Foil, foil and more foil.

Foil, foil and more foil.

There are several different backings in copper foil, how and when to use them?

The backing is the adhesive side of the foil. If the foil is wrapped around a piece of transparent glass the color backing is visible if you look "inside" the foiled area through the glass. This becomes very visible you patina your solder lines in a different color than the foil backing.

So always to match the copper foil with the patina you would like to use on the finished piece.

Black backed foil for black patina.

Copper patina on the copper foil with no color backing

If you plan on leaving the solder in its natural silver color the silver foil will match.

Foil comes in different thicknesses 0,03 mm  and 0,04 mm. Which size is best to minimize foil splitting on inside curves?

Thickness really doesn't matter when it comes to foiling inside curves. You can use any of the thicknesses. The trick is to not pull the foil so tight.

Immediately after foiling the inside curve, crimp down the sides gently and ease the foil around the curve.

Fred Hebing

HotPot Norge 1

Recently we encountered a very fun new thing that's happening in the world of glass fusing.

It's called HotPot and you can fuse glass in your own microwave, how about that.

With the use of the nice dichroic glass types out there it's possible to make very nice fused personalized jewelry in a very easy way.

At the moment we are practicing this and the results are very satisfying from the start.

Time for some show and tell.

The HotPot is a small kiln that is designed for use in a microwave. When placed in the microwave this kiln should be elevated from the microwave floor. The kiln comes with some blocks for this purpose. 

The only other thing to prepare before using the kiln is to put fiber- and releasing paper in the HotPot and you're ready to go. These papers prevent your glass from sticking to the kiln and will give the piece that you're designing a smooth finish on the back.

After this 30 second preparation, the real fun starts - designing your jewelry.

It is much easier than it sounds, more or less placing several pieces of glass on top of each other.

And there are so many nice type of glass out there.

Another nice thing to do is to incorporate milefiori or precut shapes in the design you're making.

To make it more personal, cut your own glass shapes. Remember, when cutting glass cutting for use in the HotPot, always do it with an oil free glass cutter.

When cutting dichroic glass, always cut on the back side of the glass so you don't damage the layer of dichroic film. 

There's even a glue to stick glass pieces together because stacking glass is slippery business, and they can slide.

It happened several times while placing the kiln in the microwave - glass falling of each other by the smallest bump or when carrying it on the tiniest angle.

How unfortunate it happened again, maybe we should start using the glue?

We the glueless people (or are we the clueless people?) gently place the bottom part of the Hotpot with the assembled glass pieces, on the blocks in the center of the microwave.

And be even more careful when placing the Hotpot lid on. Most of the time we end up lifting the lid just one more time to make sure the glass didn't shift. (Remember glue less)

All set and done. Time to start the microwave (750-1000 watt) and let it go for about 5 or 6 minutes. Time to have a peek. Put on your gloves and lift the top up far enough so you can see if the glass is melting. If not melted far enough give it some more microwave time.

You can look every 30 seconds if you want till you see a nice orange mound of glowing glass. 

Done that's all to it.

Carefully remove the kiln from the microwave and place it on some heat resistant tiles (leftover tiles from your bathroom will do the trick) to protect your worktable surface.

Let the kiln cool down totally and do not remove the glass till after the cooling down. Doing so early will cause thermal shock to the glass and it will crack.

That's all that there is to it, time to have a drink and maybe prepare your next piece.

For more info on the Hotpot visit www.glassatelier.no






Fred Hebing

Glassatelier Hebing Efteland created.

Many months of thoughts, spending much time on a business plan we took the dive. Quitted our jobs, must say that always gives a good feeling, and started to look for a place to start our glassatelier.

We looked at a lighthouse on an island, run down buildings, some were appealing some were not, great locations to less nice locations.

From out of budget to totally out of budget.

Then we stumbled upon an incentive from the Stavanger commune to get some activity in a very nice old part of town. With nothing to lose we entered the bid for one of the properties on offer.



