UPS Man just came:) I now have a fiber blanket, a gorgeous sampling of neutral toned vetrofond glass, and TWO HUGE jars of frit! Thank you Kalera.
All we need now is a table/desk, a chair, a surface covering (cement board, perhaps?) and gas! It may be a while before we begin, but we are so on our way.
Again, thank you so much, our three RCb angels. We've got perma-grin over all this:)
Aw, you're welcome! And guess what? I didn't order the Vetrofond... it must be a gift from Frantz. Thank you Mike! (he doesn't read here I don't think, but that was so nice!)
Take your time getting started... I know you have a big pile on your plate already. Can't wait to see what you (and Adam!) make when you do start, though!
As for gas, I always found I got te best price on Propylene or Mapp 1-lb canisters at GI Joe, but you might just skip that and try a BBQ-size tank of propane with your torch, to see if it works for you. SOme folks have really good luck using a BBQ tank of propane (the 1-lb cansiters don't work well) with their Hot Head, and it's CHEAP.
-Kalera
I'm slowly working through my pile:) I put all my polymer clay away yesterday, (and that was the extent of my energy) and am now free to spend some time bead weaving. Plus, I still need to put my ideas together for the beaded wand swap. Plus about a hundred other things. I'll keep that in mind, about the gas? We were thinking the BBQ sized tank would be the way to go for us.
Does the propane tank need any special preparations such as a flashback or anything to connect a HH to it? We use 13k propane for our boat and always have two or three spare tanks around. Mike would LOVE to be able to stop buying MAPP gas because it's costing us a fortune.
-Su
No one I know has used a flashback arrestor, but it wouldn't a bad idea as long as they work at full tank pressure... let me look into that and get back to you!
-Kalera
Thanks! I know nothing and depend on the likes of the knowledgeable here to tell me what to tell Mike.
He'll be overjoyed if we can use the propane just sitting and waiting for me to cook with it.
Cook! Hah! That's what the microwave is for!
-Su
I did a little looking and from what I read, flashbacks are simply not a problem with the Hot Head... possibly because it uses the fuel at full tank pressure.
This is a direct quote from Dale, a cranky but generally accurate safety guru: "IF you have a flashback (fire or flame) going back through hose is real danger. The design of the Hot Head makes it almost impossible for the situation to happen. It is not a issue with this particular type of torch. A regulator is also not required as HH style torch requires full tank pressure to operate."
Make sure that when you do make this switch-over, you buy a hose specially made for this purpose from a lampwork supplier. These hoses are being used at high pressure, something that is almost never done with a normal propane hose.
-Kalera
Candace, I keep meaning to tell you (and forgetting) to make sure you check that bulk tank hose for leaks before using it; I've never used it, hence never checked it for leaks. :)
-Kalera
Got it. I'll make sure it's checked beforehand, thank you for the heads up, Kalera:)
Very cool. I wish I had a moment today to send out the package I have for you again. And Su's. Icky hospital crap.
Umm.... Starlia? I don't want any icky hospital crap, thanks. You can give it to someone else. :-)
Thanks for the thought, though.
-Su
I'll order the whole set including the UK-compatible components from a US supplier that deals in lampwork stuff. I've found a few of them online already and the cost is about $50-ish plus the deadly shipping, which comes to less than Mike spends a week on those little MAPP containers. He just bought four of them for the week, which is £36 or $60 per week. Propane in the 13kg tank we use on the boat is about £15 per tank, and is the equivalent of dozens of MAPP containers, in other words a SIGNIFICANT savings.
Thank you SO much for this.
-Su
This is very cool. ~~ Sooz To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. ~~Joseph Chilton Pearce
You really just need the hose and a tank... to clamp it to the table, you just need an L-bracket (bent metal strip with holes in it) and C-clamp from the hardware store... mere pennies, really! The hose alone should only cost you about $12.
-Kalera
Tank, no problem, hose we'll get from the local welding supply guys and bracket will be no problem either.
We're all excited here about the prospect of using propane direct as the MAPP here is so expensive and only available in the little canisters.
Thank you SO much!
-Su
No one I know has used a flashback arrestor, but it wouldn't a bad idea >
I use them.... my gas man said not to do without....
Cheryl DRAGON BEADS Flameworked beads and glass
We're all excited here about the prospect of using propane direct as the MAPP here is so expensive and only available in the little canisters.
in my experience -- propane alone is not adequate in a Hot Head...
here in the US - you can get "propane" sized tanks of MAPP filled at a gas company... actually they are a different shape than Propane... My tank kind of looks like the C02 tanks they use in restaurants...
you have to find a welding supply place that will fill a MAPP tank if you go that way....
propane alone generally is not as hot as MAPP ....
but if someone told you it would work - I guess it won't hurt to try it.... and find out.
Cheryl DRAGON BEADS Flameworked beads and glass
I'm not IN the US, and it's almost impossible to convey to everyone over there how inadequate the supply of anything that is taken for granted in the US is.
They don't do it. MAPP is ONLY available as small canisters. It costs Mike at least £40 a week which is almost $70 per week to make simple sets of beads. MAPP is not available as anything but small canisters, anywhere in the UK. NO refills, no large cans, nothing, nada, zip, zero. Just like Shirley's comment that some people's private bead rooms are better than any bead shop in the UK, it's true.
We'll be using the big cans of propane the same ones that power our cooker.
We have to, or Mike will have to quit burning glass. The MAPP is killing us in cost.
-Su
They don't do it. MAPP is ONLY available as small canisters. It costs Mike at least £40 a week which is almost $70 per week to make simple sets of>
well crap !! I know that I've heard UK is ridiculous in terms of getting "stuff" --in general.
get a minor and some oxygen to add to that propane tank - and go big time !!! LOL Cheryl DRAGON BEADS Flameworked beads and glass
As soon as the Horrible Siblings cough up that's the plan.
Until then we eke out our miserable existence as we may.
-Su
InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.