more questions, are you bored yet?

Okay...here's what i need to know..
I want to start designing some four or five sided free-standing table
lamps...
and need some rigid metal for them to fit into a wooden base. i know
that
brass or copper can be soldered...i just don't know if i can find any
copper
or brass sheets in this part of the planet. i do know that aluminium
and possibly
tin exists but i don't know if this can be soldered...can it be?

if i can't find brass sheeting here, who sells it back in the states?

can it only be cut with shears? what thickness is easy to work with but
will
still give me the rigidness/strength i need to hold a 4-sided glass
'shade'...
let's say the size is 12 x 9...that's a goodly weight in a finished
shade, dont'
you think?

and what about channel...i have ordered brass U channel but that's not
going to
be for the lamps...it's way too flimsey but will work for panel edges.
there must
be a place that sells brass channel that's stronger...how can i get it
here?
the brass channel that i ordered in the US couldn't be shipped here
because it
was too long and the company wouldn't cut it down for me. so i had it
sent to
someone who agreed to cut it and reship it to me...there has to be a
better way
to do this...i'll have to ask my wholesaler if she can get different
grades of brass
channel here...it has to exist within the country...but i haven't a
clue where to start..

okay, that's it for today's questions. i sincerely hope to be in the
new studio in
a month's time...this is so exciting!

arlene

Hi Arlene

On 13 May 2006 23:29:51 -0700, wrote:

Okay...here's what i need to know..
I want to start designing some four or five sided free-standing table
lamps...
and need some rigid metal for them to fit into a wooden base. i know
that
brass or copper can be soldered...i just don't know if i can find any
copper
or brass sheets in this part of the planet. i do know that aluminium
and possibly
tin exists but i don't know if this can be soldered...can it be?

Brass is the one that's 'usually' used - maybe because it's cheaper
than copper - don't know the reason.

Soldering to ali is possible - but you need special solder - wouldn't
recommend it.

If by 'tin' you mean the stuff that baken beans comes in g - that's
'tinned steel' - also known as 'tinned plate' - a thin coating on top
of steel - and you can solder to that very easily - but I've not seen
it used all that often in stained glass work.

Brass is often used by the model boatt / model car / model locomotive
people - so that might be somewhere to go & look - if there's a shop
supplying this kind of thing somewhere near you ?

if i can't find brass sheeting here, who sells it back in the states?

can it only be cut with shears? what thickness is easy to work with but
will
still give me the rigidness/strength i need to hold a 4-sided glass
'shade'...
let's say the size is 12 x 9...that's a goodly weight in a finished
shade, dont'
you think?

and what about channel...i have ordered brass U channel but that's not
going to
be for the lamps...it's way too flimsey but will work for panel edges.
there must
be a place that sells brass channel that's stronger...how can i get it
here?

Don't know how to get the delivery sorted - but you'd be surprised how
sturdy the brass channel becomes once it's soldered up.

If you've got a suitably hot iron (and let's not go _there_ again !)
you might even be able to copper tape the edges of your item and then
solder the brass channel to it along its complete length.

I've never tried this - but electronics people use solder that's in
the form of thin wire - you _might_ be able to lay some of this in the
channel before you assemble it - and then let the heat melt the whole
lot..... try it on something that doesn't matter first ! g

the brass channel that i ordered in the US couldn't be shipped here
because it
was too long and the company wouldn't cut it down for me. so i had it
sent to
someone who agreed to cut it and reship it to me...there has to be a
better way
to do this...i'll have to ask my wholesaler if she can get different
grades of brass
channel here...it has to exist within the country...but i haven't a
clue where to start..

okay, that's it for today's questions. i sincerely hope to be in the
new studio in
a month's time...this is so exciting!

Have fun - sounds like you're going to g

Adrian
Suffolk UK

======return email munged=================
take out the papers and the trash to reply

HI Arlene

On 14 May 2006 00:37:37 -0700, wrote:

Thanks again Adrian...you're full of good ideas...

