Slag glass lamp panel repair – Twisted bent frame
Clients are often under the impression that I have slag glass panels sitting on a shelf to order. I wish I did. Unfortunately there were thousands of lamp designs made by over a hundred lamp companies. Every year that past new lamp designs would be created to keep the public’s satisfaction for new ideas. The combinations of thousands of designs, sizes and colors makes it impossible to think about having a panel in stock.
The good news is that slag glass lamps were made with solid materials. All the material came from the earth. No additives just glass and metal. They are extremely resilient to damage and mechanically built to last.
The slag glass shade in this section demonstrates how I was able to repair a major twisted white metal slag glass lamp shade.
First the existing glass had to be removed from the frame before starting the frame restoration. Without a perfect frame both the original glass and the new glass would not fit. I started by documenting the locations and removing all the glass. After that I detected 7 major metal cracks that would need to be bridged and repaired. All cracks are covered with 22g copper bridge on the interior only. This minimizes visual restoration repairs. A squaring table (wood platform) is used to straighten the frame. 
In the process of straightening the bent metal arms are untwisted and the corners are mended.
After the frame is completely straight on the wood platform. I can then install the original glass panels, setting them into the exact locations they were removed from. Using one of the original panels I make a paper stencil of the glass shape and cut a flat piece of best matching glass.
After that the original glass panel is cast to make a custom mold. The mold and the new glass are then placed in my glass kiln to bent the new panel to shape. After the bending of all the new glass panels I test each piece for a perfect fit. To acquire a perfect fit its really necessary to have the frame. When frames are bent it often takes several attempts grinding and nibbling at the edges of the glass to set between the tabs and glass panels.
Send your slag glass lamp panel repair pictures to: Len.Daley@yahoo.com
Questions please call me at 401-314-6005 (12-6ESTime) non Text#
I can best help you after you email pictures
To complete your quote for restoration if you include the following.
1. Pictures of both the inside and outside of the lamp.
2. The dimensions Length x Height.
3. The number of broken pieces.
4. Metal issues or glass issues I may not see in the pictures.