AEDM day 10

Began taking this panel apart, it will become 2 windows that look just like this just half that and you get the idea

someone used zinc when building this unit...a sign that the technician wasn't knowledgeable about what he was doing
the zinc was more expensive to use than lead
pulled lead had it been used would have made taking this apart today a lot easier...alas i did have years on my side
the brittleness of the zinc allowed for the piece to practically fall apart in my hand

especially with a pair of nippers


here the unit is all apart off the tray
the tray stored out of the way to return to the owner
area cleaned up and the pieces soaking





here the pieces are soaking





the next step is to true up the edges they were pretty chopped up where the builder was making them fit into the narrow zinc i suppose...and dirt etched from years of being a window unit in a house
i cleaned all the grime off and the next step of grinding the untrued edges begins

using an electric grinder
when i learned the only thing available was a
grinding stone!!!
i liked the new technology that invented the electric grinder









then here are the cleaned up pieces being laid out

to rebuild into the 2 new windows...

and that is my art filled day number 9...
i also began the next painting for lesson 8..i have my elements affixed to the canvas and they are drying...
painting tomorrow!

Window

Close up of the patina added to the solder lines. Patina is a acid that cleans the lead, but also allows a chemical reaction color the lead. I chose a traditional black for the church panel lines. Then the panel is polished, both sides.

Let us refresh ourselves from whence this panel started...a pile of parts.

To the finished window.

Done panel one. I shall begin pulling pieces from the pile and begin panel two of this restoration project. I won't post panel twos transition it is the same as this one...exactly. Have any questions just ask.

Thank you for the interest in the process.

Flipped

Yesterday I put the frame around panel #1 and flipped it. Here is a close up of what the back side looks like before i begin to solder side 2.

Panel Update

It isn't a very exciting picture but, side 1 is soldered. I will next put a frame on the panel which will be part zinc...up to the curve then pulled lead. I have plenty of reinforcement within the design, so I shouldn't have a problem when I flip it. I will get help from my husband Craig to do the flipping. Then solder side 2.

Update on Window Restoration Project

Progress is surely being made with this unit.

But let us follow through the process:
First let me say that the artisan of yesterday, who ever he was, he did a fine job of cutting this glass.
He didn't have the nice pivotal easy handled cutter we can use today.
Nor did he have an electric grinder for smoothing the edges. His was a file for smoothing the edge, lots of hand work!
His only choice for holding the glass together was the lead method.
Two choices today.
The lead method: by which strips of channeled lead are stretched to make rigid, then soldered at the meeting points once wrapped around the glass, and cemented.
The copper-foil method introduced through Louis Tiffany, which has been greatly modified and improved since introduction! The foil, now with adhesive on the back, wraps around each piece of glass, then is soldered into place. Lots of steps are eliminated, plus for me it is a lot easier to reinforce. I use a flat metal that slips in between the glass, giving the total unit added strength.
All this now explained.
After I trued up the pieces of glass, they were cleaned of their cement deposits, then foiling begins.
Just as you imagine the foil is wrapped around the glass then smoothed with a fid (straight stick) so it is adhered well.

The whole unit ready to solder

These are the tools that I used to cut or break the glass to fit and then foil.

These are the tools I traded to begin soldering. The solder iron, its rheostat, flux, and solder. Now I begin soldering the unit together. Reinforcing it for strength at the same time.

Restoration Update

These pictures might look the same but, there is different phases involved and I hope if you click on and enlarge the image you might see the difference.

The first picture shows all the pieces pulled apart from the old lead and most of the cement removed. There are 2 pieces i need to rummage through the extras pile to see if I can come up with a match.
This second picture shows the difference between cleaned pieces and then the grungy particle cement pieces...can you see the difference ?
On the bottom row look at the purple piece then the gold triangle and the next purple piece...you should see a difference in the shine versus no shine.

This shows the textured side and you can see the cement that has to be picked out of the grooves. The black pieces on the napkin is the cement that gets removed.

This picture is showing the panel from a different view with a close up of the peak..looking down the panel from the peak down the center there is an elongated triangle piece then the first small purple triangle. From the elongated triangle to the peak has yet been cleaned. I am moving along good even though it looks like I have a lot yet to do.

If you look at the peak pieces I would like you to notice how well the craftsman cut and then chipped away to curve the purple Fleur De Lea...he didn't have a motorized grinder like today to grind away that shape...he was a good craftsman!

The next update will show the panel ready to solder.

Step 2...of Restoration Project

Step 2:

Brings us to taking the panel apart. Finding pieces in the pile of discarded panels on the floor

or

Cleaning the intact piece of the old cement and years of dirt.

Then, placing it into the space on the new pattern.

This picture shows:

1 piece that was retrieved from the discard pile and cut to fit.

And 2 pieces that were intact and just cleaned...1 gold piece and the turquoise piece along the border.

This will take me a few weeks to get through. Good news is the discard pile has a good selection of replacement parts.

AND

The old cement seems easy to clean off...so far.

Restoration step 1

Step 1:

Trace with a piece of charcoal or soft pastel, over the lead lines of the panel that will be restored.

Next,

lay the tracing onto the work space and place grid paper over the tracing. The grid paper helps to true up the lines, make them straight and create the pattern that will be worked from.

Next, start pulling off the old lead, and clean up the piece of glass then lay in the respective place on the pattern.

Next update will show the glass cleaned and in place.

See ya.

Long Term Project

The Avera Hospital here in Platte, SD just delivered these panels for restoration. The 2 panels on the table will be restored, using the parts from the panels on the floor. They are building a chapel in the hospital, where these units will be permanently displayed.

The first task is to make a working pattern from the best (most intact) of the two panels. Then I pull off the old lead. Which doesn't look like it will be a problem, it is literally falling apart. Then, I clean all the old cement off the glass parts and dig around in the spare parts for a piece to replace the broken and missing pieces.

Then, I reconstruct the units with new lead and cement. Reinforce and up to the chapel they go.
With out any major complications this should probably take 2 months.
Depending on my work and lesson planning with demonstrations to schedule working into studio time.
This is where the word of the year for me...."Balance" is going to come into play!

There isn't going to be much to show for progress reports...I will probably just re post these pictures with the finished results when the time comes.

Just thought you might be interested in being on the first level of something like this.

:)