Not sure about that - I've been accused of being full of all sorts of
thing over the years g

HOWEVER! (you knew that was coming)...the thin solder that's used by
electronics folks- isn't that the stuff with a flux core? okay..i'm NOT
using
it with glass so maybe on the metal parts it's a good idea. i actually
have
some of that...my electrician friend in town gave me some to try..not
knowing
what was being produced in Turkey..but it's the stuff with a paste flux
core...
so it's not suitable for glass work..but i'll try it on the tin
sheeting..
the application of the metal isn't visible actually...it will fit
INSIDE the wooden
base to hold the glass up without bending...i'll have to get some from
in town
and experiment once the studio is set up.

OK.
Thinking about it - the difference in the electronics solfer is that
it does contain cores of flux. In electronics, you bring the iron to
the thing to be soldered (commonly wires or circuit boards), heat the
thing and then apply the solder - without using any other flux.
The flux in the solder melts and allows the solder to do its job. What
you are advised not to do with electronics (or 'multicore') solder is
to pick up solder on the iron and then carry it to the job - because
by the time you get there the flux will have burnt off.

I guess that this means you'd want a bit of 'ordinary' stained glass
flux there as well.... you'll have to experiment....

i am positively 'itching' to start having fun!!! i'm not the most
patient person
on the planet so this is really hard...but i have to slow down...i have
NO choice!
the studio door isn't even delivered yet! let alone the workbenches
built...
slowly she turned.......

I know - it's frustrating.
We're hoping to move house in the near future - can't get away to
search for our new place until next week - days seem to drag a bit g


don't i wish i could 'fast forward'??

Wishing your life away ? - don't !


take care and have a great day...it's a gorgeous spring day here.
all of our days from now till september or october are going to be like
this.
i think we've seen the end of the rain till autumn...we'll see. this
has been
a strange weather year so far...so who knows?

Here in the East of England we had lovely sunny weather all last week
- then yesterday (Saturday) the heavens opened, thunder, lightning &
heavy rain. Nice ! Brighter again today though...

arlene
the goddess of glass

Like it !

Adrian

======return email munged=================
take out the papers and the trash to reply

There's a book out on constructing 3-sided table lamps. it shows a rod on
each corner that extends down past the bottom edge of the glass and becomes
the legs. Wouldn't that work? Then the legs would sit in the wood base? If
so, brass rod is available at welding shops. m
wrote in message
oups.com...
Okay...here's what i need to know..
I want to start designing some four or five sided free-standing table
lamps...
and need some rigid metal for them to fit into a wooden base. i know
that
brass or copper can be soldered...i just don't know if i can find any
copper
or brass sheets in this part of the planet. i do know that aluminium
and possibly
tin exists but i don't know if this can be soldered...can it be?

if i can't find brass sheeting here, who sells it back in the states?

can it only be cut with shears? what thickness is easy to work with but
will
still give me the rigidness/strength i need to hold a 4-sided glass
'shade'...
let's say the size is 12 x 9...that's a goodly weight in a finished
shade, dont'
you think?

and what about channel...i have ordered brass U channel but that's not
going to
be for the lamps...it's way too flimsey but will work for panel edges.
there must
be a place that sells brass channel that's stronger...how can i get it
here?
the brass channel that i ordered in the US couldn't be shipped here
because it
was too long and the company wouldn't cut it down for me. so i had it
sent to
someone who agreed to cut it and reship it to me...there has to be a
better way
to do this...i'll have to ask my wholesaler if she can get different
grades of brass
channel here...it has to exist within the country...but i haven't a
clue where to start..

okay, that's it for today's questions. i sincerely hope to be in the
new studio in
a month's time...this is so exciting!

arlene

WELL, that's a great idea too.

in the coming two weeks, i'm going to get myself to the new 'home
depot'-like
store about 35 miles from here. i'm going to search around for
materials that are
solderable and adaptable for these lamps...

thanks for the idea...maybe i will try a few 3 - sided lamps too!

arlene

wrote in message
oups.com...
WELL, that's a great idea too.

