- First, make sure you solder your projects on a fire resistant surface.
- Make sure you wear protective safety glasses when soldering.
Hot solder really burns and if it gets into your eye could cause permanent blindness or serious damage to your eyesight.
- Its always a good idea to have a first aid kit near your soldering area as well as a fully charged fire extinguisher.
- Never leave your soldering iron plugged in and unattended; especially if you have pets.
Most heat controllers have an "On" light that will easily tell you when your iron is on.
Without a heat controller, you can't always tell if the iron is on unless you unplug it from the electrical outlet.
- Make sure you don't overload your electrical outlets.
- Never solder your stained glass projects in an enclosed room without using a good quality fume extractor or an exhaust system.
Several excellent quality fume extraction systems are available for soldering stations that will collect and absorb noxious fumes, yet will not break your pocketbook. A few of the more modestly priced are pictured below. Just click on a picture for additional information.
The easiest way to create an effective exhaust system is to install a cheap, high c.f.m. window fan close to your soldering station to suck out any toxic fumes. The single or dual fan systems pictured below do the job and are moderately priced.
Commercial stained glass studios use high tech exhaust systems situated directly above soldering stations to remove fumes. The prices for these systems are not realistic for the average hobbyist.
- Wear a mask
- Wash Your Hands!
Lead and acid flux will not pose a problem to your health if you just follow your mother's advice and wash your hands when you're finished up with your project. Eating a snack or a sandwich while you are soldering a stained glass suncatcher isn't a good practice.
According to government statistics, children and pregnant women are affected more by lead than adults, so it's a good practice to keep high risk people away from your work area when you do your soldering.
These soldering safety tips are not intended to scare you away from working on stained glass. They are simply sound, common sense practices, that should be implemented in any stained glass studio work area.
Be Safe!
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ReplyDeleteSoldering irons come with or without temperature control. It is better to choose a model with temperature control as you can increase or decrease the temperature according to the task. Know more from https://solderingironguide.com/reviews/best-soldering-stations
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