I had to shelve the work on the stained glass for a while. However eventually I managed to return to what was now a very long drawn out project. Soldering was the next skill to master and I was not very confident about how to do it, especially as everything now had to be done in my own studio, as I had used up my entitlement in relation to money paid in for taught sessions.
I very quickly ran into a problem. The flux I was using and the soldering iron just didn't seem to work. The solder was running off the lead onto the glass and not adhering to the zinc came. So before I began damaging the leading I decided to seek more help. Eventually after another break, (this time due to not being able to do anything physical like manipulate a heavy leaded glass window, as I was recovering from a hernia operation), I was able to get the help I needed. When my soldering iron was tested it was found to be too hot and it had no heat adjustment controls. The flux I was using was also wrong and Jo-Ann of Hannah Stained Glass told me I needed to use tallow. So two tallow candles were ordered and I borrowed a soldering iron from her.
The tallow comes in candle form, exactly like a candle, but with no wick. You rub it backwards and forwards across all the joints, making sure the metal surfaces are covered that you want the solder to stick to.
The soldering iron came with a sponge tray that you use to keep cleaning the soldering iron head between each solder. The purpose of a sponge is to keep the soldering iron tip clean and to wipe off the oxide that can form on it. It's damp partly to keep the sponge from burning, but also to keep the iron from getting too hot; but too much water just sucks the heat out of your tip, which is exactly what you don't want happening when you're about to solder.
This time I was successful in soldering all my leading together, but because this was a new skill, my joints were not very smooth. I shall look to see if I can revisit them and smooth them out, but initially at least the window is held together.
Once the tallow was scratched off, I cleaned the whole surface with a soft cloth and kitchen surface cleaner, which also removed bits of grime that had built up over the time when the window had been in storage. I had to get help to turn the window over again, but soon had all the metalwork clean. There were also some remnants of sharpie markings left on a few sections and I took time to remove these too, using some rubbing alcohol and a cloth. I was now ready for the putty and whiting stage.
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