We were very pleasantly surprised when we got a positive answer from Stavanger commune when they offered to lease us Mellomstraen 4.


We jumped on it, a location and building that will fit in very good with what we have in mind and what we want to do.

Soon we'll receive the key and can start putting in work tables, paint the walls etc. We hope to open the premises in the second half of October. If you're in the neighbourhood or passing by Mellomstraen 4 feel free to enter and have a chat and look around.



Yvette and Fred

Lead came color glass set in double glazing.

Some time ago we were asked to restore some lead came colored glass in an older house and upgrade it at the same time.

We happily accepted this project because we just extended our skills with this double glazing technique.

We started this restauration project with removing all the old layers of paint from the woodwork.

After this we removed the window and took the stained glass piece out of the frame.

Not too bad we only broke 3 pieces of clear glass.

In the double glazing technique, the stained glass is put in a y-profile making the original size of the piece a wee bit too big.

This means that we will have to take the whole piece apart, clean it, re-cut it and put it back together again.

In this case the owner wanted to incorporate more transparent glass to get more light into his house.

After putting the lead came piece back together again, it was time to start making the aluminum frames that go on both sides of the y-profile.

This aluminum profile is filled with a drying agent that will get all water molecules between the layers of glass out to prevent condensation when the temperature goes down and the heating goes up.

You always must use different thickness of glass on either side of the lead came piece to prevent mirroring of items in the finished product. For example 4 mm complemented with 5 mm etc.

When all of this is done it's time to clean all the glass and fill the space between the outer pieces of glass with rubber putty to get an airtight seal around the whole piece.

This putty has to dry out for about a week. Then the time comes to place the piece back into its frame and see the results.

The last thing to do for us is to put sealant on the glass frame connection to make it waterproof for years to come.

Fred Hebing

Types of Glass - Uroboros

Maybe our favorite glass is made by a company called Uroboros.

Uroboros glass is hand mixed and rolled sheet by sheet, in doing so every sheet of glass they produce is unique.

To see the production process we can recommend a visit to their website ( www.uroboros.com ) and click "about us" and then "video library". A good few minutes spent.

 
The diversity of color combinations and surface textures makes this glass perfect for lampshades and other items made in the copperfoil (Tiffany) technique.

Typical for Uroborus glass is not only the natural colors but also the balance of transparent and opalescent glass for the field of glass fusing.

Because of the uniqueness of the glass it's best to go to your supplier and pick their glass on a project base. The pictures of Uroboros glass on websites or in catalogues don't do justice to the real splendor and translucency of their product.

Despite this, I'm going to put some pictures of their glass on this page.

Fred Hebing

Soldering Problems and Tips 1

When you start soldering you will see things happen that makes you think mmhhuu??????? 
Is it supposed be like this?

To answer that here are some pointers and actions to take to improve your soldering technique. As usual practice makes perfect (most of the time).

Beading of seams is too flat.
Not enough solder.  

Beading is lumpy or peaks instead of flowing.
Iron is too cold. 

Can't seam to get beading smooth.
Did you flux? Iron too cold or too hot. Too much or not enough solder. 

Solder won't stick to copper foil or lead.
Did you flux? Copper foil may be oxidized.

Solder splatters into little balls all over the glass.
Iron too hot: purchase rheostat for your iron. This will control the current to your iron and control the heat output.

Solder falls through seams to other side when soldering copper foiled pieces.
Soldering iron is too hot or you are holding the iron in one area too long.


Try to solder in a well ventilated space, or even better, do it outdoors if you have space and the weather is on your side. It's not very beneficial to breate in the fumes from the soldering process.


Hope this helps.
Fred

Coming soon: The different types of solder and lead-free solder.

Tips on Foiling and Soldering.

THE COPPER FOIL TECHNIQUE

This method was made popular by L.C. Tiffany at the turn of the century, it involves wrapping the pieces of glass with copper foil and soldering them together along the length of the seams.

