I bought some new toys!
On Craigslist I found a guy advertising a used glass grinder for sale for $50, including some spare parts. I contacted the guy and set up a meeting and gladly paid, and in exchange got:

-said glass grinder
-three grinding heads, each of which would be about $50 new
-a roll of copper foil tape, probably at least worth $10
-a rig for holding the roll of tape so it doesn't fall all over the floor like usually happens to me
-a roll of solder
-a bottle of patina solution
-about ten pounds of stained glass in various colors.

The grinder is a different sort than the one I already own, and came with a guide for grinding glass into rectangular strips. I've already tried it and it's ace.

I also finished the next table and need to take photos of it this evening, if I can clear a corner well enough to set up a backdrop for it.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 14 Dec 2010, 21:03, 1 reply, 15 years ago)

sounds like a great deal!
is the copper foil the matrix/substrate for the glass?
i did some similar glasswork a few years ago but used a tin alloy strip.
similar technique?
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Tue 14 Dec 2010, 22:35, Reply)

Yes, the Tiffany method.
I use it myself, as I'm not fond of toxic lead fumes. It works well, though you can't put it outdoors.

I've been cleaning up the dining room for use, but still don't have an appropriate space cleared for shooting pics of the new table project. That's next on the agenda after I eat dinner.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 14 Dec 2010, 22:41, Reply)

right, so a lead/tin alloy, but you can't use it externally?
i do a fair bit of actual lead-work, y'know oxy-acetylene stuff. lead is good for external use so what gives? is it the weathering details?
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Tue 14 Dec 2010, 22:46, Reply)

The lead vapor I was referring to
is the really old-school method, where you actually melt lead and pour it to hold the glass together as Tiffany did for his massive pieces. It's fine if you work outdoors, I've just never tried.

I do own an oxy-acetylene torch. How do you use it for this? You have me very interested!
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 14 Dec 2010, 22:54, Reply)

i do old-school lead-burning for pipework etc and oxy-acetylene welding of sheet lead, but not as often as i would like.
water mains repairs for old women (sweating a pair of copper tails into lead so you can stick in a half inch compression coupler), some (almost none anymore :-( sadly) acid plant stuff (sweating brass into lead, repairing seams etc. the usual valley-gutter repairs and bay-window roofs damaged by window cleaners.
i also fabricate hopper-heads and suchlike to order, bespoke castings and suchlike too.
i heart plumbum and all it's 82 weightliness.
( blaireau69 , the Cumbrian Travis Bickle., Tue 14 Dec 2010, 23:15, Reply)

Ah!
See, if I tried using a torch to melt lead for stained glass I'd have a lot of shattered glass. The closest I come is to use a tiny butane torch to supplement the soldering iron now and then, and even so I sometimes crack a piece of glass in the process. (Generally I just use the torch on the iron itself, but sometimes I forget and hit the bead I'm working on with bad results.)

Interestingly, I've found that if I use the torch to heat up the glass from green traffic lenses that the glass permanently discolors into yellow and brown. No idea what they use to make the color, but it oxidizes in interesting ways.

Mostly what I use the torch for, though, is to use silver solder to join pieces of brass and bronze together to make frameworks for the stained glass. I use plain brazing rod or brass bar stock that I've bent and cut. Fun stuff...
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Tue 14 Dec 2010, 23:31, Reply)