Lead rail glass is a process that uses lead rails to connect cut art glass pieces together to create a beautiful pattern. The final product consists of glass elements in a variety of forms, including plated glasswork and led light pieces. Lead rails are made of various metals such as lead, zinc, brass, and copper.
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Lead rail glass making involves assembling a piece of glass that has been cut and sometimes painted on the glass surface, called hand painted.
Increase the strength of the workpiece with a putty (similar to cement or mastic with a weak oil) between the glass piece and the lead rail.
The work may require additional reinforcement of the frame, such as large workpieces, or installation in places that will be affected by the external environment such as sunlight, dust, rain, in order to be suitable for use and easy to maintain. It can be strengthened using metal-coated lead rails, using steel strips in lead rail channels, or using hard lead rails such as copper, brass, or zinc. Steel strips or rebar may be installed on the back of the finished work.
Where lead rails are not used, copper foil may be used instead. *However, the use of foil does not count as a lead rail. Less strength* (illustrated below)
Different types of rails in stainglass
Lead Rail Lead rails are usually 2 meters long and vary in width. Lead rails also come in the form of flat profiles or dome profiles.
Brass and Copper: Brass and copper are used to add a golden or copper color to an event, and they will turn black or rust green over time. In general, however, they were used only for windows between about 1890 and 1920.
Brass Coated Lead Rails Brass: Coated Lead Rails are another type of rail used.
Lead: The traditional way to build "Lead Rail Glass" Use a lead rail from the lead, which will become darker grayish green over time. In comparison to other glass metal strips such as brass, copper, and zinc, lead is softer and more flexible. This makes it easy to cut and fold the work. Create more delicate lines. The downside is that the finished work may have a chance of sagging due to the softness of the lead. Flexure can be reduced by stretching the lead to make it stronger before use. Lead-rail windows in medieval churches are stronger than those of the 19th century and most of the 20th century. Previously, by removing other metals to make them "clean lead" and during wars where lead was required for ammunition. Lead in repair form is stronger than lead rails in about 100 years.
Zinc: Zinc is a lightweight, heavy, and strong lead rail with high strength and stiffness. Suitable for glasswork projects that do not have a lot of curves. They are large, or have a large number of straight lines that require more support than the lead can provide. Zinc accepts refinements with black and copper. Frank Lloyd Wright used galvanized lead rails for his stained glass windows. Typical belt-sharp glasswork uses galvanized lead rails mainly because of the weight-bearing capacity of thick sheet glass. While glasswork made with lead rails often has the opportunity to sag over time.
Copper Foil: Copper foil is an easy and versatile alternative to lead rails and is very useful in small projects. The borders of the glass pieces are wrapped with copper tape with an adhesive substance, and after that they are connected along the adjacent copper wires. The patent for the "Joining Glass Mosaics" method, issued by Sanford Bray in 1886, is a method of joining pieces of stained-glass using copper/copper foil instead of copper wire lead lines. It does not require high strength.
It can be seen that with the many advantages of lead, such as its softness and elasticity, it is easy to cut and bend to match our design. Create more delicate lines. It is also resistant to rust because it is the only metal whose meat will not corrode. Despite the sagging, steel reinforcement will eliminate this problem.
Therefore, lead rails are the best option, and with a silver-gray or black finish (resulting from the use of patin) to dye the surface, the mirror color is accentuated. The pattern of the piece remains timeless and fits well with all eras and all the styles of the piece. This is the reason why the glass spark shop works with lead rails.
So, is lead in stainless glass really harmful to health? Check out this article. https://www.prakaykaewth.com/th/post/ stained-glassmaking has any effect on health?
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