Creating An Angel - Part 2

Part 1 of creating a stained glass angel described the process of selecting the glass and preparing the glass to be joined together to create an angel.  These are the next steps to complete the angel.

Step 1

Now that each piece of glass has smooth edges, they are ready for the copper foil, which is in the brown container in the center of the picture.  The foil has a very thin layer of copper on top, with an adhesive on the bottom to attach to the glass.  There are numerous rolls of foil as they come in different widths.

Step 2

The glass is centered on the piece of foil and wrapped around the entire piece, with a slight overlapping at the point they meet.  Once the piece is completely wrapped the small white tool in the brown container is used to go around each piece and force the edges down smoothly on each side of the glass.  The foil needs to be smooth in order to make the finished product look better.

Step 3

Once all of the pieces have been wrapped in copper foil, the soldering can begin.  The soldering iron is on the far right and this work is done on a fire-proof board.  This picture shows the two angel bodies that have been soldered with their head and halo added.  All of the edges of the angel have been covered with solder and the points of contact - where the sides meet the center - have been high-beaded.  

Step 4

The final soldering step is to attach the wings so that the angel can stand on her own.  Here the white angel in the center has been completed and can stand on her own.  The original angel stands at the top of the board as the example. Each completed soldered piece has to be washed to remove the flux that allows the solder to stick to the copper.  Then, after polishing, the angel is complete and ready for a new home.

If there is a particular item, color or design for an object that springs to mind for you and you want to know if we can create it, get in touch and we will see what we can do. Contact us by emailing here or contact us on Facebook.