in the coming two weeks, i'm going to get myself to the new 'home
depot'-like
store about 35 miles from here. i'm going to search around for
materials that are
solderable and adaptable for these lamps...

thanks for the idea...maybe i will try a few 3 - sided lamps too!

arlene


Try a local business directory, you need to find out what is available to
you in your own area so you can avoid all these shipping charges. The
people of Turkey are well known world wide for their creativity in solving
common machining and assembly problems. The material and tools you have
been shipping in are probably available to you, you just haven't found them
yet.
When I was in the service in the early '70's, stationed in Germany, we had
brief trips to a base in Turkey and I saw 1940's and 50's cars running the
streets. I was told the local guys were very adept at making the parts that
could no longer be purchased. I would find it hard to believe in a country
such as Turkey that there is no place that you can buy items needed to
accomplish what you wish. Are they importing all leaded glass into that
country finished?

hi Javahut
no, actually the two wholesalers i've been able to locate are shipping
in
supplies from the US, Europe and the Far East. With the exception of
a copy of a good German soldering iron, nothing else has of yet been
copied.

yes, i too remember my first trip to Turkey in the early 70s...i never
in my
life saw so many '57 Chevies!! interestingly enough, the Turks not only
kept them running until the early 90s, but they also added a third row
of seats and turned them into special taxis...called Dolmush...in the
second
half of the 90s, all of these old cars were replaces with nice new
mini-vans
that serve the same purpose...and with a bit more comfort, i might add.

every once in a while, i will see an old american car on the road.

but i live in such a small place...we don't have access to the same
things
as city folk. and my big problem is language. i need to learn what some
of this
stuff is called in turkish...it's hard when you don't have an example
to show
someone..how to you describe something without the right words or
without
a picture...not an easy task...

that said, i will go to the special 'hardware' store and see if i can
find a reasonable
facsimile...and maybe we can take it from here.

the stained glass 'business' is still in its infancy here. only a
handful of people actually working in the field at present. but there
are a couple of places that are offering classes...very very basic
stuff...but that's how it starts..as the middle class grows and as
people develop 'leisure time' (something unheard of just 15 years ago)
i'm sure stained glass as a hobby will grow...and then a few novices
will start their own businesses...it just takes some courage and some
creativity...qualities that have been repressed for a while here. but
they are resurfacing...slowly..but surely.

arlene

I know a woman that has done a 2 week glass blowing holiday in Turkey so
some fo the infrastructure for that must be in Turkey. maybe you are not
asking the right questions. I can't help with the questions but feel
that basic materials such as sheet brass, copper , steel should be
available in Turkey if you know the right places. Shipping from the US
would I feel be expensive when the EU is next door and countries such as
Italy are close and have quite an industrial sector. Even one of my
local engineering suppliers in Bath UK ships some stuff to central
Africa for some reason a couple of times a year.

wrote:

hi Javahut
no, actually the two wholesalers i've been able to locate are shipping
in
supplies from the US, Europe and the Far East. With the exception of
a copy of a good German soldering iron, nothing else has of yet been
copied.

yes, i too remember my first trip to Turkey in the early 70s...i never
in my
life saw so many '57 Chevies!! interestingly enough, the Turks not only
kept them running until the early 90s, but they also added a third row
of seats and turned them into special taxis...called Dolmush...in the
second
half of the 90s, all of these old cars were replaces with nice new
mini-vans
that serve the same purpose...and with a bit more comfort, i might add.

every once in a while, i will see an old american car on the road.

but i live in such a small place...we don't have access to the same
things
as city folk. and my big problem is language. i need to learn what some
of this
stuff is called in turkish...it's hard when you don't have an example
to show
someone..how to you describe something without the right words or
without
a picture...not an easy task...

that said, i will go to the special 'hardware' store and see if i can
find a reasonable
facsimile...and maybe we can take it from here.

