I know, I know, I'm late on getting this one posted after promising it a week ago. But as they say, better late than never. I don't know about you, but this winter has just sucked the very life out of me! I'm not very inspired at all. And the motivation level is very low. SUNSHINE - WHERE ART THOU??
OK, enough of my whining... I'd like to talk a little bit about my torch and the fuel for my lampwork setup. First, it's not a "torch" (although everyone refers to it as one); what I use is actually a "burner". I refer to it as a torch because that is the universal word for something that uses fuel that has a flame coming out of it. (If I said "burner", most people would think I was talking about a stove.) My burner is called a Minor Burner, and it uses a mixture of both oxygen and liquid propane ("LP").
To create more, add more fine detail, and keep your clear glass more clear (not sooty or cloudy), you need to use a hotter flame and a cleaner one. That usually requires adding oxygen. Using pressurized gases is hazardous, so my shop is in a separate building and not in my house. There's a line of oxygen and a line of LP that runs to the burner. I control the line pressure from the tanks with regulators (pictured). (I also control the amount of oxygen I want to mix in with my LP at the burner head in order to do different types of work.) Basically, from the tanks of oxygen and LP, I need a line pressure mix of roughly 5 to 1 oxygen to LP.
I can make it simple...most work in neutral, clean and clear work in oxydizing, special effects in reducing. No, it's not that simple - but for the sake of your sanity, and my lack of writing skills, let's leave it at that.
Visit my Boutique Poladora, to see some of my work on my "burner"...
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