Tag: Repair Work

The Barrister Cabinet Repair

November 1, 2022November 1, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

We’re happy, always, to do custom work for our clients, creating new pieces to suit their needs and wants. We’re happy, always, to have you reach out to us so that we can make your heart’s desire come true. But we’re also happy to restore the works of others that have suffered from time and rough handling, such as the piece we did most recently.

Not long ago, a client came to us with a panel that had been taken from a more-than-century-old barrister cabinet. True to the name, the cabinet had been moved several times in its lifetime in Mexico and the United States, traveling as circuit-riding attorneys used to do. In its most recent move, however, it didn’t fare as well as in the past.

The main breaks identified in the cabinet panel

Admittedly, a barrister cabinet needs to show what it holds. Clear, rather than colored and textured, glass is desirable therefore; it’s hard to read book titles through swirling opalescence. Fortunately, we tend to keep clear glass on hand, and so it was no difficult thing to separate the pieces of came, remove the broken glass, cut new pieces to fit, and reassemble the panel. Backed by our guarantee, the repaired piece went back to its owner–and the owner, by all accounts, is delighted with the work!

Note the breaks are no longer there.
Photo by Kevin Elliott

It’s always a pleasure to make people happy with our work! And if you’d like us to make you happy with it, reach out at the form below or give us a call at 830-890-1509. We’d love to hear from you!

The Untersee Lantern: Getting Started

July 5, 2022June 19, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

We don’t just do windows, you know!

Recently, we were contacted by a client who wanted us to take a look at and repair some lanterns in their possession. There’s a lot of damage to address, both to the glass and to the structures of the lanterns themselves, as the pictures below show.

What’s really interesting with these is that they are clearly oil lamps, and the smoke and soot that will inevitably come from using them will impose some things on the repairs; whatever we do has to be something that can be cleaned easily, for one thing. Too, while getting glass to match what’s in place should be relatively easy–while textured and colored glass gets made in individual batches, the plain glass of the lanterns’ panels is often mass-produced and thus easier to replicate–the etching will take some time and attention. Fortunately, we’ve got the tools and techniques on hand to make it happen–as we’ll show in the coming weeks!

We love a challenge. If you’ve got one, please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via our “Contacts” page or the form below and see what all we can do for you!

The Frey Repair: Framed In

June 28, 2022June 20, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

We continued work on the Frey Repair, of course, moving past reinforcing the panel to cleaning it and putting it back into its frame. We’re pretty proud of the results!

Each batch of art glass is different, even when it’s the “same” glass; there are always variations and individuations involved, especially with textured glasses. But we think we did a pretty good job of matching what was already present as we effected the repair and replacement, and we’re confident that the panel will hold up well for a long time to come, increasing the value of the home where it will be reinstalled and adding beauty to the lives of those who live there.

We’re not the only ones, either! The clients had the following to say about it when they picked it up:

For now, though, on to the next project!

Think you’d like to have some of this in your place? Please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via the form below or our “Contacts” page to see what all we can do for you!

The Frey Repair: Making Progress

June 21, 2022June 19, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

Things seem to keep coming up, but we get through them–and we continue to make progress on the work we’re doing. In this case, we’ve continued work on the Frey piece, having removed and replaced the broken glass and adjusting such joints as needed work. That much done, we took pains to protect the piece, adding reinforcing rods in a stiffer, more durable material, so that the panel will have the structural strength to face the world well.

We make a point of strengthening our work whenever we can do so, all while maintaining the visual effect of the pieces we handle. Even relatively simple art glass adds quite a bit of appeal to the rooms where it is installed, and that appeal comes chiefly from how the glass admits and alters light. Keeping that flow of light open is important, therefore, and we take pride in being able to do so while enhancing the stability of pieces we work with, ensuring that they remain beautiful for years to come!

If you’d like to have out work in your home, please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via the form below or our “Contacts” page to see what all we can do for you!

The Frey Repair: Getting Started

April 26, 2022April 26, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

Projects just keep coming our way!

The most recent one to start with us is coming to us from Eldorado, Texas, a small city in the western Hill Country. Now, as folks who’ve lived in the area can tell you, we may not get a lot of rain in our part of the world, but when it does come, it’s like to come in abundance–and with company, namely hail. In Kerrville, we’ve had hailstorms that left the town coated in little ice pellets, standing a foot deep in some places, and many’re the folks who’ve had close encounters with quarter-sized chunks of ice coming from the sky. (It ain’t comfortable.) As might be imagined, such storms–and we’re always glad of rain–wreak havoc on windows, including such stained glass pieces as our soon-to-start project, the Frey Repair.

The panel in situ; nice place for it, really

It’s clear even from these photos that there’s work to do; several panes need replacing, including one that seems to’ve had a hole punched clean through it by a particularly ornery hailstone, and there might be more to find once we get a good look at it in our shop. The window needs a good cleaning, too–but between getting that and the repair, when we get it back to the client, it’ll be a glorious little bit returned to another Hill Country town!

We’d love to hear from you. Please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via our “Contacts” page or the form below to see what all we can do for you!

The Neubauer Reconstruction: Getting Started

April 19, 2022April 19, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

We do a lot of repairs to existing stained glass work, as we’ve shown in such pieces as the Cassidy Door and the Carpenter Beck Door. Less often, but no less happily, we take on work like the Smith Panel Combination, where we reconfigure existing glass into new designs. Sometimes, though, we get a project that involves a bit of both–like the Neubauer Reconstruction.

