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, 1 reply, 15 years ago)

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)