Some spots are slightly blurry, sorry. Jeanne tested to have 0.07 % per lead in her blood. Doctors worry if kids have 0.10% and worry if adults have 0.40%..so she doesn't have enough to really worry about. Jeanne asked the doctor how much was normal and he said zero. Time for a change.
When doing flat work, it's not so bad. The only time it's a real headache is when doing 3D construction, but we're used to that because we build kaleidoscopes using leadfree solder.
Thanks you David! My son had lead poisoning when he was a little boy, so I don't work with anything that has lead in it. I'd like to start making some stained glass art for my home, so this is perfect!
There are many other ways to get lead exposure..like when cutting the metal around a finished panel, the blade cuts through both the zinc and the lead. So those sharp blades are throwing lead into the air and that's probably the most danger of exposure of anything we do.
That's great! I have been wanting to start stained glass and was worried about the lead based solders out there. That is a little sad that it's more difficult to work with, but at least you guys will be safer!
Just a note: working with lead free is a real pain compared to the way leaded solder flows. So after two months, I began to work with 50/50 solder and over time we've begun to use it in everything except for jewelry. We now make sure to wash with a soap made to remove heavy metals, change out of work clothes soon after leaving the studio and other practices like no eating or chewing gum in the studio.
How did I know you would back off of the total changeover? Also, how did I know you were going to say "antimony"? I don't know. Weird. Also-- you do realize that 50/50 has more lead in it than 60/40? So switching to 50/50 is not accomplishing your goal of cutting down lead exposure. Here is an article comparing various solder types. There is 40/60, where the tin is less than the lead. chatterglass.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/which-solder-should-i-use/
+ We find that you'll want a high temperature soldering iron when doing lead free soldering. The Haako brand iron is the hotter iron. We use lead free solder when doing jewelry, but prefer 50/50 solder when doing art glass.
Hi David, Thanks for this. I've been doing stained glass for about a year now and have been looking into switching to 100% lead-free. The problem is that there is no definitive list of exactly what kinds of tools/materials are needed. Some people say you need special iron tips, some say you don't. Some people say you need special flux and patinas, etc. I have no idea where to start and don't want to waste money on trial and error. I have a Weller 100W iron which I believe is hot enough for lead-free solder. Could you shine a light here for me? Thanks so much, Sarah
The Hakko temperature control iron works well since you can turn it up to a higher temp. We have stuck to silver solder on jewelry but have gone back to 50/50 on flat glass
We have a youtube video that shows some techniques on soldering a lamp using a soldering jig and we've got a video for sale on amazon on making boxes. Those are good projects. I've also provided other istructions on mt betterstainedglass website.
haha, i wasn't looking at the screen at first and i thought i was hearing "saul goodman" from breaking bad! you have a very similar voice. very interesting video and nice transition at 2:20
It may be because the iron needs more heat for the solder to flow so the tip doesn't stay tinned as well. One trick is to get a solder pot (found on Amazon) to keep the tip in a bath of melted solder.
Thanks for this helpful video! Do you also have any advice for using patinas with lead-free solder? It seems like black patinas work but not copper ones.
Copper patina is always more difficult than black, no matter the solder used. Cleanliness is important, use CJ's flux remover and then Kwik-Clean to prepare the metal.
lead free solder requires greater heat so we reccomend a Haako brand iron when doing lead free work. We tried it awhile and now we use 50/50 solder as before.
Have you tried hot air soldering (aka reflowing) ? It might be tricky but I saw people etching copper traces on glass like you would a normal PCB and reflowing their components. It would require some amount of preheating to ease the melting. I don't know if using flux and simply laying your solder wire in the grooves will work, otherwise soldering paste might work better. If that does the trick you could simply put the full window with the solder in the grooves in a oven and tada...maybe...
Edit: i saw your update the youre back using 50/50. Are you still lead free? How's it going 11 years later? Have there been improvements in flowability with lead free solder?
Not any longer, Unless we're doing jewelry that will be in close skin contact. But we learned right away that our soldering results just weren't as good with the lead free.
@@GommStainedGlass Thank you so much! I’ve watched a few of your videos and about 8 years ago you mentioned switching to mostly lead-free solder. Is that still what you work with primarily?
@@christinaj2118 I discovered that working with lead free solder required so much extra heat and was so much more difficult that I went back to using 50/50 solder. We have instituted strict cleanliness policies to reduce the risks of lead contamination. 😃😃
I have worked with lead solder over 50 years without issues. Lead free is crap and 50/50 is getting harder to find all the time. Handling it with gloves in a well vented area is the key.
Well I didn't find anything specific to stained glass but here is a video showing how reflowing works : ruclips.net/video/M_rO6oPVsws/видео.html Same in a skillet and oven: ruclips.net/video/_5lksMvmqQc/видео.html and the video that actually led me here : ruclips.net/video/Rf5HBLzDGQA/видео.html My guess is the only way to find out is to experiment on leftovers. ^^
Some spots are slightly blurry, sorry.
Jeanne tested to have 0.07 % per lead in her blood. Doctors worry if kids have 0.10% and worry if adults have 0.40%..so she doesn't have enough to really worry about. Jeanne asked the doctor how much was normal and he said zero. Time for a change.
When doing flat work, it's not so bad. The only time it's a real headache is when doing 3D construction, but we're used to that because we build kaleidoscopes using leadfree solder.
Thanks you David! My son had lead poisoning when he was a little boy, so I don't work with anything that has lead in it. I'd like to start making some stained glass art for my home, so this is perfect!
I'm thinking that I might use silver solder on jewelry boxing since they get hsandled so much!
Very helpful and important work again, David Gomm.. Thank you!
We still use silver for jewelry but have gone back to 50/50 for regular flat work.
