Smith little torch

Jewelry Discussion
1

Good morning,

I know the torch issue has been beaten to death, but I have a
different question I would like an opinion on. I presently use a
Smith Little torch with a oxy/acetylne (tanks about two feeet high)
and they are in my workshop beside my bench. With all the comments
about safety I am wondering if I might be better off to go to natural
gas as I am close to a gas supply (about 12 feet). Does anyone know
if I can use they same torch and also do you use just natural gas or
do you have to have an oxy tank as well?

Thanks in advance

Gerry

2

Gerry,

You will need the oxygen tank with natural gas and it will not be as
hot as your acet set up is. You’ll probably need a hoke torch also.
The little torch comes with larger tips but I haven’t found that to
be a workable setup.

I’ve used oxy/acet for years. Propane & nat. gas are cleaner flames
though.

Either way you need to follow good safety habits.

Mark

3

Dear Gerry,

I have an old oxy/acetylene torch, which I regularly use with natural
gas. Ran a line out to the garage about the same distance as you. I
use it with oxygen, since gas on its own doesn’t quite have the
’umph’ I need for melting. It works great! I believe you can use
most oxy/acetylene torches with natural gas (after consulting the
manufacturers’ warnings!). It burns very clean, and I have one less
tank to worry about falling over during earthquakes.

4

Hi Gerry,

I had the same concern, but I switched. You can use your setup but
you can’t use the smaller tips, sizes 1. 2. and 3. You should also
get a size 7 tip (not included in the set up) if you want to solder
silver or larger stuff (bigger than a ring). I was assured this was
safe (using the larger original tips) by my local welding supplier. I
have been using these tips for 8 years without a problem. It’s great
to solder without goggles. You’ll like it too.:slight_smile: Go for it.

Ciao
Gail

5 
 You should also get a size 7 tip...

I’m just kibbitzing, but, if you can’t use the smaller tips any more
and you need a bigger one, couldn’t you just drill out a larger hole
in one of your small tips?

–Noel

6 
    You should also get a size 7 tip... 

    I'm just kibbitzing, but, if you can't use the smaller tips
any more and you need a bigger one, couldn't you just drill out a
larger hole in one of your small tips?

If you get a mini-torch kit with #1-#5 tips, the ones that are too
small to do jewelry work with have ruby inserts that can be removed
and then it is like a #5 or #6 TIP.

7 
   I'm just kibbitzing, but, if you can't use the smaller tips any
more and you need a bigger one, couldn't you just drill out a
larger hole in one of your small tips?

the smallest three tips sizes are fitted with a drilled syn. ruby
tip. You can’t just drill that larger. But you can cut off the last
couple millimeters of the tip, totally removing that ruby tip. That
gives you a rather large tip, and you can drill it out even larger if
you like.

Peter

8 
I'm just kibbitzing, but, if you can't use the smaller tips any more
and you need a bigger one, couldn't you just drill out a larger hole
in one of your small tips?

Not a very good idea --you can expect very ragged flames with a
drilled out tip.

jesse

9 
    couldn't you just drill out a larger hole in one of your small
tips?

The short answer is “yes, you can.” However, the owner’s manual that
came with mine specifically warns against doing that, or enlarging,
swaging, etc., their torch tips. They also warn against poking wires
or anything else in them.

I’ll assume the main reason is because, here in the US, litigation
abounds. I recently read an article about how sad it is that
manufacturers here must use the silliest disclaimers to prevent
lawsuits by consumers who either modify their product or misuse it
in some inane way.

Probably the most important reason to not drill out the two smallest
tips that are supplied with the kit (the #3 and #4 tips) is because
they have sapphires in them and are designed to be used ONLY with
acetylene. Use the #5, #6 and #7 tips for propane and natural gas.

James in SoFl

10 
Not a very good idea --you can expect very ragged flames with a
drilled out tip.

I never had any problem that way. Some larger tips sometimes
produce a flame that seems too high speed at times, which you can
modify by running a small bud bur into the drill hole about 2/3ds the
lenth of the bur head, with the size of the bur being only a little
larger than the drill hole. It flares the diameter of the exiting
hole, and the gas stream slightly slows down. Somewhat like the
shape of a rocket motor nozzle. The main visible effect is that the
flame blows out less easily. Do note that you need the gas and oxy
pressures high enough so the flame is still decently brisk if you’ve
done this to make a really large tip. Too low a gas pressure and the
flame can blow back into the torch body with the little torch, due to
the small diameter of the gas line hoses, I think, Try, in doing this,
not to have the exit diameter of the hole much larger than the
internal bore of the tip tubing itself, for the same reason.
Fortunately, even drilling a little torch tip out to it’s max, you’re
still not exactly talking about an excessively large tip, at least
not with natural gas or propane. I’d not recommend this with
acetylene or hydrogen at all.

Peter

11 
the smallest three tips sizes are fitted with a drilled syn. ruby
tip. You can't just drill that larger. But you can cut off the
last couple millimeters of the tip, totally removing that ruby tip.
That gives you a rather large tip, and you can drill it out even
larger if you like.

In spite of the title of the thread, I thought the question was
about which tips to use with what feul for the Meco, not the Little
torch. The Meco tips don’t have ruby inserts (right? Mine don’t) and
would be very easy to drill out. Of course, they’re also not
expensive…

Noel