Stained Glass: The Sun-catching Craft

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After all the lead strips are in place, your "light painting" is ready to be soldered. You'll need a one-pound roll of 50/50 (50% tin and 50% lead) solid wire solder, and a small can of paste flux (both of which are available from your local plumbing supply wholesaler . . . at lower prices than you'd have to pay to purchase the same material from a stained glass store).

Clean all the lead joints — with a small, stiff wire brush — until they're shiny. Then apply some flux (with a paint or paste brush) and begin soldering. Use a 50- to 120-watt soldering iron or soldering gun, with a chisel tip, to melt the soft metal. If you plan to do a lot of glass work, a quality iron — such as the Weller 80-watt model, which should be available for approximately $15 from your stained glass supplier — would be a good investment.

Place about a quarter-inch of the end of the wire solder over the cleaned and fluxed lead joint, and melt it with the heated iron. Then, working quickly and gently, move the iron's tip in a small circular motion, out from the center of the joint and back, and lift the end of the solder-melter straight up. With a little practice, you'll soon be able to shape smooth solder joints!

One word of caution: It isn't uncommon for a soldering iron to overheat and begin to melt the lead in a piece being worked upon. To keep the temperature of the iron safely constant, be sure to unplug the unit when it gets too hot (or install an in-line rheostat to monitor the temperature of the tool). And if your plugged-in iron has been sitting awhile, always test it on a piece of scrap lead before you put it to use!

After you've completed all the joints on both sides of the window, solder small copper loops to the upper back corners of the panel for easier hanging.

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