Slumped Glass Panel Lamps

This is an unusual find. When my customer brought in this green lamp that was found in the garbage of a friends parents, I told her it was definitely worth keeping. Repairing them back to their original beauty is not easy but well worth the investment.

The process to go through is to remove one good panel. From that good panel, I make a mold that can be used to make the new panel. I wrap the good panel in tin foil so I can get the shape of the glass I need. Once I have the shape, the tin foil is cut out and laid flat which gives us the pattern to cut the new piece of glass by. Matching glass on these old lamps is not always easy. Once the glass is found, the pattern is traced onto the glass prior to cutting it. The size is checked and any adjustments are made.

Now, back to the mold. Once the mold is made it needs to be thoroughly dried. This mold is very thick in some areas and thin in others. It needs to be dried slowly to keep it from cracking. Once the mold is prepared and ready, it is put into the kiln with the new glass carefully placed on top. The kiln is turned on low and vented until I am sure all of the moisture has been removed. Once I am sure there is no more moisture, the vent is closed and the glass continues to heat slowly. When it gets to about 900-1000 degrees, the glass will start to bend and take the shape of the mold. Over a period of 2-3 hours I will watch the glass, open the kiln and check to see that it is shaped correctly, and turn of the kiln when finished so it can slowly cool down to room temperature.

The moral of the story... don't throw these lamps away. They do have value. They can be fixed. And most often, they are worth saving.

Class Notes: In my fusing class, if you would like to learn how to go through this process, bring an old lamp with you and I will help you step by step.