines to the paper and that paper then serves as a guide to rebuild and restore the panel.

This panel was originally made by our clients daughter and we wanted to save as much as possible of her work when restoring this stained glass loon panel.

Then we removed the frame and proceeded to remove the necessary pieces of broken and other glass. In this case we worked from the bottom up and did not proceed beyond the dark blue glass below the brown colored glass as all from there to the top of the panel was still intact.

Fortunately we had matching replacement Spectrum Glass to replace the broken pieces.

The next photo shows the rebuilding process. We had to use quite a lot of new glass in the lower half due to the breakage and to restore proper fitting of the pieces.

When one does this without taking the whole panel apart, it is necessary to first solder together all of the new pieces, then placing some thin clear glass under the restored part in order to bring it up to the same level as the original top portion of the panel. This is required to ensure that new pieces connect properly at the same level. At the request of our client we changed the loon eye to red.

We also installed a 1/2 inch new zinc came frame around the panel.

After soldering we clean the flux off with Kwik Clean, take steel wool (#0000 – which does not scratch glass) to the solder seams. Then apply black patina, again cleaning with Kwik Clean and finally applying Clarity (Kem Pro) stained glass polish.

Lady Art Deco Panel Restoration

Filed under Panels, Repairs, Restorations by on December 18, 2016 at 5:30 pm {no comments}

A client from Calgary had this beautiful large lady came panel which had fallen and the sky glass was broken. In addition the soft came edging was coming apart and the whole panel needed to be restored along with new sky glass. The panel measured approximately 25 inches wide x 33 inches high.

stainedglassladypanel2016

The 2nd photo shows the panel after being taken out of its wooden frame. When the panel fell both sky blue pieces were broken however other than a small crack in one of the darker greens the rest of the glass survived the fall.

stainedglassladypanelrestoration2016

The original artist had used soft lead came for the outer frame and in addition a lot of the came cement had been left on the glass as shown below. When the panel fell it jarred loose many of the old came joints.

closeupofladypanel

closeupladypanel2

We then numbered each piece of glass, photographed the panel in detail, then took the panel all apart, cleaning each piece as we went along in the restoring, rebuilding process, starting at the bottom of the panel.

We had a beautiful piece of Bullseye, Clear, Egyptian Blue Opal #002064-0030 which we used for the sky and it enhanced the overall beauty of the panel. With the cracked piece of the dark green horizon glass we just added in another came joint as we did not want to replace that glass.

We decided that as this was such a large panel we upgraded the came used to RH – 12 and also put a 3/8 inch zinc outside came for added strength. After soldering the joints we cleaned off the flux using Kwik Clean and compressed air to ensure all liquid was removed from between the glass and new came.

We had an opportunity to obtain a new Stained Glass Putty by Glass Pro, which we found to be excellent to work with. Once the panel was cleaned with whiting, we scrubed all of the lead came with  #0000 steel wool and then apply black patina. After which we use Kwik Clean again to clean the panel again before applying a coat of Clarity Stained Glass Finishing Compound.

Once the polish is dry we then use several soft cloths along with tooth brushes to ensure a bright clean finish.

Here is the finished reconstruction, remounted in the heavy wooden frame. In due course our client in Calgary will be sending us a photo of the panel once she decides where to hang it in her home.

stainedglassrestoredladypanel2016

Designer Unknown

 

 

 

Kim’s Lamp Rebuild – Restoration 2016

Filed under Lamps, Repairs by on October 1, 2016 at 5:30 pm {one comment}

When we picked up this lamp it had all 4 panels broken, however the 4 drop edges were all intact. The frame holding the shade together was made with flimsy metal.

stainedglassbrokenlampshade2016

The next photo is a close up of one of the edges which also shows the flimsy tin frame. The panel above this piece has also been removed. As the bottom edges were all intact we photographed each side after numbering each piece as well as marking them to ensure that when rebuilding this lamp that all went back together in it’s original places.

stainedglasslampshadedetails2016

The following photo shows all 4 edges after taken them apart, cleaning, foiling (with Venture Black Backed 7/32 Copper Foil), along with placing the bottom edges on a piece of Morton Layout Blocks to ensure a straight bottom edge.

stainedglassedgeskimslamp2016

The picture below shows the poor workmanship and the wobbly support stem for the shade.

In order to restore this lamp we had to make 4 new panels using Spectrum’s Light Amber Lamp Mix # 318-05S glass. We saved the vase cap and when rebuilding the lampshade we used Venture’s 1/4 inch Black Back Copper Foil. In addition to providing much needed support and long life of the lampshade we installed a 4 way spider.

Our client mentioned that the lamp shade was not supported very well, so we put in a longer standard size 3/8 inch threaded brass rod, which together with the spider support and 4 brass nuts  2 top and 2 bottom, plus a washer secured the lampshade to the lamp base in a very strong manner.

Another specific reason for the longer brass rod was that the lamp’s light bulbs were very close to the lampshades glass and their heat could have been another factor as to why the lampshade glass cracked.

stainedglasslamp2016

Once the shade was rebuilt, the new solder lines had black patina applied, then the whole unit was cleaned with Kwik Clean and then polished with Clarity Stained Glass Polish. We installed new appliance light bulbs 2 for the lampshade and 1 inside the base stand.

Our client was more than please with the end result and she now has a rebuilt, restored tiffany style lamp that will provide her with years of pleasure.

stainedglasskimslamp2016

Lamp Rebuild & Restoration by Bob & Flory Wilkins

Elephant Repair 2016

Filed under Mammals, Repairs, Sun Catchers, Wildlife by on September 13, 2016 at 5:30 pm {no comments}

A client in Calgary has had this Elephant suncatcher for many years, unfortunately the thin wire hanging rings that were attached to the outside foil eventually came apart from the sunshine window heat.

Luckily the piece was rescued before falling and breaking. We then soldered fine silver chain into the reverse seams, followed by patina touch up, cleaning (Kwik Clean) and polishing (Clarity Stained Glass Finishing Compound).

The Elephant measures approximately 12 x 12 inches. The original unknown stained glass artist did a great job in using Spectrum’s Glass, unfortunately with the soon closing of The Spectrum Glass Company their glass will eventually no longer be available.

stainedglasselephantrepair2016

Designer Unknown

Alberta Rose Came Window # 2 Restoration

Filed under Old Came Windows, Old Came Windows, Repairs, Restorations, Windows by on August 2, 2016 at 12:26 pm {no comments}

This is the 2nd Alberta Rose Came Window restoration. In the first one we combined pieces from the second one to have one that was all original glass. We believe these windows are 100+ years old.

The wow factor in regards to both of these restorations is that when we delivered the 2nd window we were informed that both were going to be installed in a new home on Negril Beach in Jamaica, sometime in the not to distant future,

In the second one we had to put in all new glass for the stems, the amber across the bottom and new leaves for the left and right roses while the centre rose leaves remained original glass. Also the roses and background granite clear glass is also all original. It took us quite sometime to find the best replacement glass, but well worth the effort.

StainedGlassRoseCameWindow#22016

The following 3 photos show the left rose with new leaves, the next one is the centre rose all original glass and the last photo is the right rose with new leaves. The pink petals of the roses were a very pretty glass which was quite thick.

LeftRoseNewLeaves

CentreOriginalGlass

LeftRoseNewLeaves

Although the next photo indicates window #1 it ended up being the second one as we took pieces from it to be able to have one with all original glass.

StainedGlassRoseCameWindow#2

The last photo is of the 1st restored window.

AlbertaRoseCameWindowDecember2013

Designer unknow

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