Foil Sun Catchers

by Su Miller
(lake elsinore ca)

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 runs off leaving a thin coating of solder, should I be using cane?

Hi Su,

Thanks for asking about foil sun catchers.

First of all, no...you do not have to use came. You can, if you want, but it isn't necessary. Edge beading is sufficient for all but the very largest of suncatshers.

I just finished an oval suncatcher that was 15 inches long and 9 inches wide. I soldered a wire around the outside edge, then edge beaded.

I kept the suncatcher flat on my work bench and worked the wire around it, little by little, tacking it as I went. I will be doing 2 more like it this weekend, so I'll take pictures and do a short tutorial on the technique.

For plain edge beading read my article at:
This article will give you my edge beading technique: Edge Beading.
I hope it will help you. It explains how to hold your soldering iron so the solder stays on the edge and doesn't run off. It also explains why you need to put solder on all three surfaces...the foil showing on the front edge, the foil showing on the back edge, and finally the surface between the front and back edges. It will make more sense once you read the article.

I hope this will be of help to you.

Regards,
Sue

PS...Su, you might also want to read the question and answer about Beading which you'll find at
Beading.