Birthday studio going drastically wrong - would appreciate some advice!
 

Hi everybody,

I'm new to this forum but hoping that as I get more into lampworking I can contribute and get to know the place better! I wondered however if I could get some advice from the members about my studio which I have been trying to set up as a birthday present to myself - shame it's been a bit of a catastrophe so far. I learnt lampworking in Berlin where I was living last year, so setting up a studio has been hard work trying to reconcile German, UK and US guidance on lampworking tools etc. I bought a torch from a German supplier who makes his torches from scratch, which was recommended to me by a professional lampworker in Berlin, and my dad said he'd give me a gas canister he had. I've now found out that the canister contains butane and isn't compatible with the torch. Although the guy who makes the torches says that it works well with butane, everything I read online says that butane is too cold for lampworking, and since I'd now have to buy an adapter to fit the torch to the tank I really need to figure out if it will work before I go buying anything else I'm unsure about. Could anyone out there give me some tips on where I should go from here or their experience of working with butane? I'd be so grateful for any guidance.

Thank you! :-)

I worked with butane when I was in Israel. it is a little dirty, but still works fine.
GTT torches have a little problem with clogging with butane.
I have no idea about the torch you are using but it should be fine if the torch is made well.
A minor torch is cheap and works fine with butane. Same with the bethlehem torches. Where are you getting your O2?
Is the torch made to use O2? What country are you in now?

Does the torch attach directly to a butane tank? Like a hot head does to a propane tank? or do you need to do something to a hose? Pics perhaps

Craig at Arrow Springs is extremely helpful in answering many questions pertaining to lampwork tools and supplies and can definitely guide you or find someone to guide you in Arrow Springs. Here is their tel. number in case you might want to give them a call. They're in the Pacific Time Zone.

Phone: 1(800) 899-0689 / 1(530) 677-1400

I wish you the best of luck in setting up your studio so you can finally sit and enjoy experimenting and playing with all your glass goodies. And...Happy Birthday.
Neomi

I would abandon working with butane as it will be very hard to find refills in most areas of the US.

Would natural gas be a possibility for you Crantz?

Oh yes, and Happy Birthday. :biggrin:

What is your geographic location?

Thank you so much everyone for all your responses so far! What a great community :)

Ok, I suppose I should give a few more details. The butane tank I have is a fairly decent size and I am in the UK (England) so refills are quite easy to get hold of and inexpensive. I have a torch which is a hothead-equivalent but as mentioned assembled specially by a guy in Germany, and it attaches with a hose and a pressure regulator which I also have (but for which I'll need to get an adapter if I'm going to use the butane). It's a surface-mix torch so I won't be using O2 at all.

You guys are being really helpful, I do appreciate it :)