THE SOLDER WON'T ADHERE TO THE FOIL/CAME:
> ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE APPLIED FLUX.

SOLDER IS MELTING THROUGH THE BACKSIDE OF MY PROJECT:
> THE IRON IS TOO HOT.

MY SOLDER IS 'STIFF':
> THE IRON IS TOO COOL. WORK AT A HIGHER TEMPERATURE.
> CHECK THAT YOU ARE APPLYING ENOUGH FLUX.
> IF YOU ARE USING THE IRON AS A 'PAINTBRUSH', THE SOLDER IS NOT 
   GETTING HOT ENOUGH TO MELT THOROUGHLY. IN ORDER FOR
   SOLDER TO CREATE A BEAD, IT HAS TO GET MOLTEN. RUN A LONG  
   BEAD WITH A STEADY, EVEN, ONE-DIRECTIONAL MOVEMENT.

MY IRON SEEMS TO BE HOT, BUT THE SOLDER ISN'T MELTING AS FAST AS NORMAL:
> CLEAN THE TIP OF THE IRON AND MAKE SURE THAT THE IRON AND 
   CONTROLLER ARE WORKING.

MY SOLDER SEAMS ARE FLAT:
> YOU ARE NOT USING ENOUGH SOLDER. REFLUX YOUR PROJECT AND 
   ADD SOLDER.
> YOU ARE SOLDERING TOO FAST. MOVE AT THE SPEED THAT LETS
   THE SOLDER BEAD.
> IF THE BEAD WAS THERE AND THEN DISAPPEARED, YOU MAY BE 
   WORKING TOO LONG IN ONE AREA CAUSING THE SOLDER TO MELT 
   THROUGH TO THE OTHER SIDE. ALLOW THE ARE TO COOL DOWN 
   BEFORE TRYING AGAIN. 
> CHECK THAT YOU ARE USING 60/40 STAINED GLASS SOLDER IE. 60%
    TIN 40% LEAD - THIS SOLDER MAKES IT EASY TO FORM
    AND MAINTAIN CONSISTENT HIGH, ROUNDED, BEADED SEAMS.

THE GLASS FRACTURED WHILE SOLDERING:
> THE IRON IS TOO HOT.
> YOU 'WORKED' TOO LONG IN ONE AREA WITH THE IRON.
> THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A SMALL CHIP OR CRACK IN THE GLASS, 
    WHICH EXPANDED WHEN HEATED BY THE IRON.

MY SOLDER SEAM IS TOO WIDE:
> THIS MAY BE DUE TO LARGE GAPS BETWEEN THE PIECES. RECUT
    PIECES TO FIT.
>  YOU MAY BE USING TOO MUCH SOLDER CAUSING THE SEAM TO
    BULGE OVER THE GLASS. PULL THE EXCESS SOLDER
    FROM THE SEAM.
>  CHECK THAT THE COPPER FOIL IS NOT TOO WIDE. THE WIDTH OF THE 
    SOLDER SEAM IS DETERMINED BY THE WIDTH OF THE FOIL.

MY SOLDER SEAMS ARE IRREGULAR IN WIDTH:
> YOU MAY HAVE POORLY FITTING PIECES THAT CREATE DIFFERENT
   SIZE GAPS IN THE PROJECT. RECUT THESE PIECES.
> THE FOIL MAY BE APPLIED UNEVENLY ON EACH SIDE OF THE GLASS IN 
   SOME PLACES. YOU MAY CORRECT THIS BY TRIMMING THE FOIL WITH 
   CRAFT KNIFE OR REFOILING THE GLASS.

MY SOLDER IS "SPITTING" AS I WORK:
> YOU ARE USING TOO MUCH SOLDER. IT IS LITERALLY BOILING WHEN 
   YOU APPLY THE SOLDER. WIPE SOME OF THE FLUX OFF WITH PAPER 
   TOWEL AND TRY SOLDERING AGAIN. YOU MAY FIND SOME AREAS NOW 
    NEED A LITTLE MORE FLUX, BECAUSE YOU REMOVED TOO MUCH. 

I HAVE GLUE RESIDUE ALONG MY SOLDER SEAMS THAT WON'T WASH AWAY:
> ADHESIVE FROM THE FOIL MAY BE WORKING UP AND OUT ONTO YOUR 
   GLASS. THIS MAY BE DUE TO POOR FOILING AND/OR BURNISHING OF 
   THE COPPER FOIL, WHICH ALLOWED FLUX TO SEEP UNDERNEATH THE 
    FOIL. USE A SOFT TOOTHBRUSH TO CLEAN ADHESIVE AWAY.
> YOUR IRON MAY BE TOO HOT CAUSING THE ADHESIVE ON THE FOIL TO 
   MELT AND SEEP ONTO THE GLASS.
> IF YOU REWORKED A SEAM TOO OFTEN, IT MAY HAVE LOOSENED THE 
   FOIL. ALLOW THE SEAM TO COOL TO THE TOUCH AND GENTLY PRESS 
   THE FOIL BACK DOWN TO THE GLASS.

MY SOLDER HAS A WHITE CHALKY LOOK: WHY?
> FLUX WAS NOT WASHED OFF AFTER IT WAS SOLDERED.
> PROJECT WAS NOT SEALED WITH AN ANTI-TARNISHING AGENT AND 
   WAX.