Copper foil can be used as an alternative to lead in any instance at the personal preference of the user. It is much stronger than lead when soldered, needs no putty, is waterproof, and allows you to do intricately detailed projects where the bulky look and weight of lead would detract from the aesthetics of a delicate design.

The copper needed for this technique is of a thin, foil-like gauge. It has an adhesive on one side and is backed by protective paper. Copper foil is sold in 33 meter rolls and is available in several widths and gauges. Some of the common sizes used are 4 mm, 4,8 mm, 5,5 mm and 6,4 mm. The actual gauge of the copper can be 1 mil, 1-1/4, or 1-1/2 mil. the thickness of the glass you are using and the finished look you want to achieve will dictate your choice.

For instance, if you use very wide foil such as 9,5 mm to wrap thin glass, you will have very wide seams in your finished project. Wide foils such as 7,9 mm and 9,5 mm are usually used where strength is an important factor or when very thick glass is being used. Beginners using standard 3 mm thick machine-made stained glass should start with 6,3 mm or 5,5 mm foil. These sizes are easy for the novice to handle. With a little more experience at cutting, you may like the narrow seams that 4,7 mm foil produces. The choice of width and milage is one of personal preference. As you do more stained glass, you will find that you have definite preferences.

The allowance between your pieces of glass using the copper foil method is 0,79 mm. This means that the lines of your pattern should be 0,79 mm thick. This allowance is the space that your copper foil takes up. When cutting using the traditional method, you must cut every piece of glass to the inside of these lines. If you use the paper pattern method this allowance is cut out of the pattern. If you are using a full-size pattern that is drawn with 1,5 mm lines, and using the traditional method, cut slightly to the inside of these lines. Alternatively use a Tiffany scissor, which will cut the correct amount of paper away so you'll end up with a perfect template for cutting glass.

APPLICATION OF COPPER FOIL

After all of the pieces of glass in your project are cut and refined to fit properly, you are ready to begin foiling. Every piece of glass must be wrapped in copper foil. Before you begin it is important that your glass is clean and free of dirt and oil from your cutter or the foil will not adhere properly.

Remove the protective paper backing of the foil as you work. First, center the glass on the foil. Make sure that there is an even amount of overhang on each side of the glass. Wrap the foil around each piece of glass, overlapping it at least 5 mm from where you began.

Crimp the foil around the edges of the glass. With a blunt piece of wood or a fid, burnish the foil on both sides of the glass and along the outside edge so that the foil adheres to the glass firmly and smoothly. A sloppy wrap job will ruin the appearance and affect the strength of the finished project.

Tip: the warmer the copperfoil and the glass pieces are the better foil will stick to the glass and later during the soldering it will not loosen. Try to work in a place where the temperature is above 20 degrees.

(the higher temperature the better)

Lining up and soldering your piece

After wrapping and burnishing all of the pieces of glass position them.

Apply flux to the foiled seam joints. Tack solder to all of the joints in your project. Melt just enough solder onto each joint to hold the pieces firmly together so that they will not slip or slide apart. Neat, skillful soldering is not necessary at this point because during the next step the tacking will be remelted.

Apply flux along the foiled seams of the project that you will be soldering during this work session. If you apply flux to the copper and leave it unsoldered for too long, it will result in badly tarnished, oxidized foil that will be difficult, or impossible to solder without a thorough cleaning. Should this happens, you can remove the oxidation with a soupy mixture of water, vinegar, and table salt.

The final soldering step is called "beading." This process involves building up the solder to a uniformly rounded bead along all the seams. Move the iron (with the tip held horizontal to the seam) and the solder continuously along the length of the seam. Remember that you can't bead a seam if you don't use enough solder. Likewise, too much solder will be difficult to uniformly bead. You will get the hang of it and use the proper amount. Bead both sides of your project.

If you are not going to frame your panel in a wooden frame or U lead came, you will want to take the outside edges have a more finished appearance. You now want to bead the perimeter. First apply a very light coat of solder to the perimeter on both sides of the piece. This is called "tinning."

