Breaking glass while soldering  I am soldering a large copper foiled panel.
What can cause breakage? I have two broken pieces and don't understand.

The breakage happened about ...

Are copper foiled projects suitable for display in the garden?  I have made several types of small light catchers with copper foil and solder, which I have only used inside the house. Numerous friends would like me ...

Silver foil on textured glass  I have followed all your advice on foiling but still cannot silver foil to stick to textured glass. I've even used a fiddle stick to burnish. Is there ...

Copper foil that's lost it's adhesive?  I have a stock of old copper foil that got put on the shelf for 20 years while I raised my children. I'm ready to get back into my stained glass hobby....

Copper foil around edge of seashell  I want to wrap a piece of copper foil around the edge of a seashell, and then patina it. Can I do this without soldering it? I want to keep the copper ...

When Did Foil Replace Lead? 
When did copper foil replace lead?

Answer

Tiffany developed the copper foil technique in the late 1800s, so it's been around for a long time....

Lampshade Repair  Hi Sue,
I am repairing a basic lampshade where the foil seams have come away from 4 out of 6 panels, and the lampshade has collapsed out of shape. The ...

Water Prism  Hi I like your water prism and would like to make one.
My questin is if I choose to make a silver one should I thin both sides of the trangels before ...

Space Between Glass and Foil  I have terrible trouble working out the space to leave between pieces for the foil my pieces fit nicely till I foil, then yuk! spaces. I am not a foil ...

Using Old Foil  Does foil ever get too old to use? I haven't worked on a glass project for sometime so my foiling supplies have been in plastic wrap. Now when I tried ...

Eyes for Copper Foil Projects  Is it possible to place a bead of solder somewhere that is not connected to a solder line i.e. a dot for an eye or something like that.

Answer

A ...

Water Prism Step 9 ... How Do You Tin the Foil?  I think I am having problems with terms. I do not clearly understand what tinning is, and I am not sure how you would tin foil?

Answer

In the ...

Soldering Questions  Soldering problems when working with copper foil

Soldering Trouble  I have come to dislike soldering . Lemme give you a bit of history. I took this course in stained glass in 2002. I haven't yet made a single project, 'cos ...

Smooth Solder Lines  As background, I am a novelist and photographer who got into stained glass with the hope of turning some of my photographs into stained glass art. I am ...

Marks on Glass Around Solder Seam  Just found you. Very cool site. Thanks. My problem is after I have finished and cleaned and polished there are marks around every soilder seam.I take a ...

General Question About Lead Free Solder? 
I have a few questions in regards to using lead free solder and where I can get it from?

The problem I have is that I am wanting a leadlight design ...

Silver Back Foil Problems  HELP!!!

I have a terrible time getting silver backed foil to stick. I clean all of my pieces with alcohol before I foil, I burnish and check for bad ...

Sharp Points on Solder  I just made a ring box. When I did the final soldering my teacher (I've only been do this for two months) showed me how to make it look like antique with ...

Composition of Flux   Why do you need to wear a fume mask when soldering? What is the chemical flux compositon? Why does solder bond with copper foil when using flux?

Answer ...

Big Problems With Solder Pooling  I wrote you a while back about having trouble with the flow of my solder, it was pooling all over the place. I changed out the flux, the solder, even ...

Help, My Copper Foil Has Peeled Off!  My foil peels off the edge of my suncatchers, in spots when I tin them. I usually wash my pieces after I solder one side to prevent oxidation if I can'...

Reinforcement for Large
Copper Foil Project.  I am constructing a large window (not to be exposed to the elements) that is 39" X 60", in copper foil. I would normally use lead came for a project like ...

Problem With Foil Lifting  After I finish soldering and wash my piece, sometimes I lift the inside edges up. What am I doing wrong?

How do I know when I need reinforcement?

Your ...

Foil Trouble  Hello,

I am working on a piece that consists of 4 different clear, heavily textured glass. No matter what, I can't get the foil to stay on the glass....

Foil Sun Catchers  What or how do you deal with the outside areas in a sun catcher? I have the foil around the edges, but when I run a "bead' solder to create an edge it ...

Corrosion on finished piece?  Please can you advise me? When I finish a piece it looks fine. Then within a couple of weeks there is white corrosion on the soldered seams - making the ...

Which Solder Do I Use for Copper Foil  What is the best solder to use when using copper foil?

Answer

You can solder copper foil with either 50/50 or 60/40 solder. 60/40 is used most ...

