A Dragon in Sheep’s Clothing

I’m in a pretty good mood. Today I foiled and began soldering my first stained glass project. It’s a 5-pointed star with 10 pieces.

I cut all the pieces on Sunday. This evening I set up my grinder and used it to even out some edges where the glass didn’t break quite like I wanted it to. I wanted to get the pieces as close to perfect as possible, knowing that the foiling and soldering would magnify any flaws.

The grinder (I’ll come back and insert the model type here) was easy to set up and worked very nicely, even with the default bit. I’m glad I went one step up from the beginner model. This one definitely has enough torque.

I didn’t even think about taking photos of my progress until I was wrapping up for the evening. So I can’t show you the pretty stage where all the star’s pieces were wrapped in copper foil.

The foiling went really well, better than I had hoped. The soldering didn’t go any worse than I anticipated, which I will count as a success at this stage. I’m not done with the soldering yet, so I have a chance to finish better than I began.

I did learn several things tonight, some of which I suspected and a couple which I didn’t anticipate.

1. I need a better soldering iron, preferably with a temperature control device.

2. I need a small fan and an open window to vent the soldering fumes. Or a fume trap, but opening the window would be a lot cheaper. It’s also more practical than holding my breath.
3. The term “a hot mess,” which I have always associated with glue guns, can be applied to soldering, too. LOL
4. I should wear closed-toe shoes while soldering because a bead of hot solder does not cool off that much between the workbench and my toe. They would also be a good idea while cutting glass, both to protect my toes from slivers and on the chance that I drop the glass I’m handling.