Hi
My name is penny and I have posted before, and was very pleased at
the response I got. It was very helpful, I have another problem and
was hoping someone may be able to help me out, I took a class in
Boroscillicate glass and we used a red Max burner, I was in the class
for two days and kind of got used to the way the burner looked, how
big the flame was the sound ,etc, when I was finished with the class
I was really interested in practicing on my own but didnt want the
expense of the red max burner, so I bought a minor burner and having
a hard time trying to figure out exactly where the flame is suppossed
to be, (how big) etc. this flame doesnt quite seem like the other one
how will I know it is adjusted right, any help would be greatly
appreciated.
Penny
To get a neutral flame on a Minor burner, you want to look for nice
sharp blue “candles” at the base of the torch flame. It shouldn’t be
hissy-sounding and shouldn’t have soft orange flames at the base. A
hissy flame is oxidizing (very useful with some borosilicate
colors), a bushy orange flame is reducing (which will muddy or bring
up the metals in some colors).
Be warned, a Minor is much cooler than a Red Max, so you’re going to
be working a LOT slower than you have in the past. Working boro on a
Minor isn’t impossible, but it’s not speedy either.
I nice “compromise” torch, IMO, is the Midrange Plus with a
topmounted pre-mix (similar in function to a National 3A). The
premix is quite hot for basic melting and shaping, and the Midrange
gives you a nice-sized but softer flame. I have a Midrange and find
it to be very versatile. I can work anything from taffy-soft Kinari
and Satake all the way through 1" solid boro rod.
Feel free to email me at desertdreameraz at cox dot net if you have
more questions.
KarenS
Penny,
The minor torch is a much smaller flame working torch for
lampworking than a Red Max - the difference in price is a clue to
this. You will want to work with a neutral flame for borosilicate (at
least to know where the neutral is) and that is the place where there
is no hissing and where there is a
minimum of yellow candle ends to the flame. I haven’t worked much in
Boro as it’s a slow process on a minor - the lampworking torch I own.
The ISGB site (www.isgb.org) would be well worth your visit if you
are lampworking and I suggest you ask your question there for more
than you will need. Orchid is a great place too - it just
has a slightly
different slant to it’s expertise.
Sadie
Usually with a Minor burner it helps if you can just hear the oxy
“hiss”. I hope a Minor is big enough for boro, I’ve only just
started playing with
boro, so not an expert there. I have a Major (which is a Minor
with a bigger torch attached to the bottom.) Aside from it being an
oxygen hog, I’ve really liked it. Good luck! I can also direct you
to some other forums to help with this is my suggestions don’t work.
Kerry
http://www.celtcraftjewelry.com
http://www.beadcoop.com