Leading-Up and Fixing--Setting out the Bench--Relation of Leading
to mode of Fixing in the Stone--Process of Fixing--Leading-Up
Resumed--Straightening the Lead--The "Lathykin"--The
Cutting-Knife--The Nails--The Stopping-Knife--Knocking Up.
You first place your cut-line, face upward, upon the bench, and pin it
down there. You next cut two "straight-edges" of wood, one to go along
the base line of the section you mean to lead up, and the other along
the side that lies next to you on the bench as you stand at work; for
you always work _from one side_, as you will soon see. And it is
important that you should get these straight-edges at a true right
angle, testing them carefully with the set-square. Fig. 46 represents a
bench set out for leading-up.
You must now build the glass together, as a child puts together his
puzzle-map, one bit at a time, working from the base corner that is
opposite your left hand.
But first of all you must place a strip of extra wide and flat lead
close against each of your straight-edges, so that the core of the lead
corresponds with the outside line of your work.
[Illustration: FIG. 46.]
It will be right here to explain what relation the extreme outside
measurement of your work should bear to the daylight sizes of the
openings that it has to fill. I think we may say that, whatever the
"mouldings" may be on the stone, there is always a flat piece at exact
right angles to the face of the wall in which the window stands, and it is
in this flat piece that the groove is cut to receive the glass (fig. 47).
[Illustration: FIG. 47.]
Now, as the glazed light has to _fill_ the daylight opening, there must
obviously be a piece beyond the "daylight" size to go into the stone. By
slipping the glazed light in _sideways_, and even, in large lights, by
_bending_ it slightly into a bow, you can just get into the stone a
light an inch, or nearly so, wider than the opening; but the best way is
to use an extra wide lead on the outside of your light, and bend back
the outside leaf of it both front and back so that they stand at right
angles to the surface of the glass (fig. 48). By this means you can
reduce the size of the panel by almost 1/4 of an inch on each side; you
can push the panel then, without either bending or slanting it much, up
to its groove; and, putting one side as far as it will go _into_ the
groove, you can bend back again into their former place the two leaves
of the lead on the opposite side; and when you have done that slide
_them_ as far as they will go into _their_ groove, and do the same by
the opposite pair. You will then have the panel in its groove, with
about 1/4 of an inch to hold by and 1/4 of an inch of lead showing. Some
people fancy an objection to this; perhaps in very small windows it
might look better to have the glass "flush" with the stone; but for
myself I like to see a little _showing_ of that outside lead, on to
which so many of the leads that cross the glass are fastened. Anyway you
must bear the circumstance in mind in fixing down your straight-edges to
start glazing the work; and that is why I have made this digression by
mentioning now something that properly belongs to fixing.
[Illustration: FIG. 48.]
Now before beginning to glaze you must stretch and straighten the lead;
and this is done as follows (fig. 49--_Frontispiece_).
Hold the "calm" of lead in your left hand, and run the finger and thumb
of your right hand down the lead so as to get the core all one way and
not at all twisted: then, holding one end firmly under your right foot,
take tight hold of the other end with your pliers, and pull with nearly
all your force in the direction of your right shoulder. Take care not to
pull in the direction of your face; for if you do, and the lead breaks,
you will break some of your features also. It is very important to be
careful that the lead is truly straight and not askew, otherwise, when
you use it in leading, the glass will never keep flat. The next
operation is to open the lead with a piece of hard wood, such as boxwood
or _lignum-vitae_ (fig. 50), made to your fancy for the purpose, but
something like the diagram, which glaziers call a "lathykin" (as I
understand it). For cutting the lead you must have a thin knife of good
steel. Some use an old dinner-knife, some a palette-knife cut
down--either square across the blade or at an angle--it is a matter of
taste (fig. 51).
[Illustration: FIG. 50.]
[Illustration: FIG. 51.]
Having laid down your leads A and B (fig. 52), put in the corner piece
of glass (No. 1); two of its sides will then be covered, leaving one
uncovered. Take a strip of lead and bend it round the uncovered edge,
and cut it off at D, so that the end fits close and true against the
_core_ of lead A. And you must take notice to cut with a perfectly
_vertical_ cut, otherwise one side will fit close and the other will
leave a gap.
[Illustration: FIG. 52.]
In fig. 53 A represents a good joint, B a bad one. Bend it round and cut
it off similarly at E. Common sense will tell you that you must get the
angle correct by marking it with a slight incision of the knife in its
place before you take it on to the bench for the final cut.
Slip it in, and push it in nice and tight, and put in piece No. 2.
[Illustration: FIG. 53]
But now look at your cut-line. Do you see that the inner edges of pieces
2, 3, and 4 all run in a fairly smooth curve, along which a _continuous_
piece of lead will bend quite easily? Leave, then, that edge, and put
in, first, the leads which divide No. 2 from No. 3, and No. 3 from No.
4. Now don't forget! the long lead has to come along the inside edges of
all three; so the leaf of it will overlap those three edges nearly 1/8
of an inch (supposing you are using lead of 1/4 inch dimension). You
must therefore cut the two little bits we are now busy upon _1/8 of an
inch short of the top edge of the glass_ (fig. 54), for the inside leads
only _meet_ each other; it is only the _outside_ lead that overlaps.
[Illustration: FIG. 54.]
_How the Loose Glass is held in its place while Leading._--This is done
with nails driven into the glazing table, close up against the edge of
the lead; and the best of all for the purpose are bootmakers' "lasting
nails"; therefore no more need be said about the matter; "use no other"
(fig. 55).
[Illustration: FIG. 55.]
And you tap them in with two or three sharp taps; not of a hammer, for
you do not want to waste time taking up a fresh tool, but with the end
of your leading-knife which is called a "stopping-knife" (fig. 56), and
which lead workers generally make for themselves out of an oyster-knife,
by bending the blade to a convenient working angle for manipulating the
lead, and graving out lines in the lower part of the handle, into which
they run solder, terminating it in a solid lump at the butt-end which
forms an excellent substitute for a hammer.
[Illustration: FIG. 56.]
Now as soon as you have got the bits 1, 2, 3, 4 in their places, with
the leads F, G and H, I between them, you can take out the nails along
the line K, F, H, M, one by one as you come to them, starting from K;
and put along that line one lead enclosing the whole lot, replacing the
nails outside it to keep all firm as you work; and you must note that
you should look out for opportunities to do this always, whenever there
is a long line of the cut-line without any abrupt corners in it. You
will thus save yourself the cutting (and afterwards the soldering) of
unnecessary joints; for it is always good to save labour where you can
without harm to the work; and in this case the work is all the better
for it.
Now, when you have thus continued the leading all the way across the
panel, put on the other outside lead, and so work on to a finish.
When the opposite, outside lead is put on, remove the nails and take
another straight-edge and put it against the lead, and "knock it up" by
hitting the straight-edge until you get it to the exact size; at the
same time taking your set-square and testing the corners to see that all
is at right angles.
Leave now the panel in its place, with the straight-edges still
enclosing it, and solder off the joints.