I heard from Kenneth about the Jumbo Torch, as a newer, more
powerful butane hand held, and I intend to try it. Has anyone else
added this torch to their bench? Or any other newer, more intense
hand held torch? As I said earlier, I am familiar with Blazer (though
perhaps not the newest models) and MicroFlam, but am wondering what
improvements there may have been recently in this technology.
Thanks!
Noel
I have the Jumbo torch and it does a real good job for stuff the
kitchen size can’t do. I have successfully soldered gallery wire and
bale components to a 2.5" x 2" piece but I had to make a little oven
with firebricks to get it hot enough. I also notice that the
canister tip does not make a good connection when refilling–it sort
of bubbles and hisses out around the nozzle. I checked for leaks
after filling and it looked okay, so I let it sit for a few minutes
and then got busy soldering. Still, I don’t consider it a 'real’
torch. I am saving for a Meco midget propane/oxy set up (I am
debating still about it)…
Noel,
I haven’t tried the MicroFlam yet. But I do have several Jumbo
Torches that I have added to my bench. I teach classes and have about
4 or 5 Blazers and 3 or 4 Jumbo Torches. I will swear by the Blazer,
just as you. I love the torch, but if I need to do anything over
about 1 1/4" then I need more heat. I got to the point where I was
holding 3 blazer torches trying to get my solder to flow on my larger
pieces.
I started using the Jumbo torch just over a year ago and LOVE it! It
has the ability to ball up my copper wire (up to 14 gauge I believe.)
I can solder pieces up to about 3 or 4 inches. It has a much larger
flame and you can reduce the flame to a smaller point so it can also
handle really fine jobs such as soldering bezels, fine wires and
such. I was pretty skeptical at first, but after using it for a month
or so, I ordered more so my students could also use them. It doesn’t
replace my blazer for me, but it is still one of my Go To torches
when I need to do any soldering.
I don’t know if that helps or not. But I am not familiar with any
other new technologies yet and love that you brought this up.
Melissa Muir