Applying Copper Foil  Questions about applying copper foil

Foil sizes for small pieces  I need to foil small pieces..what size foil should I use?

Answer

3/16" or 5/32" might work, but since glass does vary in thickness, it is difficult ...

Finishing the Edges  How to finish the edges to prevent foil from coming loose

Holes between foiled pieces  In a design that has a lot of curves I have trouble getting the pieces to fit together all over the piece. There are always some holes that are large ...

Protection for copper foil method on outdoor panels   What kind of protection will I need for a panel hung outside on my garden.

Answer

Make sure the panel is well waxed. Wax will slow down the oxidation ...

tinning  When is it appropriate to use tinning before final assembly.

Answer

Some people tin every piece others don't tin at all. I'm from the "don't tin ...

Finishing Copper Foil Edges  I just had a question about your tutorial on edging copper foil projects. i.e. beading,chaining,framing etc. my question is about a piece being framed ...

Foil Not Sticking  Problems with copper foil not sticking, lifting or coming off

How Much Space Between Foiled Pieces?  Hi

I just wondered if you could tell me the size of gap there should be between two pieces of copper foil work? I understand it shouldnt be flush but ...

Replacing pieces with copper foil technique   Hello,

I read your tutorial on replacing pieces that broke...very helpful. I just had a question: I put a U zinc came border around the edges of my ...

Attaching a Tube Hinge to a Box  Hi,

I am having major problems when it comes to attaching a tube hinge to a box. My method right or wrong has been to firstly tack the tube to the ...

Designs in copper foil lifting  I have a piece I am working on that I have added a design that I cut out of copper foil and added to the glass - the foil doesn't stick to the glass once ...

Spacing between glass pieces  After foiling the pieces, how much space should be allowed when preparing to solder? I've heard some say to lay out the pieces tightly together. Others ...

Copper Foil Mirror - Needs a Back Support ?  Hi,Firstly great web site - Thank You.
I'm constructing my first plain mirror that will be surrounded by stained glass using copper foil, its 30x50 cm....

Grinding Problem  After grinding a piece of glass there are always the rough edges left along the tops of the glass. Ive been grinding those down. I turn the piece of glass ...

copper foil  I am trying to turn the copper foil silver without having to use solder. I did a project where we copper foiled the egde then put flux on it, then ran ...

copper foiling  I did a craft that when we put the copper foil on and then ran a solder iron over it after we put flux on it, it turned silver. We did not use solder ...

Weller WD1 85W Controller/Canfield SolderMate 11/SilverGleem Solder  Experienced solderers have been stumped by this issue and have looked at my workspace and are confused as well, and I hope you can help.

Started small ...

Copper foil/Clear glass  What is the best copper foil to use with clear glass. I have black back or just the regular copper foil. Either will show through.....

Answer

It ...

Pattern Precision and Foil Width  As an engineer and woodworker, I appreciated your comments about the need for precision when cutting out the pattern and foiling. I have two questions ...

Storing Copper Foil  What is the best way to store copper foil?

Answer

Store it in a zip lock bag. Keep it away from high heat. Some people store it in a refrigerator ...

Question about Strength of Copper foil in Windows  Hi,

I'm making a large window project (5ftx5ft) and I was wondering about the strength of copper foil and what I needed to do, if anything to reinforce ...

Strength  I'm pretty sure it was on your website, but I can't find it now. I am wanting to do some larger pieces that should have some more srength to them. I ...

Problem with Reinforcing Freeform Suncatcher  I'm working on a freeform suncatcher in which the pattern designer recommends reinforcement of some kind. She states that she uses pre-tinned wire for ...

Chrome Finished Look  I want my solder lines to have a polished chrome look. How do I do this?

Answer

There's nothing you can do to get a chrome finish. The closest ...

Suncatchers with foil  When I make a one piece suncatcher and surround
the edge with foil, then solder, the edges closest
to the glass are always rough, I have tried for
years ...

Glass Pendant With Photo?  Hey,

I am attempting to make a glass pendant with a picture or word behind the glass, I am using glass that is smooth on the edges and a lead that ...

Shelf life of flux and patinas   Hi,

I wondered if anyone knows the shelf life of flux, patinas and oils?

Thank you!

Answer

Hi Gail,

I don't know the answer, but I can ...

Shelf Life of Copper Foil  What is the shelf life for a roll of unwrapped copper foil?

