Christmas gift, Lynx or a Cheetah ??

wnbresn · #1 2007-11-22, 12:18am

Well as some of you know I am getting the wife a new torch for Christmas. I have narrowed it down to either a Lynx or a Cheetah. At the moment she does soft glass but looks forward to Boro. Wally from GTT told me that the Integra 10 concentrator we now have will drive the Lynx perfectly and if I decided to go with the Cheetah it would drive that at about 60% But now my questions are this:

1) The Lynx looks great but the Cheetah teases me because its only about 120 dollars more. Can a Cheetah still dial in a pinpoint flame if we were only using the Integra 10? Is the Cheetah capable of tight flame control for smaller beads (say 25 to 50mm) or should I stick with the Lynx? If I do go with a Cheetah should I really go with a stronger concentrator like a Tornado?

2) My wife likes to have a on torch Marver like the one we have on her Mini CC. Is there a good one out there for the Lynx or Cheetah. Does that top oxygen valve get in the way? I had talked to the owner of the Perfect Tool and he was not sure his unit could be mounted on one. So whats a good Marver to use?

Because I travel so much I want to get the torch order out this week as well as a nice boro sample kit but I just want to make sure I'm getting her the best. Thanks again..

Feldt's Glass · #2 2007-11-22, 3:56am

I have both and love my cheetah! Both are great but the cheetah gives just a bit more. You can get a nice smaller flame, but not the super pinpoint. I have found I like the cheetah for so much more I just didn't care about that. Compared to the mini cc the lynx might be easier to adjust to at first, but if she likes to do big beads the cheetah has a bushier flame and very helpful in keeping bigger stuff warm for a long time. You can do large stuff on the lynx but I found reheats easier on the cheetah.

Do you have a holding tank on your concentrator?? I don't know much about the one you have so hope someone else speaks up about it. I run my cheetah on two OG-15's hooked up to a holding tank. It will never be as good as a tank no matter what concentrator you have but I am wondering if you would be ok with a large holding tank. Anyone???

shawnette · #3 2007-11-22, 4:51am

Speaking from experience, I'd say go with the Cheetah and a larger concentrator (or at least a holding tank). I went with a Lynx and then upgraded to a Cheetah. I wish I had just gone with the Cheetah from the start.

The marver for the Cheetah and Lynx (same marver) just attaches to the barrel and the 3rd knob does not get in the way (it's nowhere near where the marver would attach). I'm pretty sure that the Perfect Tool marver will work fine, as I've used just a generic HH marver on mine with a hose clamp.

pam · #4 2007-11-22, 7:51am

I prefer the Cheetah, however if you use a pinpoint flame a lot (or your wife, rather), then it is harder to adjust, though possible for the Cheetah. I don't work that way, so the extra size of the flame and the extra heat available, to me, is worth giving up the easily gotten pinpoint flame.

With regard to a torch marver, I love the one that Arrow Springs makes that has a wrist rest on top. It was designed for the Lynx, but since the barrel of the Cheetah is the same as the Lynx, it works perfectly. It attaches to the top of the upright brace for the torches and the barrel is still capable of moving up and down, with the wrist rest easily adjustable back and forth to accommodate whatever you are doing. The marver slides out from beneath the wrist rest and can be tucked away when not in use.

oldschooltofu · #5 2007-12-05, 6:23pm

lynx...once you use a tripple mix youll never go back...that blue valve not only gets you more flames (ie needle flames) but it saves oxygen.

IF-Designs · #6 2007-12-05, 6:39pm

Either is a good choice Cheetah has a bit wider bushier flame the lynx gets more pinpoint but not as bushy...

If you go with the cheetah I would think about getting a 2nd integra and hooking both into a holding tank.

wnbresn · #7 2007-12-05, 6:59pm

Thank you all for the opinions. After much consideration including emailing Wally at GTT I went with the Lynx. I think it matches what my wife does and will work with the Integra concentrator. I will get a holding tank in the next few weeks to help give it some boost. Now the fun part became trying to actually get hold of a Lynx. Everyone I called was out of them (popular torch I guess) So I went to the source GTT and ordered directly from them. Hopefully I will have it in a few weeks. They know its for the wife for a gift and they said they will make sure she gets it. Great people at GTT. Now to add to that I also got her the perfect tool advanced kit which has a few different marvers and tools and should fit on the Lynx as well as a Glass Alchemy Boro sampler which should give her something to play with Christmas day. I think that should be about it unless something new and interesting pops up at Zoozii. Thanks again for the help.

Feldt's Glass · #8 2007-12-05, 8:31pm

If you purchased boro color be sure to get her some clear! I liked the 5-6mm size with my lynx. Frantz art glass has it and is not that expensive. I am sure she will love the lynx. It is a great torch.

LoriGreenberg · #9 2007-12-12, 7:10pm

I know you already made your choice but I wanted to weigh in too since I just got a Cheetah after being on a Lynx for five years and I have an Integra 10.

I've had the Cheetah for a few weeks and I'm missing my Lynx but making myself get through the transition time.

The Lynx runs like a dream on the Integra 10. Nice and hot, but not as bushy as the Cheetah and you can get that pinpoint flame (which I didn't use much because I was afraid of the rest of the bead cooling too much).

Enter the Cheetah. It doesn't seem as hot as the Lynx because it's only at 60-65% capacity with one Integra 10. There are more jets so I guess the fuel/oxygen gets spread out more and it's not as concentrated. But it does have more radiant heat so bigger beads are easier to keep warm.

So, right now I'm not sure what I want...big beads that stay hot but take longer to melt the mass or fast heating of glass to molten but being paranoid all the time that bigger beads will crack. I know I could go to tanks to get 100% from the Cheetah but I don't want to deal with that.

Basically, I think you made a good decision on the Lynx and having an Integra10!

Merry Christmas.