What had happened with this piece is that, while it was decently constructed–the outside edges are of sturdy zinc came, and there is some reinforcement in the piece–it was removed and moved, and handled badly amid that move. It’s not the first time we’ve encountered such a piece; we got one in one time that had been stepped on. But it’s always a shame to see it happen–especially with so vibrant a piece, and one that clearly was made with some attention to detail. Note how the streaks in the “water” largely align, suggesting the flow behind the koi; it’s not bad work at all, though it was treated badly later on.

We would, of course, be happy to restore this piece to its original glory; it’s the kind of thing in which we delight, not least when working with such a vivid piece as this one. But the client wants something a little different; what we’ll be doing is reconfiguring the rectangular panel into an oval hanger, preserving the koi and the oyster and as much of the scene as can remain while framing the two in as an oval. And, instead of the zinc came with the soldered-on hanging points–they show up in the first picture of the obverse–we’ll be framing the oval in H-shaped lead came. The glass will fit into the inside; double-jack chain will be fitted and secured into the outside, allowing for a more even distribution of the hanger’s weight within its structure and facilitating its display in most any window.

We’re happy to do this kind of work for you, too; if you’ve got some you’d like attended to, let us know below!

The Perry Panel: Detailed Assessment

April 12, 2022April 4, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

Having finished up the Turner Transom and having worked through the Carpenter Beck Door, we were pleased to get back to work on the Perry Panel, taking the next step in our work on it. In this case, we did a fuller inspection of the panel than we were able to amid the other works, finding there was a lot more to do than we’d originally thought–dozens of breaks, in fact.

It’s not a surprise, admittedly. We were told that the panel came from a movie set, and shooting takes a toll on everything that connects to it. Too, it’s been a while, and age, unfortunately, affects us all. Further, the whole piece is in the Tiffany style, and while that allows for beautifully detailed work, it doesn’t always come with the best stability and endurance. Pieces move and shift, and the stresses of doing so sometimes break the glass. Fortunately, though, we know just what to do and how to do it–and we’ll let you know some more about that next time!

Got some glass that needs some fixing? Give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via our “Contacts” page or through the form below to see what all we can do for you!

The Carpenter Beck Door: Finale

April 5, 2022March 23, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

In the time since the previous update on the Carpenter Beck Door glass was written, the panel’s been completed, picked up, and installed. We think it looks pretty good in its new home!

We’re confident that the panel will stand up to the use a front door can expect to have, and for a good long time. And that’s good, because we guarantee our work against manufacturing defects for the life of the work. Putting a football or the like through the panel isn’t covered, but an awful lot is.

Next, we’ll be returning to the Perry Panel, which has been waiting patiently for attention–but good things come to those who wait! In the meantime, if you’ve got a project you’d like us to do, read up on our new-project process here, and then reach out to us at 830-890-1509, through our Contact page, or via the form below; we’d love to work with you!

The Carpenter Beck Door: We’ve Done a Bit

March 29, 2022March 23, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

We’ve continued to be busily at work on the Carpenter Beck Door Panel, bringing it along a fair way. We’re quite pleased with how things turned out, and we’re confident that not only the client, but the client’s successors, will be too–because we (re)built this thing to last!

The came is repaired; see how much neater that solder work is? Photo by Kevin Elliott.

We got the old joints repaired that needed repaired, and the whole window has been reputtied. The individual pieces of glass will now stay where they are in the came, forming an airtight panel that will keep out the winds that blow in when the Hill Country gets some of the rain it always seems to need. And to help keep things from moving out of joint again, we’ve added reinforcing rods along the middle three uprights, as well as at the major horizontals, binding them to the back of the came so that the light shining in will hide them–and they can keep the panel from moving in ways it shouldn’t when the door swings open and closed.

Reinforcements in place along center details and the center upright, laid out on the second and fourth uprights

We’re not done, of course. As of this writing, the panel is yet to be picked up and installed by the contractor with whom we’re working. Too, there are always more projects coming, and we’ll be building up inventory to start heading out to craft shows again as time and circumstances permit, doing things such as are featured here. In the meantime, if you’ve got a project you’d like us to do, read up on our new-project process here, and then reach out to us at 830-890-1509, through our Contact page, or via the form below; we’d love to work with you!

The Carpenter Beck Door: A More Detailed Examination

March 22, 2022March 21, 2022 · Leave a comment ·

Last week, we noted having gotten started on the Carpenter Beck Door, thanks to a contractor reaching out to us to help with a client’s remodel. In the time since getting the post written, we’ve gotten the panel out of the door and gotten it laid out on our working table, where we’ve been able to take a good, long look at it and see what all needs to be done with it.

A detail of the framing as the panel came out

The visual design of the panel is a relatively simple one, being largely block geometric shapes. It’s a strong design, striking in the contrasts of red and blue against the clear, warmed by the central ambers; it’s a good window to work with. But it’s in need of a fair bit of work on the came. Some two dozen joints, indicated by numbers and arrows on the window (they’ll be removed as the repairs are effected, and the window will be cleaned well before we return it to the contractor and the client), are in need of repair. The soldering that connects the came has come loose, probably as a result of hard use on the door and exposure to the weather.

To fix it, we’ll have to remove the old soldering and replace it. Some of that might involve pulling apart some of the came; it happens, sometimes, but it’s not always the kind of thing that can be predicted. And then we’ll proceed with the rest of the work we need to do: repairing the breaks, re-puttying the whole panel, and reinforcing it inside and out. When it’s done, it’ll be a beautiful window that will stand up to the rigors of use for years to come!

Got a project you’d like us to do? Read up on our new-project process here, and then reach out to us at 830-890-1509, through our Contact page, or via the form below; we’d love to hear from you!

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Heart's Desire Stained Glass

Stained Glass Art in the Heart of the Texas Hill Country