Hello Lori,
I read your comments with dismay, because over several years and a couple of different propane plus oxygen torches (Little Torch, Hoke Torch) I have been unable to have anything really dangerous happen in lighting or using the torch. IDK what your “professionally trained and/or experienced jeweler” did to have her accident, but I haven’t experienced it or even heard about it on this forum. You adjust your regulator to the proper pressure, turn on your gas, light your torch and then add oxygen as needed to get your flame right. It is a simple process. If you were to use entirely too much gas, or turn on both gas and oxygen before lighting the torch, I suppose you could end up with some humongous flame that would cause problems, but in the normal course of things, this would not happen.
You should certainly go with what you feel most comfortable with and go on and make jewelry happily ever after, but propagating the idea that gas plus oxygen torches are unsafe and dangerous is not something I would like to see on this forum, as it just isn’t true. As someone else pointed out, there are actually more dangerous things that can go wrong with an acetylene tank than propane and oxygen. The greatest danger of propane is a leak that can allow the heavier than air propane to pool along the floor and mix with air, but with a 1 lb tank, there is precious little propane to pool and the tank and regulator are easy to work with. As with any torch, you would want to check your hoses for leaks and turn off your gas when finished, back off your regulator and empty your gas line afterwards.
As stated before, you could get all the advantages of gas + oxygen with no tanks at all by using a water torch and they are available cheap from China these days. They are the only kind of torch that the fire marshal will allow in a shopping mall, so you could look into that.
Fear is not necessarily a rational response and in fact is more usual with things we don’t really understand. I hope we will all think for ourselves when deciding on our tools. -royjohn
i am pondering your quandry, and it sounds like you are getting boxed in…?
based on what you have written
you want to make jewelry
you need a torch to make jewelry
you want to stay with acetylene
you want to avoid butane, propane/oxy
you need to comply with insurance and hoa rules
so…it sounds like
you need a torch
you need to comply
…it sounds like you need to choose a compliant torch, that you can learn how to use safely, so that you feel comfortable and want to use it
Thank you for your responses, Royjohn.
I’m not trying to propagate fear - I am merely explaining my life experiences. I understand that gas choice amongst jewelers is akin to politics - everyone has an opinion as to what is right/best based on their experience.
I am not sometone that just learned off YouTube - I took proper classes and had a few mentors. I worked in a metalwork shop (jewelry to welding). I am educated. I’ve just seen bad things happen/had bad things happen (and not just with torches). Maybe others haven’t - but I have. I’m fortunate that I have had these experiences - it gave me a healthy respect for the tools I use in my craft.
I seriously appreciate all responses - I am hoping for local support about realistic options - other smiths that understand the challenges of balancing wanting to do the thing you love without having major legal issues in SoCal. CA has unique laws and regulations and I am moving into a planned community. I get/got a lot of help and support where I live now - there are lots of people that understand the challenges of my current state. If I was moving to TN, for example, this wouldn’t even be an issue.
Everyone keeps mentioning water torches - but no one seems to remember that I already said I had TWO. One from China and one from Rio. They were horrible. I couldn’t even give them away. They are in a junk metal pile somewhere now. They are definitely something I would not ever chose to use again, much less own.
Butane is also off the table for me. I won’t detail it here since that is considered negativity, but - nope. I will never own a butane “creme brûlée” torch again.
Home studios - look at the “mouth” torch which uses small bottles of propane and your own breath to create a good flame. If you are defeated with the notion of circular breathing, a foot operated bellows also works. another option is an orca torch. Or if you have natural gas, you can use it directly with compressed air - not an oxygen tank. Or if you feel the need for having a flash back arrestor, you could use a G-tec concentrator for natural gas like the jewelers in NYC use with the fire department’s blessing.
Judy Hoch
Hi Judy! Thanks! This is exactly the type of info I need! Ill screenshot your message for reference!
Our new home may have NG…didn’t even give that a thought (even tho I use my stove in my condo now to ball wire on the regular if I am working on simple projects at home.)
Circular breathing is a concept i’m familiar with (band geek from HS).
Join the Facebook page group run by alan Revere. He taught jewelry making in his school in San Francisco for decades. Only recently did he close it and move to only mentoring. He still lives in California in the bay area. Ask him about the restrictions California has currently. As for where in So Cal. You need lets put it this way YOU NEED to ask the local fire department of the neighborhood you are moving to about restrictions. THEY will know better than anyone here. As for your communities HOA, you have to ask them what restrictions they have. We give you suggestions, but so far nothing is good. Go to the source of what you need. Funny thing is I moved from Nashville to San Francisco in 97. I’ve seen many careless accidents by people who were not concentrating on their work. Worst was a lady visiting teacher who nearly cut off her hand in a bandsaw accident. I went on to learn all about bandsaws and now own one of the big whoppers. As for creme bruelee torches, 99% are crap for doing jewelry and most are made in China. There are a few brands that are exceptions to the theory of being bad. I had the nozzle of one fall off while I was soldering. Then there is the problem of having enough heat to do the job. I currently use one made in Japan that sushi chefs use. Great little torch and I do most my work with it. I have 8 torches that range from that small sushi torch to one of propane and air used by forest service to clear weeds. the later shoots a flame nearly 3 feet long and sounds like a cannon when you light it. I have everything in between and different gasses. I’m a closet pyromaniac.
Again go to the source of who will know the answers to your questions.
Judy’s message reminded me that in the’90’s I used an alcohol lamp and blowpipe to make chain. There are lots of small jobs you could do with this and it’s probably safer than most other options. I apologize for not reading closely Lori’s original post re: the water torches. I looked at a report on the LA jewelry district and evidently, from what I could see, you could use gas/oxygen torches, but apparently they specify exactly how (it was a long report and I didn’t read all of it).
Lori, I think your biggest hurdle could be your condo’s covenants, as they can specify all kinds of things including the color of the flowers in your window boxes. I suppose if it’s inside your dwelling, you could sneak a lot of stuff, but if they find out, they can order you to cease and desist. You can find out what the county requires from the fire marshal, but the covenants, as you may already know, can be more restrictive than that.
Good luck and I hope you make lots of beautiful jewelry! -royjohn