Now bead the edges.

If you are not going to frame your project, solder on loops for hanging at this time. Pre-formed circles of brass or copper can be purchased from your supplier or you can make you own simply by curling 18 or 20 gauge brass or copper wire around a dowel.

Wash your project in warm water and mild detergents to remove the flux or use a commercially prepared flux remover. You are now ready to apply patina to the solder. Patina changes the silver color of the solder to an antique black or copper. Commercially approved chemical mixtures are available. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the chemicals, and follow the directions on the label. When finished, wash and dry your panel.

Fred Hebing

The History of Stained Glass: A Timeline.

Glass consists of a mixture of quartz sand, soda and lime, fused at high temperature.  



It gets its various colours by adding metallic salts and oxides during manufacture. Hence, gold made a cranberry color, cobalt made blue, silver made yellow and golds, and copper made greens.





The stained glass windows as we know were first made for churches in France and Germany. The oldest surviving stained glass window dates from the 11^th century and can be seen in the cathedral of Augsburg, Germany.

Due to the fact that it wasn't possible to produce large sheets of glass, the craft of stained glass was created. It was possible to produce small sheets of glass and, by joining them with lead it was still possible to produce large windows. So you can say that stained glass was actually created because of the impossibility to make large sheets of glass.

Timeline and Development of Styles in Stained Glass.

Pre Roman and Romanesque style 800 to 1130 AD

The first stained glass was created in the late 8^th century during the Carolingian period and is called the pre Roman style. Over the years this developed into a style that we call now Romanesque. This style is very familiar to us and can still be seen in cathedrals. A good example is the cathedral of Augsburg in Germany.

Gothic Style 1130 to 1500 AD

Around 1130 AD, the Romanesque style gradually changed into the Gothic style due to technical innovations in construction.

The usage of thinner and lighter walls enabled builders to construct larger window frames. This made it possible to make larger windows, giving stained glass windows an important role. Because of this the craft underwent a revival and was used as a storytelling medium, consisting of biblical scenes.

The Gothic style is characterized by figures that are modeled less static than in the Romanesque style period. At the Notre Dame in Paris windows from this period are to be seen.

Renaissance 1500 to 1600 AD

The Renaissance (literally “rebirth”) began in the 15^th century and continued well into the 16^th century. In this period classical Greek and Roman societies were a source of inspiration for scientists, philosophers and artists.
Characteristics of stained glass during the Renaissance is the heavy lead lines and the use of yellow with a silver filigree background.

An example of a stained glass window from this period is “The Jesse Tree” which can be found in the church of Saint-Etienne in Beauvoir (France).

Art Nouveau Jugendstill to 1914 AD

Only during the 19^th century did stained glass regain another comeback.





A cheaper production method made it more accessible to a wider range of people.

This US inventor was Louis Tiffany. He used copper foil and solder to connect the glass pieces instead of lead came. This technique made it possible to manufacture in series, which made the products more affordable and accessible to a wider audience.  Tiffany lamps for example became especially popular.

Tiffany's Wisteria lamp.

The most famous lamps were the “Dragonfly" and “Did Aria” (wisteria) which are typical Art Nouveau themes from nature.In the last decade of the 19^th century Germany developed a style known as Jugendstill. 

 




Although there are many similarities, Art Nouveau is smoother than the more rigorous form and angular Jugendstill. Jugendstill is popular due to the wavy lines.

Characteristic in both Art Nouveau and Jugendstill are the use of natural motifs like stylized plants and animals.

De Stijl 1915 to 1930

The Stijl is a movement in art and is characterized by abstract, highly geometric order and the use of the primary colors red, blue and yellow.

Art Deco style 1920 to 1930 



Responding to Art Nouveau, in the early 20^th century Art Deco developed. This style which was popular in the 1920s to 1930s is characterized by clean, simple geometric shapes.

Modern from 1945 till present day




From the Second World War onward we call newly designed windows modern.







Fred Hebing