[Jewelry making - Article 00069] - Re: [Orchid] Wit's end torch problems

[meltnmetal]

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Hi Aaron;

    I can sympathize with the wit's end torch problems, I went from my
    7-8 pound victor journeyman torch setup to my smith little torch,
    talk about your basic rude awakening! I was ready to bungee strap my
    arm to the work bench to keep from swinging my torch all over the
    place because it was sooooooooo light! 

    Anyway, sounds like you had a leak in the last torch system you had
    set up. Happens all the time, no big deal, find the leak, cut and/or
    splice the hose (if the leak is in the hose), on the little torch I
    went to the welding supply looking for a repair kit, they laughed
    and handed me some electrical zip ties. If the leak is in the torch
    itself or the regulators chances are something is loose, tighten up
    your fittings to start with and go from there. 

    If you have a few extra minutes I would recommend familiarizing
    yourself with some of the inventory and equipment at your local
    welding supply, and then establishing a relationship with the guys,
    there are lots of useful things in there, and then when you do have
    to go in they are less likely to treat you like an idiot. 

    I already had a relationship with my welding supply houses from
    many, many, years of being the only female contract welder for miles
    around, but I ALWAYS preface my requests by 'don't laugh' which
    seems to elicit a humorous 'what now' response and they are more
    likely to help rather than to tell me to go to the welding supply
    down the street. 

    I would say the first rule is to learn not to panic when you have
    leaks like this. Calmly turn off the torch, put it down, and turn
    off the regulators. I know this is easier said than done but a very
    important safety factor-it's real hard to turn off those regulators
    while hyperventilating and wringing your hands ya know? :) 

    The only thing that I can see you needing to invest in IMO is a set
    of quality ratchet straps (and something to wrap them around) so you
    can stabilize your bottles (fingers and toes may explode if a bottle
    falls on them). 

    I am not 100% sure what you mean by a single dial regulator-I use
    equipment off of my old welding truck so it is BIG and heavy duty,
    but a quality regulator set wouldn't hurt your safety factor-check
    pawn shops, you can probably find those in the 50-100 dollar range. 

    Make sure that you never lay an acetylene bottle on it's side,
    oxygen is okay. Not a bad idea to have a fire extinguisher handy.
    All that said, I don't use acetylene, I use propane; welders
    consider acetylene a 'dirty' gas, but the same safety factors apply.
    I would say just having the flashback arrestors puts you ahead of
    the safety game! I hope I have helped a tiny bit. :) 

Barrie
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