When designing stained glass patterns, where lines intersect is a very important issue. When more than two lines intersect solder can start to feel pretty heavy with every line added. Some subjects still require you make a pattern that brings everything to one point and it is hard not to have a huge blob of solder in the center of the piece. There are multiple ways to combat this.
I offset some of my break lines just slightly. This will make all of the lines look like they come together, but they actually do not. By the time you foil it the slight offset will not show. This allows your solder have a little more space between the lines and not appear to be such a large blob.
Another option is to shave your foil (on the face of the glass) after you wrap and burnish your pieces. Use an Exacto knife to take a bit off of the foil and show the glass a little more. This will give the effect of a finer center point. Shape the foil so that it has a finer point in the center of the intersection which will cause less solder to accumulate in the intersection. An additional perk to this technique is that you will use less solder!
No comments:
Post a Comment