the stained glass 'business' is still in its infancy here. only a
handful of people actually working in the field at present. but there
are a couple of places that are offering classes...very very basic
stuff...but that's how it starts..as the middle class grows and as
people develop 'leisure time' (something unheard of just 15 years ago)
i'm sure stained glass as a hobby will grow...and then a few novices
will start their own businesses...it just takes some courage and some
creativity...qualities that have been repressed for a while here. but
they are resurfacing...slowly..but surely.

arlene

Yes, there is a 'glass furnace' program just outside Istanbul in the
forest that has 2 week residential glass courses. It's relatively new,
maybe 2-3 years since it opened. The price is quite high for those of
us living and working in the country but it's encouraging to see this
happening here. From what I've seen with regard to stained glass, the
'industry' is still very much in its infancy here. The average person
doesn't have the spare time to invest in this as a hobby nevermind the
extra cash. I would venture to say that in a country of over 65 million
citizens, there can't be more than 25 people doing stained glass as a
'hobby'...there are, however, a few companies now that are selling
finished stained glass products, produced in their own moderate size
studios. in the region i live in, more than 8 hours out of istanbul,
there are NO stained glass studios and no one is commercially doing
glass work other than window and mirror glass! I'm guessing that i'll
be the only 'real' art glass studio for a radius of at least 250
miles...so supplies, if they exist in Turkey at all, are going to have
to come from Istanbul...

I'm having a dickens of a time trying to locate a 'morton grid' or a
reasonable facsimile.I can't work well without one ... i can't have one
shipped from the US because of the size...the companies that sell them
won't ship them here. my wholesaler in istanbul has never heard of
them...but i sent her info and she's checking it out for me...i KNOW
that this kind of plastic grid must exist here but i have no idea where
to go to ask...i don't even know how to describe it in turkish..
and a photo isn't exactly helping....the few places i asked just sort
of look at me as if i'm from Mars...they are clueless.

things take their own sweet time in this part of the world, but
eventually, i'll find what i want...or learn the vocabulary so that
others can find it for me! where i live is just too romote from 'the
market'...but we DO have lots of city folk buying old homes at
dirt-cheap prices and fixing them up! that's where my clients will come
from..
let's hope it happens!

ar.

the grid can be found through lighting suppliers and hardware stores. It's
commonly used to cover fluorescents.It doen't have the backing but if you
need it, glue one on. m
wrote in message
oups.com...
Yes, there is a 'glass furnace' program just outside Istanbul in the
forest that has 2 week residential glass courses. It's relatively new,
maybe 2-3 years since it opened. The price is quite high for those of
us living and working in the country but it's encouraging to see this
happening here. From what I've seen with regard to stained glass, the
'industry' is still very much in its infancy here. The average person
doesn't have the spare time to invest in this as a hobby nevermind the
extra cash. I would venture to say that in a country of over 65 million
citizens, there can't be more than 25 people doing stained glass as a
'hobby'...there are, however, a few companies now that are selling
finished stained glass products, produced in their own moderate size
studios. in the region i live in, more than 8 hours out of istanbul,
there are NO stained glass studios and no one is commercially doing
glass work other than window and mirror glass! I'm guessing that i'll
be the only 'real' art glass studio for a radius of at least 250
miles...so supplies, if they exist in Turkey at all, are going to have
to come from Istanbul...

I'm having a dickens of a time trying to locate a 'morton grid' or a
reasonable facsimile.I can't work well without one ... i can't have one
shipped from the US because of the size...the companies that sell them
won't ship them here. my wholesaler in istanbul has never heard of
them...but i sent her info and she's checking it out for me...i KNOW
that this kind of plastic grid must exist here but i have no idea where
to go to ask...i don't even know how to describe it in turkish..
and a photo isn't exactly helping....the few places i asked just sort
of look at me as if i'm from Mars...they are clueless.

things take their own sweet time in this part of the world, but
eventually, i'll find what i want...or learn the vocabulary so that
others can find it for me! where i live is just too romote from 'the
market'...but we DO have lots of city folk buying old homes at
dirt-cheap prices and fixing them up! that's where my clients will come
from..
let's hope it happens!

ar.