What oxygen/torch is needed for boro?

[JodiPrice]

I just posted this in the tips and questions section, before I saw there is a seperate boro section, awesome!

I hope I can find some helpful hints from you boro pro's!!

My hubby and I want to move up to using boro glass but still want to continue with the soft glass as well. We are on a minor/oxy concentrator now.

We were looking at the unlimited Oxygen Tornado from LBSupplys for an oxy source:
http://www.lbsupplys.net/oxycon.htm
(scroll down to the fourth picture)

Here are the specs:
20 PSI - 10 LPM - 21.18 SCFH

Is this enough oxygen to work with Boro?

What is a nice torch to use that would work well with boro and soft glass?
We have around 500-600 budget for the new torch and about 1500 for an oxy generator.

And what is the kiln setting for boro? The annealing temp as well as the kiln cycle?


Thanks for any info!!

[Venbead]

that's plenty of oxygen for a betta and I love mine but if you want to do bigger boro work you may want a barracuda
If you are partial to a GTT then a lynx would be good for boro and soft
and then of course if you want to stick with nortel there's always a midrange with a topfire or a redmax with the top fire. I personally think after working on a midrange the bethlehem burners are better.
If you like carlisle torches then a wildcat would be a good choice but it may be too wide a flame for soft glass not sure.
Once you have more oxygen the minor will melt boro just fine to get started.

[Norskiglass]

A great torch for working boro for very little money in my opinion is any of Carlisle's products or some of Nortel's larger burners and they are all available @ Winship http://www.winshipdesigns.com/home/w...l_torches.html

As far as what you can use with your Oxycon you may ask them for details with usage,etc..

Boro annealing cycle is 1050 degrees you may find more in depth answers to annealing by clicking "search" and entering your inquiry there.

~Enjoy!

[Paul Ewing]

If you have a Minor currently, then you are looking at going to at least a Nortel Midrange, Carlisle Wildcat, Knight Bullet, Bethlehem Barracuda, GTT Cheetah to really see much improvement from the torch. A GTT Lynx is jump up from the Minor, but might be worth the price of a new torch. Personally if I was going with a GTT, I would go up to the Cheetah.

Next thing would be to see which of these torches would run on the oxygen generator that you are wanting to use. This is where you are going to run into issues I think. Most of this class of torches really need more than 10 LPM of volume to really shine. Unlimited Oxygen has a chart of torch performance on their different generators http://www.unlimitedoxygen.com/productspecs.htm which may be helpful.

You might want to look at your Minor running on the Tornado and see how it does for you. It should be able to do fair sized pendants, marbles, and beads in boro. Another option is to look at a torch that will let you run the centerfire on the generator and the outer on oxygen tanks.

Cheers,

[Cosmo]

We teach borosilicate classes on Minors. They work fine for smaller things. Anything up to 1" in diameter. Above that, I highly suggest you take a look at the Knight torches.

[meitali]

jodie- i'm on a minor with a 5lpm concentrator.

i got some boro at the gathering, a bunch of people tried to scare me out of it saying it would me slower than soft glass on a hh and stuff like that.

larry brickman was very helpful making sure i got to try working with some boro on a minor with a 5lpm concentrator during open torch- i had no problem with it. sure, it's a bit slower, but not thaaaat slow to keep me away from getting some boro.

i've been back home for a week and a half, i already worked a little with the boro, and i am having a blast!

so even though i'm the newest newbie in the block, i would say- just get some boro, get the feel of it on the set up that you have, and upgrade from there, once you have a better feel of the glass!!!

can i hijack this thread to thank mr smily again for his help picking colors and henry grimmet for his glass generosity? oops, looks like i just did!

[LeahBeads]

I work on a bobcat with 2 concentrators. It works fine for me since I make mostly soft glass beads and I teach soft glass. The boro is just for me to play with and to sell a few strands.

Leah