I really want to move on from my earlier threads where I felt forced
to defend my choices or motivations. I’ll try to take your advice
that I should put the practice step between the written intelligence
and the human intelligence. Even so, you had also advised that I was
free to ask for any advice regarding a potentially dangerous
procedure, so I will take the opportunity here.
In one of my earlier emails to you asking for help from a mentor, I
was wanting to know about how to use my dual-gas miniature torch,
which I received for my birthday last year, but have not yet cracked
open yet as I have not encountered the project to use it, and because
the fuel is very precious.
This is a dental torch which evidently had taken the jewelry world by
storm. I’m planning on using it for either seam soldering of
sterling, or precision fusing of fine silver, on the tiniest needle.
You had replied that I ought to send a link to the torch in question:
I think the Orchidians could also benefit in learning how to get a
Miniflam MicroTorch II off the tarmac. I have the minimum set of
canisters, and I can follow the installation instructions.
The instructions say nothing about the lighting procedure:
Which valve to open first, oxygen or fuel?
How far to open both valves before lighting?
How to avoid reaching the maximum temperature immediately.
When lighting an oxy propane or oxy acetylene torch you open the
fuel valve first and light it to get a luminous flame If you have not
opened the valve enough your flame will too small, too much and it
will blow away from the nozzle and go out. Once the fuel is lit you
then adjust the oxygen to give a clean neutral or slightly reducing
flame — blue inner cone with slightly feathered edges and a
somewhat bushy outer flame. If the inner cone is small, hard edged
and bright blue and there is a sharp hissing sound then you have too
much oxygen. You then adjust the oxygen and fuel to get the size
flame you want. You usually have to keep tweaking the gas
adjustments for maybe a minute until things settle down. If you can’t
get the flame size you want then close off the gas, change the tip
and light again. When extinguishing the torch I usually shut off the
fuel and then the oxygen to minimise the slight risk of flashback.