Mouth-blown torch

[Former_Member]

Just out of curiosity, who here uses a mouth-blown torch for soldering?

[bddesigns]

Didn't they use those in ancient Egypt? That's the only time I've ever heard of them! LOL

[Former_Member]

Quite possibly! My master used/still uses one and that's what I learned with as well. I just have never seen anyone else use them, and was curious if there was anyone out there that did! :)

[oiseaumetalarts]

seen them used in africa to do some amazing work, but not used one myself

[Former_Member]

Haven't used one either but hear they are great for granulation... I'll stick to Acetylene though. I always wonder what happens if you accidentally breathe in through your mouth...

[markaplan]

sometimes i work in india and have used one over there...
not a hot flame and big stuff like a cuff needs a buddy to pipe in too...

[ADavisonGoldsmith]

Hi, I use one and I think its the best to control the flame.
I used other ones as well and always came back to it.

Angela

[Taitaya]

I tried it once to solder two pieces of wire onto each other. I couldn't get it to go hot enough, or I was doing something wrong.

[KIPKALINKASkullRings]

Hello everyone, Im new to the team and have to jump in this discussion to make a stand for the good old mouth blown soldering blowpipe.
I did an apprenticeship as a goldsmith on a german technical school. For small pieces its ultimate standard here. Like Angela said - you can perfectly control the flame. Its possible to adjust the amount of gas flowing through. Its connected to propan-bottles between 3 and 10kg, so you need to refill them only once a year or less. Or its attached to the gas connection (but please, dont try to fix that yourself).
I wondered, that in the US these torches are so widely spread. I find the flame very sharp, so you cant heat up a piece slowly and the solder will jump off.
For bigger stuff im using a blowpipe with bellows. For the same reason.
Greetings from the Middle Ages
Christine

[oiseaumetalarts]

Kipkalinka............

the fine point/solder jumping thing was a problem i had, but the first jeweler i worked for showed me how effective a softer "bushier" reducing flame can be for most tasks. ESPECIALLT when doing 50 retips oa a 100 stone cluster ring. it doesnt boil your solder of over heat your stones

for PT work.... no way around it... you need that flame to be screaming

[Former_Member]

i tried it once and at first it was annoying, but within an hour or so I got the hang of it and really liked it. It gives you a lot of control. I'd love to get one of those.

[SilverBlueberry]

A lot of goldsmiths in Europe use it. I've seen my (Swedish) teacher use one and it looks tricky to me but he said that when you get the hang of it it's great.

I haven't seen many alternatives available here, like using different types of gases and extra oxygen.

[Former_Member]

Really glad this discussion is on.
I have had a blowpipe torch in my cart for a year now and have talked to a few jewelers who use them, Barbara Kingsley for one. I removed my large oxy propane tanks from the studio but want to replace it with something.
For a small propane tank, what type of regulator do you use with the blowpipe? I am looking for the smallest tank possible that will work.