Tag: WIP

The Frey Repair: Getting Started

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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
The panel in situ, closer, showing some damage
The panel in situ, closer, showing damage more clearly
Detail of damage
Detail of probably the major damage; a hailstone seems to’ve punched right through…
Detail of damage
Detail of damage
Photos from the client

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!

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The Neubauer Reconstruction: Getting Started

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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.

The obverse, showing damage
The obverse, detail of the major damage
Photos from the client

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.

The reverse, showing the major damage
The reverse, showing some small cracks and scratches
The reverse, showing larger cracks and marring
Photos from the client

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!

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The Perry Panel: Detailed Assessment

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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.

Photos by Kevin Elliott

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!

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The Carpenter Beck Door: We’ve Done a Bit

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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
View of most of the reinforcement rods held in place to check fit
Detail of the reinforcement rods being placed for fit and setup
Another detail of the reinforcement rods being placed for fit and setup.
Still another detail of the reinforcement rods…
Note that the reinforcing rods are just barely visible from this side.
The reinforcing rods do not show up at all from the other side.
Photos by Kevin Elliott

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!

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The Carpenter Beck Door: A More Detailed Examination

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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
Getting the panel secured for transport
The view from the door where the panel has been and will be again
Scenes from the removal; photos provided by the contractor
Tape on, and the obverse
Tape off, and the reverse
This is where we’re at at the moment (of this writing); photos by Kevin Elliott

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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The Carpenter Beck Door: Getting Started

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Well before the Ides of March, a contractor reached out to us to set up a working relationship. We were happy to accept it, and we were happy to get a job from that contractor, one we’re calling the Carpenter Beck Door. What’s happening with it is that there’s a remodel going on of the client’s home, and the door needs some work. Some of that work will be done by another group; the door itself is going to be refinished, and while we’ve got a solid hand with woodworking, we’re not carpenters. But what we will be doing is attending to the large glass panel in the door.

The overall view of how it is to start with; photo from the contractor.

Fortunately, there’s not any broken glass in the panel (so far as we know). That means we won’t have to track down matching glass, which is a helpful thing (but if some is broken, we’ll address it, of course). What we will have to do is address a number of breaks in the came–the lead strips that hold the glass panels in place–and the putty, as the adhesive holding the glass securely in the came is degraded or, in some places, absent.

Note the gaps around the glass,
especially up near the frame.
This doesn’t show quite as well,
but it will still rattle around.
Too, some of the came is torn.
That flaking you see is, in part,
putty coming away.
Again, it’s hidden, but there’s wiggle room there–and that’s not helpful, here.
Here, too, you can see the
putty flaking away.
Putty’s coming out,
and some of the joining looks broken.
All pictures are from the contractor.

What we plan to do is take the panel out of the door; it will help us work on the glass and such while letting the woodworkers do their bit–and not have to worry about the glass as they do. We’ll replace the came that needs replacing and re-putty the whole panel; if some of the putty is going, the rest is likely not far behind, and it will be good to have it all renewed, in any event. Because the door will still be an exterior door, we’ll be adding reinforcement on the inside, giving the panel additional stability, and we’ll be installing Lexan on the outside to further weatherproof the panel. We try to build our glass to last!

If you’ve got a door in need of some attention, we’d be happy to help. 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!

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The Perry Panel: Finding the Fixes that Need Doing

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In the middle of February, we took a look at a piece of Hollywood history in the Perry Panel, getting started simply by getting the sizeable Tiffany panel into our home workshop and into the queue for examination and estimation. When we were obliged to take a break from another project we’ve got in progress at the moment, we had a chance to take a look at the panel and get a sense for what all needs fixing on it. And, as it happens, there’s quite a bit.

Upper right on the obverse shows several cracks and some scarring
Part way down the right obverse shows a number of other cracked pieces
More cracked pieces in the upper right obverse
Some cracks in the lead-work, here, as well as some in the glass in the upper obverse
More cracked pieces in the upper obverse
And this is just a quick glance at just the top third of the panel…
Photos by Geoffrey B. Elliott

We’re lucky that the bones of the panel are good. The framing seems sound, and there’s a lot of glass that’s in good shape. There are also many places where we might incorporate some stronger structural elements, enhancing the panel’s stability while maintaining its appearance. But there’s a lot that…needs some work, and some of it’s in places that will require a lot of disassembly to get to. But we always do love a challenge, and it’s always a pleasure to restore beautiful pieces to glory!

We’ll keep you posted as we work through this piece, the Turner Transom, and other work we have in the queue right now. If you’d like your work to join them, give us a call at 830-890-1509 or send us a message through the contact form below; we’d love to visit with you!

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The Turner Transom: A Snag

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Not too long ago, we got started working on the Turner Transom piece, a custom order for some good folks in our local area. We drafted the designs, got them approved, got the cartoon compiled, and started cutting glass and came and doing a dry-fit all together. We tend to piece the work together as we go along to make sure we’re keeping ourselves consistent and because things happen when working with glass. Sometimes, the material’s…temperamental and decides it’s going to be a little…ornery. And it happened to us as we were working on the transom, specifically on the right half of the sun, as you can see below where we had to stop work.

