[Jewelry making - Article 01339] - [Orchid] Torch and other technical problems

[Zen Sojourner]

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    Hi, some time ago I posted about a bad experience with a local art
    class.  Since then, thanks to feedback and encouragement from so
    many list members, I've dropped the class and finally managed to
    find my way to the Craft Studio that the University of Missouri
    (where my son is a student) runs.  This studio is open to the public
    for a small fee, in my case very small at $25 a semester as a family
    member of a student.  Unfortunately, it's a 3 hour drive, but on the
    other hand, it's open 12 hours on Thurs and 8 hours on Fri, so I can
    drive up Thurs morning, work all day, sleep over, woork all day Fri,
    and head back Fri evening.  Since I don't work on either Thursday or
    Saturday. 

    So this is all great.  However, they were having trouble with the
    torch when I was up there.  This is a Little Torch, oxy-propane, and
    what happens is that you think you've got it adjusted, and you're
    torching merrily away and suddenly you notice the flame is running
    down.  So then you have to adjust the flame up again.  In the
    meantime, your half-soldered piece has cooled off and you have to
    start over.  If you're me and you haven't touched a torch for 10
    years, this is a great big problem because now not only am I
    struggling with the rusty skill thing, progress in de-rusting is
    being held up even more by the equipment problem.  The guy
    monitoring the lab didn't really know what was wrong (heck, he's a
    photography/graphics art major, after all).  He thought it might be
    running out of propane, but the tank didn't FEEL empty.  Does
    anybody have any trouble-shooting advice that might help out here? 
    The torch and all accompanying equipment looks nearly new. 

    They have a rolling mill, I don't know what brand but it has an HR
    on the base.  It looks like a nice rolling mill but it's dusty and
    there's some discoloration on the rollers.  I don't think its
    actually rusted, but it does seem to need some cleaning up.  How
    does one go about cleaning up/polishing the rollers on a rolling
    machine, and what can I do to help keep it in good shape from here
    on out? 

<edit> message split </edit>

Thanks!
Sojourner

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