All done

Well that's everything done with the sweet pea window. Last actions were a thorough clean and polish with whiting followed by a good polish with a graphite paste. This blackens the lead and solder giving it an antique patina, it also protects the lead from oxidising (which can weaken it) and from atmospheric pollution. It's a similar story with the glass. Mouth blown glasses have a softer surface than machine made float glass and the polish puts a protective surface on. 

The panel has sat for a few days allowing to putty to set solid and form a good bond between lead and glass. It is now very rigid and strong. The only other thing to do is to fit it, maybe a couple of weeks; will do a last post when in situ. Beautiful, though I say so myself. 

Nearly finished

It all starts to move quickly from here. The day started early, cleaning all the lead joints and applying a flux (pure tallow). It then took only about half an hour to solder the first side. Once done all the horseshoe nails which till now have been holding it together are removed and the panel is flipped over. This is the most likely point in the whole project to wreck it in one go; it is extremely fragile. Once ready we solder all the other joints. Next the tedious job of cleaning the tallow which has run everywhere, I have a neat trick to help but it is still very much a manual task. 

The next task is to cement the panel, this is achieved by forcing a special putty between the glass and came. This very sticky disgusting mess (boiled linseed oil, whiting and a few other noxious substances) is vital; it bonds the whole panel together imparting great strength and flexibility into it and also weather proofs it. As you can see from the photos it is a very messy business (I even wear protective gloves) and starts to cure quickly. If left for too long we would never be able to shift it, so once it's ready we cover the whole thing in whiting (calcium carbonate powder), the begins the curing process and aids its removal. There now follows a short lull to make sure it is setting and then hours of very tedious work to remove all the excess and polish lead and glass. So that's one side completely finished, another day should do it. 

All leaded

Okidoki, that's all the leading finished and I am happy to report that the last two pieces of border lead fitted without fuss and were right on the line. What this tells me is not just that all my fastidious measurements and hyper accurate glass and lead cutting have been spot on (can you imagine how accurate that needs to be so that over 10 to 20 pieces of all shapes it is within half a millimetre at the end!), but that the panel will be strong and resist movement. It has been a labour of love, fitting it together was very tricky and at times frustrating, but looking at it now, with its beautiful delicate curves, it has been well worth the effort. 

All that's left to do now is to solder the joints, cement the glass and polish the whole thing; then we can fit it. 

Work still on the books: two stained glass picture windows to design and make, one stained glass panel to restore, several lead lights to repair.