Prism Suncatcher

Description

Prism Suncatcher is truly a delight for any picture window, breakfast nook, sunroom or covered porch. A three-dimensional, diamond-shaped quartz crystal hangs within a detailed beveled glass frame. Every ray of light passing through the crystal is refracted into sparkling bands of color. Embedded loop allows you to hang easily with your own ribbon or chain.

Materials
• 2 packs of 1 1/2 X 2 1/2-inch Diamond Glass Bevels
• 7/32" Copper Foil
• Studio Pro Fid Pack
• Studio Pro 60/40 Solder
• Studio Pro Studio 100 Soldering Iron
• Studio Pro Safety Flux 8OZ
• Flux brush
• 14 Silver Jump Rings
• Silver Chain
• Quartz Crystal

Be Safe!
- Before you begin find a place to work that has great ventilation where you can open a window and use a fan. Use a soldering smoke absorber if you can, to remove toxic fumes.
- An area safe from children and pets is recommended.
- The less you move an unfinished project, the less likely you are to have damage.
- Please read and follow all directions carefully. When working with glass, protect your feet and legs by wearing pants and closed toe shoes. Eye protection is essential. Protect your lungs and make sure to wear a dust mask when soldering.
- Use a heat resistant work surface.

Let’s get started
1. Remove 8 diamond glass bevels from packaging. Clean bevels and four glass gems with glass cleaner or rubbing alcohol. Dry with a lint-free cloth
2. Apply foil to the edge of the glass so that it extends evenly over both sides of the glass. Fold or crimp foil over edges making sure to fold corners neat and flat. Burnish foil using fid or a wooden craft stick. Press foil flat against glass on the outside edge first, then both sides of the glass. Don’t scrub as you may rip the foil.
3. Solder is a mix of tin and lead in different proportions. Use solid core solder 60/40 best results with foil. Lead Free is used when projects are handled--kaleidoscopes, jewelry boxes or objects for young children.
4. Follow diagram to connect diamond bevels together. You will need 4 for the top part of the sun catcher and 4 on the bottom
5. Before soldering, tape the pieces together to form a square. Avoid placing tape in the corners.
6. For the top part of the sun catcher, apply flux to copper foiled pieces at the corners. Tack solder the corners, and then remove the tape. Apply flux to and completely solder all seams. Hold the iron tip above the foil, perpendicular to the seam. Hold iron as you would a carving knife. Feed the solder into the tip as you move along the foil. Repeat this process for the bottom part of the sun catcher.
7. Time to add the jump rings. The top part of the suncatcher will need one jump ring on top and 4 on each point at the bottom. You can use a “third hand tool” or a “helping hand tool” to assist you with holding the jump ring while you solder to the suncatcher. It makes this process much easier. Apply flux to both the jump ring and the point, align the jump ring next to the point and tack solder. Flip over and secure the other side.
8. Repeat the same process to the bottom sun catcher, but do not apply a jump ring to the top.
9. If your Quartz Crystal does not already come with a cap, you can make one. Wrap Copper foil around the end of the crystal that you would like to be the top. Apply flux and then solder all the way around. Apply flux to the jump ring and the area on the cap where you would like the jump ring to connect too. Tack solder and flip over and secure the other side.
10. Connect your finished quartz crystal to 1.75” of chain. Connect the end of the chain to a jump ring.
11. Now you need to connect the chain with the jump ring to the inside of the top. Apply solder to the inside middle area of the top part of the suncatcher. Also apply flux to the jump ring. Hold the top part of the suncatcher upside down and dangle the chain until the jump ring touches the inner middle part of the top suncatcher. Drop a small amount of liquified solder, connecting the two pieces together.
12. Wash thoroughly using warm water and soap and a soft brush. Clean both sides then rinse well and dry.
Optional:
• Add black or copper patina following manufacturer’s instructions.
• Tie ribbon scraps to the jump ring and add a loop of micro filament to hang the suncatcher with.

SOLDERING TIPS: (Here are some hints)
• If solder doesn’t flow smoothly—apply more flux.
• If seams bulge over the glass— there’s too much solder; you may need to melt and pull off the excess.
• If solder spits or bubbles there’s too much flux; wipe some off.
• Flat seams need more solder.
• Don’t stay in the same spot too long or the solder will bleed through or the glass will crack.
• Wipe your iron tip frequently on a wet sponge while you are soldering.
• Re-tin your tips as needed using a sal-ammoniac block.