The work in halted progress; photo by Geoffrey B. Elliott

There are several ways to go about cutting glass to use in the kind of work we do. One of the oldest is among the most labor-intensive, involving hot fires, heavy metal, and a steady hand. In many cases, we cut the glass we use by means of a diamond-bladed cutter and a specially designed pair of pliers. For pieces like the sun behind the tree in the Turner Transom, though, we usually use a ring-saw. Occasionally, any of the cutting methods will reveal an invisible flaw in the glass–by breaking it where we don’t want it to snap off. So much happened with the right half of the sun, above.

That introduces two complications for us on its own. One is that we have to recut the piece, but occasional material loss is something that anyone who works with goods has to expect. It happens, and nobody really likes it, but you accept it and move on. A little more of a complication, though, has to do with our glass-matching. See, we work hard to make sure that each piece of glass fits into its context well, and that means matching the pieces of glass that are going into equivalent things. In this case, it means that not only do we have to recut the piece that snapped, we’ve got to recut the other half of the sun; it’s the only way to make sure the halves line up right.

And there’s one other item of concern. When the glass broke, so did the saw. It’s kind of a chicken-and-egg thing, certainly, and it doesn’t much matter which made the other happen. Both are broken, and so both need fixing, delaying the project slightly. We’re on the mend, of course, and getting back to work on the Turner Transom, the Perry Panel, and other jobs just as soon as the parts get in (they’ll be in presently, we’re assured).

If you’d like to have yours be one of those jobs, please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via our “Contacts” page or via the contact form below to see what all we can do for you!

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The Perry Panel: Getting Started

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We just recently got asked to take a look at a beautiful piece of Tiffany-style stained glass that we’re told has a Hollywood history. Looking at this beauty, we can believe it–just like we can believe it’s seen a fair bit of use.

Pretty sure this is the obverse
Equally pretty sure this is the reverse
Two sides of the same coin; photos by Deena Elliott

Kevin will be taking a closer look at this Perry Panel to find the breaks that need fixing and to get a feel for the glass and other materials that will be needed to bring back the full beauty of this gorgeous piece of work. If and as the repair commences, we’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

If you’d like a closer view of our process, we invite you to look at “How to Work with Us” or to read through our work on the Smith Panel Combination. If you’d like to get on the inside of that process, reach out via our Contacts page or using the form below; we’d love to hear from and work with you!

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The Turner Transom: Getting Started

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We’re happy to have done the work we’ve done, but we’re far from sad that there’s more work for us to do–like a new project we’ve begun that we’re calling the Turner Transom. For this project, we were approached by our clients, folks who have some property in our own beautiful Texas Hill Country. They asked about our putting together a transom window so they can get a little more of the kindly sunlight for which–along with wildflowers, barbeque, and high school football–our part of the world is rightly known. They gave us the dimensions of the piece we’ll need to make–36 x 12 inches–and we took our first steps: drafting a design:

We’ve got software that helps us make this kind of thing happen.
Turner Transom Design by Kevin Elliott is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons License

We ran that by the client and got the approval to start work on it–because we don’t get going on a custom piece for any client without their input and approval. For us, for a piece like this–one we’ll be putting into a metal frame, since a transom stands a good chance of needing to take some stresses–moves from a design draft to what we call a cartoon. That is, we print the layout out at full size, because having something in hand is a whole ‘nother thing from seeing it on a screen, and working in glass is as much about the feel of it as about anything else. That much done, we began making our reference pieces, giving ourselves something to lay under glass or over it so that we can get a good view of how the individual pieces will work with the specific glass we’ll end up using:

How we’ve got it on the shop table as this post gets written. Photo by Kevin Elliott.

This part of the process is important for a couple of reasons. For one, it gives us a standing visual aid as we compile a piece of visual art; seeing what we’re doing while we’re doing it helps us make sure it’s done right. Architects and engineers work from blueprints, writers work from notes, and painters work from sketches; we take our cues from other arts to work in our own. For another, each piece of glass–not only the ones we make, but the materials from which we make them–is unique. Not every piece of blue glass, not even every piece from a single production run, will look exactly the same, for example, and making those differences make sense in a transom window–or any other panel–demands care and attention that we’re more than happy to give.

As with the Smith Panel Combination about which we posted previously, we’ll keep putting out updates about our work on the current project. We think it’s important to bring people into what we do, show a bit of the expertise and experience that goes into crafting works of stained glass that will add to a home’s value and enrich the lives of those who live in it–and we hope you continue to enjoy the ride!

We’d love to work with you, too! Please, give us a call at 830-890-1509, or message us via our “Contacts” page or the form below; let’s talk about meeting your stained glass and art glass needs and getting you your heart’s desire!

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