Hi Lauren,

One to two years is what most foil manufacturers recommend. However, I have ...

Heron window project  Is it possible to do a 30x43 window panel using copper foil exclusively? I am not a fan of Lead came.

You website is awesome and very helpful!

Answer ...

Copper Water Pipe  How do I repair a small tear with soilder and flux?

Answer

I'm afraid working with copper pipes is out of my area of expertise. You would need ...

How do I Learn Reinforcement Techniques?  My projects are approaching 24"x24". I'm using a zinc border with these larger (for me) sizes. When should I start to consider reinforcement and where ...

How to Turn Brass Edging Black  I have just made a circular copper foil project and used brass edging to complete the project, how do I make this edging black like the rest of the project....

Applying Flux  Hi, I am a novice (literally) to stained glass (am awaiting the arrival of my order of tools, etc.,.); all I know about stained glass is from watching ...

Cleaning Flux off Foil That has Been There One Year  Hi Sue:
I started a bevel glass storm door (a kit)a year ago and then abandoned it.Both sides are soldered but around outside edge of a few bevels has ...

Corroding Copper Foil  WHY DOES MY COPPER FOIL CORRODE AS SOON AS I APPLY THE FLUX? I DON'T HAVE TIME TO EVEN START SOLDERING BEFORE CORRODING STARTS TO APPEAR.
THANKS,
MELODY
...

Copper Foil  If you are doing a fairly large piece, do you foil the whole thing, then soldier or do you foil a section of it and soldier? I guess I am asking how long ...

Soldering Irons  I think my soldering iron now gets too hot and the thermostat may be haywire. The solder got so hot on my copper foil that it melted through to the other ...

How Do I Hang Stained Glass Suncatcher?  Dear Sue

I have made a stained glass heart which narrows to practically nothing at the centre point where a loop should be attached. As there is virtually ...

Problem With Solder and Foil  I need to remove the outside solder and foil of a stain glass piece that I did....the outside foil that I solder is pulling aways from the glass.....how ...

Smooth Soldering Hints  Is it an art in itself, to make a smooth soldering line on a panel? I have made a number of panels and sun-catchers, but the soldering is very unsteady ...

When To Use U-Channel Lead or Zinc To Frame A Piece  How big can a piece be before you have to go from using copperfoil and soldering to using lead channels to frame a piece? I want to make suncatchers and ...

Gap Between Foiled Pieces  I have a small gap between three pieces that have been cut and foiled. Can this be soldered any way, and will it hold? The gap is where three pieces meet,...

Ceiling Tiles For Copper Foiling  Hi Sue,

What brand or kind of ceiling tiles are you using for copperfoil pieces.
Thanks,
Sunny

Answer

Hi Sunny,

Hmm...that's a good ...

Oxidation Under the Foil  I have noticed oxidation under some of my foil. Because some of my pieces are clear, I can see underneath from one side or the other. At the time that ...

What Width of Foil Do I Use  I am doing a project that has small pieces of glass as well as larger pieces. Some pieces are considerably thicker than others.
Help....how does one ...

Copper Foil Cuts Fingers  I am fairly new at stained glass and have been using Venture 1 mil copper foil because it was given to me. I decided to purchase Venture 7/32 black back ...

Edco Copper Foil  Sue, I went back over your Copper Foil Tutorial, and I went to the site you recommended, A-1, but they don't carry Edco. Can you recommend a dealer (online)...

Copper Foil Mil/Thickness  Is one copper foil mil/thickness better to use for deep curves than another weight? Does that make sense? I've been using 7/32, and I'm "graduating" to ...

2nd Side Soldering Problems  Hi Sue,

Love the site, so helpfull. Thanks.

I have a problem. I make pictures around 5'x3'. When I turn them over, the copper is either black or ...

Adding Wire Stamens to Flowers  I am working on a pattern that suggests adding wire stamens to the piece. (I am working on Daffodils). I have never done anything like this as I am fairly ...

How To Repair Copper Foil Once It Has Been Beaded  Hi Sue,

I've just finished beading my copper foil suncatcher (which looks pretty good after following your instructions!).

My problem is I have ...

Foil Lifts Off Outside Edges  I have trouble with the foil lifting off of the outside edges of my projects. I thought it was because I was using too much heat. I have tried keeping ...

What Makes Glass Crack When Soldering?  Hi Sue,

Can you please tell me what makes glass crack when soldering, as it's happened to me a couple of times and I'm not sure why?

Is it the hot ...