Lead light repairs for a change

**Claw Hama** · 28th March 2011, 10:01 PM

Current project for a friend of the family, he couldn't get anyone to repair this 4 gang slider. After removing them I found that they were doomed from the day they installed them, prob around 1930s or into the war. The bottom tracks were steel as were the bearings they traveld on, this is on a house 500m from the surf. I'd say they worked at best for the first 1 - 2 years before they froze and have been painted in ever since. It took me about 2 hours to remove them, once removed the glass and lead all but fell out so before I can repair the frames I have to stablise the glass and lead. I have started soldering up the cracked lead joints and re grouting in the pains with a slurry of putty and linseed. The lead is so thin I have to have my soldering iron very cool so it doesn't melt back and disintergrate. Nothing like a challenge. I will also have to track down some 316 stainless track and rollers. shot 4 is whats left of the old rollers

.
The track was maybe at best copper coated mild steel didn't stand a chance.
Ahh just another day at the office

This should be in the reno forum I guess

**Sawdust Maker** · 29th March 2011, 10:02 AM

You get all the fun jobs

Those rollers look fine

another 1000 slides in them

**Claw Hama** · 29th March 2011, 11:03 AM

Don't know about the fun but something a little different

.

**Woodwould** · 29th March 2011, 11:20 AM

As you say Claw, it's a bit different to your normal work that we get to see.

Do you know much about the horizontal sliding sash form? I haven't seen it in Australia befroe (I haven't been looking for it I must admit), but it's common to several local areas in the UK.

**Claw Hama** · 29th March 2011, 03:27 PM

First time I've repaired any (Horizontal, plenty of virtical), seen a few here and there but not many. What do I need to know WW?
How can you enlighten me on them?

other than making it slide again. I do know the panels are too big to be unsupported without bones/steels but the new owners will be gentle with them. I guess they have survived (just) for the 70 or so years. I have found some stainless steel and nylon rollers now just have to find some S/S, brass or at the very least anodised aluminium track.

**Woodwould** · 29th March 2011, 04:19 PM

I don't know a great deal about them either. They're seldom very large which I guess is in view of their weight and less than ideal sliding mechanism. Any I've come across have been made of Oak and the male and female slides were made separately to enable ease of replacement.

If I were making one today, I'd make the slides out of acetal. Acetal is very stable: it doesn't expand or contract much with fluctuations in temperature and absorbs virtually zero moisture, and is self-lubricating.

**Claw Hama** · 29th March 2011, 09:37 PM

These have a timber track at the top but the bottom has rollers and rides on a metal track so there shouldn't be any jamming if do a good job

**Claw Hama** · 1st April 2011, 09:53 PM

A few more shots of the window repairs. after solder up the cracked leads, regrouting with a mixture of putty, boiled lindseed and a drop of black stain to blend it in, I have moved on to the frame. The tops are fine but as expected the bottoms are very corky and week. I have removed any wood that is not nice and hard and gluing in new sections. The new rollers are being morticed in, joints reglued and clamped, cracks filled and then a coat of primer. New brass tracks were to be in today but someone made a f up

of the delivery so they won't be in till next Friday, bugga. Two fully completed and the others will be done by the end of the weekend. So far so good

**Sawdust Maker** · 1st April 2011, 11:46 PM

Just like new, CH

**Claw Hama** · 2nd April 2011, 12:10 AM

Maybe even better, shouldn't rust out so quickly this time. I'll also set the tracks up so the windows can easily be removed for maintenance.

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