Oh, Don, I’m not selling the little guy, just keeping the training
wheels on until I’m ready to take them off again. It was a bit
frustrating to melt nearly everything I touched that was less than
20 gauge, (and even some of that!) and I was working on filigree for
a while, and plan to go back to that, and the little torch with
oxy-acetylene really is overpowered for Russian-style filigree,
unless you’re awfully good with it, which I’m not.
I’m still learning, and I’m obviously still in the early stages of
my learning, as evidenced by my new-found knowledge of
regulator-mount flashback arrestors. (Thanks, James! I’m really
surprised that the local welding supply store didn’t sell me those,
since I specifically asked about flashback arrestors when I went in
to get my tanks filled. I’d have expected them to sell me the kitchen
sink, based on how much I didn’t know.)
Part of the learning is knowing which tool to use when, and part of
maturity is recognizing your own limitations, and working within
them while trying to stretch just a little bit each day.
Good going Lauren!!! Remember what Winston Churchill once said, “The
key to success is to go from failure to failure without loosing your
enthusiasm”!! And that is soooo true when beginning to make jewelry.
Again yesterday my husband and I tested everything on my one tank
Smith torch system. We found a very small leak where the torch
connects to the hose. Took care of that problem and fired up the
torch.
However, now as soon as the torch hits the metal, inspite of the
silver being covered with paste flux, everything turns black. I
tried working on 3 separate pieces and it happened to all of them.
Too much oxidation? ? So since this is a one tank system, does this
mean the torch has been damaged and the oxy/acetylene mix is off ??
It lights up fine and the flame looks good. Wondering if there is
something else I need to check. I greatly appreciate this forum and
the speed of replies from all of you.
It seems you might have messed up acetylene cylinder. Has the
cylinder been laying on it side?
I know were a cylinder has been stored laying down and setup every
time it was used almost every day without a problem silver brazing
brass and copper and it was never a problem.–so??. Acetylene is not
a really clean gas-- made from carbide it will contain some
phosphine. In the old days this was taken out with a purifying step
but many places skip that step. ?? . if your cylinder has been
recently filled it may be over filled with acetone. This shows up as
an irregular spitting flame. Acetylene also does polymerize some,
and you may find a dirty oily fluid in your regulator or torch
valve. in some areas ( Gulf Coast and ?) there is a byproduct
acetylene which I have very limited experience with. Jewelry-craft
uses are a very small area so they don’t get much attention.
I would clean your system out and try another cylinder–they are not
like peas in a pod everyone can be contaminated in its own way. It
looks like witchcraft but there is a cause which very likely is not
due to something you did. Your supplier probably will not be much if
any help but he should switch the cylinder. good luck .
LPG ( its not just propane) can have similar quality problems due to
the way they are filled and used.
(Thanks, James! I’m really