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.