There are many other ways to get lead exposure..like when cutting the metal around a finished panel, the blade cuts through both the zinc and the lead. So those sharp blades are throwing lead into the air and that's probably the most danger of exposure of anything we do.
That is awesome :) I haven't really thought much about the 3d aspect of stained glass. That would be a lot of fun to work on.
We've stuck with silver solder on pieces that will be handled a lot, but have gone back to 50/50 on regular flat glass
That's great! I have been wanting to start stained glass and was worried about the lead based solders out there. That is a little sad that it's more difficult to work with, but at least you guys will be safer!
We continue with silver on pieces that will be handled a lot
Just a note: working with lead free is a real pain compared to the way leaded solder flows. So after two months, I began to work with 50/50 solder and over time we've begun to use it in everything except for jewelry. We now make sure to wash with a soap made to remove heavy metals, change out of work clothes soon after leaving the studio and other practices like no eating or chewing gum in the studio.
How did I know you would back off of the total changeover? Also, how did I know you were going to say "antimony"? I don't know. Weird. Also-- you do realize that 50/50 has more lead in it than 60/40? So switching to 50/50 is not accomplishing your goal of cutting down lead exposure. Here is an article comparing various solder types. There is 40/60, where the tin is less than the lead. chatterglass.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/which-solder-should-i-use/
@@argusfleibeit1165 We simply found that unleaded content is exceeding difficult for regular panels.
Im just getting started and i don't want to use lead. Thank you
+
We find that you'll want a high temperature soldering iron when doing lead free soldering. The Haako brand iron is the hotter iron. We use lead free solder when doing jewelry, but prefer 50/50 solder when doing art glass.
That sounds intriguing. If you happen to run across instructions for doing that I would love to hear about it.
Hi David,
Thanks for this. I've been doing stained glass for about a year now and have been looking into switching to 100% lead-free. The problem is that there is no definitive list of exactly what kinds of tools/materials are needed. Some people say you need special iron tips, some say you don't. Some people say you need special flux and patinas, etc. I have no idea where to start and don't want to waste money on trial and error. I have a Weller 100W iron which I believe is hot enough for lead-free solder. Could you shine a light here for me?
Thanks so much,
Sarah
The Hakko temperature control iron works well since you can turn it up to a higher temp. We have stuck to silver solder on jewelry but have gone back to 50/50 on flat glass
We have a youtube video that shows some techniques on soldering a lamp using a soldering jig and we've got a video for sale on amazon on making boxes. Those are good projects. I've also provided other istructions on mt betterstainedglass website.
haha, i wasn't looking at the screen at first and i thought i was hearing "saul goodman" from breaking bad!
you have a very similar voice.
very interesting video and nice transition at 2:20
Thanks, I'm video junkie as well as an artist!
Did you find that you had trouble with your tips oxidizing after using lead free? I'm having trouble with my iron staying tinned.
It may be because the iron needs more heat for the solder to flow so the tip doesn't stay tinned as well. One trick is to get a solder pot (found on Amazon) to keep the tip in a bath of melted solder.
Thanks for this helpful video! Do you also have any advice for using patinas with lead-free solder? It seems like black patinas work but not copper ones.
Copper patina is always more difficult than black, no matter the solder used. Cleanliness is important, use CJ's flux remover and then Kwik-Clean to prepare the metal.
What temp are you running your iron at? Im having to run super hot (800 degrees) on my attempts, which seems super hot
lead free solder requires greater heat so we reccomend a Haako brand iron when doing lead free work. We tried it awhile and now we use 50/50 solder as before.
Have you tried hot air soldering (aka reflowing) ? It might be tricky but I saw people etching copper traces on glass like you would a normal PCB and reflowing their components.
It would require some amount of preheating to ease the melting.
I don't know if using flux and simply laying your solder wire in the grooves will work, otherwise soldering paste might work better.
If that does the trick you could simply put the full window with the solder in the grooves in a oven and tada...maybe...
I'm going to read the links you sent to see if this will work.
Edit: i saw your update the youre back using 50/50.
Are you still lead free? How's it going 11 years later? Have there been improvements in flowability with lead free solder?
Not any longer, Unless we're doing jewelry that will be in close skin contact. But we learned right away that our soldering results just weren't as good with the lead free.
David, what type of flux are you using with this lead-free solder?
I'm using Denver Flux which is a good liquid flux, I sometimes use Novacan which is just as good but a little harder to obtain from my supplier.
@@GommStainedGlass Thank you so much! I’ve watched a few of your videos and about 8 years ago you mentioned switching to mostly lead-free solder. Is that still what you work with primarily?
@@christinaj2118 I discovered that working with lead free solder required so much extra heat and was so much more difficult that I went back to using 50/50 solder. We have instituted strict cleanliness policies to reduce the risks of lead contamination. 😃😃
If you visit gsg-art.com and click on the offer you'll get extra free videos that you may find inspiring.
I have worked with lead solder over 50 years without issues. Lead free is crap and 50/50 is getting harder to find all the time. Handling it with gloves in a well vented area is the key.
Lead Free is harder to work with...which is why we went back to 50/50 solder a while after we shot that video
Well I didn't find anything specific to stained glass but here is a video showing how reflowing works : ruclips.net/video/M_rO6oPVsws/видео.html
Same in a skillet and oven: ruclips.net/video/_5lksMvmqQc/видео.html
and the video that actually led me here : ruclips.net/video/Rf5HBLzDGQA/видео.html
My guess is the only way to find out is to experiment on leftovers. ^^
Thanks
Might need a new type of flux.
A different flux might work differently but the melting temperature is the concern so probably a hotter iron would be the solution.
just wear a glove on your solder hand
That'll work! Thanks.