what is leadlight and why it is called so?

Question

Anyone who knows about leadlight and why the word is formed please enlighten me with this particular knowledge. Thanks a lot! :)

Answer 1

the word leadlight comes from the formation the way this glass was originally made.

designed patterns or stained glass textured or coloured to form objects/shapes.

the way that each piece was held together was with channels of lead, soldered at each joint.

as a display piece i.e in a church, the beauty of a glass pattern, still allowing light to pass through

was a great (now almost obsolete) trade, and being replaced with replica types.

there is great beauty in this formation - the intricate detail involved, the weight in the panels.
Some pieces today are that heavy in lead, they start to pop out of windows / doors.

Look up a leadlight specialist to restore them as it would be a shame if it was shattered!

Isn't leadlight beautiful?

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What is stained glass?

Stained glass is the handpainted and kiln-fired components of a leadlight, as seen in the vibrant leadlights of churches i.e. painted faces of Jesus, words, the folds of his robes etc. Only a small handful of leadlighters seem to learn this art as a part of their work. A leadlight window can have some elements of stained glass within it's design or the whole window can be traditional stained glass. Age-old techniques are involved in the painting process, using nitrates and oxides with specialised application methods. Each piece of glass may undergo three or four applications of painting or matting (shading) to acchieve the details required. Followed by three or four firings in a kiln. In a kiln, the glass is expertly raised to a temperature where the glass begins to soften. At this point the painted application is taken into the top layer of glass where it becomes a permanent part of the glass. The glass is then safely cooled in stages to complete the process.

Finally, the traditionally painted and crafted pieces of glass are assembled into a leadlight to become a stained glass window. The detail applied to the glass becomes a permanent part of the glass. UNLIKE THE MODERN SIMULATED PROCESSES.

STAINED GLASS IS NOT THE APPLICATION OF STICK-ON FILMS OR RESINS. AT NO TIME DOES RESIN OR FILM EVER BECOME A PERMANENT PART OF THE BASE GLASS IN USE. THE GLASS IS NOT STAINED IN ANY WAY, WITH THE SIMULATED PROCESS. A resin may be called a "stain" by a simulated leadlight manufacturer, but it will not permanently change the colour of the base glass.

Leadlights are........?

Leadlights are made up of separate pieces of glass, cut out individually, assembled with a matrix of lead between, soldered together, and finally puttied and polished. A common misconception about leadlight is that it is only made with clear textures of glass, however a leadlight can be made with any colour. The colour of glass is formed by additional ingredients to the basic glassmaking recipe. As the colour is the very essence of the basic recipe....it will never fade in intensity. The colour cannot change.

What is leadlight overlay OR simulated leadlight?

There are two common methods used to produce a leadlight replica....one using resins, the other using a film, and both using adhesive lead. In each case a base sheet of glass is used and a pattern is applied with an adhesive lead . In the resin process, coloured resins are poured and blended into an area surrounded by the adhesive lead and left to set. The film or overlay method involves applying the film in it's designated pattern to one side of the glass and usually the lead to both sides. Some exceptions are when one side only may be applied to in cabinet work. Both methods are not a permanent process in comparison to traditional stained glass work.

** Resins are also referred to as STAINS by the manufacturers of this simulated process. This is where the terminology STAINED GLASS has been adopted by these manufacturers to describe their product. Hence the confusion :


Imitation leadlights versus genuine.

window than traditional leadlights. This is not true! The imitation product is only as safe as the base glass in use. There is toughened glass...it's strength created by time in a toughening plant. When TOUGHENED GLASS breaks, it disperses into tiny pieces just like a broken car windscreen. Also there is laminated glass which is layers of clear float glass ( usually 2 layers ) sandwiched together with a wafer-thin layer of a bonding agent. It breaks also, but holds together a little when it does.

A BROKEN OR DAMAGED IMITATION LEADLIGHT CANNOT BE REPAIRED AS CAN A TRADITIONAL LEADLIGHT. YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE FULL COST OF REPLACING A SIMULATED PRODUCT ! COLOUR MATCHING MAY PROVE DIFFICULT WHERE TIME HAS MADE CHANGES TO THE ORIGINAL COLOURS. IF THE BROKEN SIMULATED WINDOW IS PART OF A SERIES, CONTINUITY OF COLOUR MAY BE A CONCERN.

Leadlights, on the other hand, use 3-4 mm glass with a design element that ensures a full matrix of lead holding it together, supporting the pieces of glass between and through the entire leadlight. This is the same way it's been done for hundreds of years. The leadlight would have an additional form of reinforcing or two such as the addition of reinforced lead and/ or support bars. A well-built leadlight which is then puttied, polished, and correctly reinforced would be strong and have no safety concerns after installation. Due to the lead matrix and putty process of assembling a leadlight, a broken leadlight will hold together reasonably well until a repairer can assess it's needs. A BROKEN OR DAMAGED TRADITIONALLY MADE LEADLIGHT CAN BE REPAIRED AND AT A FRACTION OF REPLACEMENT COSTS.

What is a zinclight?

A zinclight is often mistaken for a leadlight panel, by those unaware of the difference. In a leadlight you will notice the matrix between the glass segments appears black or dark grey in colour. In a zinclight it appears grey or silver, resembling old aluminium. Zinc came into use when lead was in short supply during the war . It was well used during the art-deco period for windows and door-panels, and in some older china cabinets. A zinclight appears stronger than lead at first, however suffers fractures and stresses at the solder joints. This would be, primarily due to differing expansion and contraction rates between the two metals...solder (tin and lead) and the zinc. Repairing zinclights requires specialist restoration techniques, and tools, especially in the older zinclight. Zinc is still manufactured for both restoration and new work, however only seems to be chosen where matching existing zinclights is a restorers choice. New zinc-work generally requires special zinc-bending equipment. Working with zinclights may not be a preference of every leadlight professional. Be prepared to contemplate both the choice of zinclights and the appropriate company to do the job. Have they had extensive experience with zinc? A reliable company should have photographs of their work to show you.

Answer 2

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits incoherent narrow-spectrum light when electrically biased in the forward direction. This effect is a form of electroluminescence. The color of the emitted light depends on the composition and condition of the semiconducting material used, and can be near-ultraviolet, visible or infrared.[1] Rubin Braunstein of the Radio Corporation of America first reported on infrared emission from gallium arsenide (GaAs) and other semiconductor alloys in 1955.[2] Experimenters at Texas Instruments, Bob Biard and Gary Pittman, found in 1961 that gallium arsenide gave off infrared (invisible) light when electric current was applied. Biard and Pittman were able to establish the priority of their work and received the patent for the infrared light-emitting diode. Nick Holonyak Jr. of the General Electric Company developed the first practical visible-spectrum LED in 1962.[3]