It was a Teeny Tini, Micro Mini Monkee that she made for the first time today . .

Well, yesterday to be precise. I was feeling discouraged with the temporary loss of my oxycon and trying to think of ways around the problem.

• No Torching! - not really a possibilty


• Torch with Hot Head and 1lb cannisters - Yuk! Yuk! Yuk!


• Torch with Hot Head and bulk propane - requires change to current setup


• Try another option! - but what?

Then! Like a bolt of lightening from the blue I remembered the little torch I was gifted a while back. It only requires propane, and has the same hookup as my Mega Minor!
I pulled this little torch out and hooked it up, thinking this might be a good learning experience, making mini beads (for that's all it would do for sure!).

Without further ado, here's my first Micro Mini Monkee - I put it next to a regular sized one so that you can see the size difference. The neat thing about this is how tiny I can make details with this torch, combining this torch with my Mega Minor could yeild some very interesting results! It would also mean I'd need to rework my set up so that I could have two torches running at the same time, or in tandem at least.

I'll be a week or so without a concentrator, I've spoken to John at Artistry In Glass, he has been super helpful and is having a replacement shipped asap from the company in the States, and will have my dead one picked up next week. I am really happy with the service they have given and continue to give me - thank you John and Carri!

Silence is Golden!

I did it! I finally got everything set up and yesterday I lit my mega minor for the first time. It seemed there were so many things to do and remember at first, but now I'm understanding the equipment a bit more.

I was a little intimidated by the whole set-up process and did my usual scouring of the web for info that might help. I did find some useful things out there and will share these links with you -

Torch, Gas, Hose, Regulator info from Dale Meisenheimer click here

Regulator info (oxy and fuel) also by Dale Meisenheimer click here

Setting up a minor/oxycon/propane combo click here

And a Youtube video on turning on and off an oxy/propane torch here

Setting your flame click here

Thanks to everyone who is gracious to share their knowledge and help us learn!

Another link that is useful, but more so BEFORE you buy your torch and oxycon is Artistry in Glass' Unlimited Oxygen Concentrator Chart - click here . It will help make sure you get the right concentrator for your torch.

So - I managed to get everything set up, tested for leaks - none! Alright!!

I have one word to say -

POOP!

It's a good thing to say to yourself when you are turning on or off an oxy/propane torch. When you light it the order is Propane, Oxygen. When you turn it off the order is Oxygen, Propane.

Here's the order in which I do things - if you are just learning, don't take my word for it, read, research, ask questions! So much of lampworking/flameworking is about what YOU are comfortable with safety wise - so be knowledgeable and BE SAFE!

Turning ON

1. Make sure my ventilation is good.


2. Open oxygen knob on torch.


3. Turn on oxycon - it should run for a short while before beginning to torch, and should not be run with the oxygen knob closed on the toch


4. Turn on gas tank


5. Open fuel knob on torch


6. Set pressure at regulator


7. Turn off fuel knob on torch


8. Turn off oxygen knob while I light torch (turning on fuel of course!)


9. Turn oxy back on and set the flame


10. HAVE FUN!

Turning OFF

1. Turn off oxy at torch


2. Turn off propane at torch (no flame present after this step)


3. Turn oxy back on


4. Turn off oxycon and let pressure drop to zero


5. Turn off propane at tank


6. Turn on propane at torch


7. Let pressures drop to zero on regulator


8. Turn off propane knob at torch

I tend to leave the oxy knob on the torch open so that I won't inadvertently turn on the oxycon with the knob closed.

That's the way I do it, hopefully I've learned right and hopefully if you read this and see that I'm doing some step wrong you'll let me know!

Just to prove I really did light it -



And yes... Silence is Golden! Ahhhhh, my trusty hot head has served me well, I've learned a lot with it and won't be getting rid of it, but I have to confess my Mega Minor has stolen my heart! So peaceful and quiet after the roar of the hh, and such a gentle flame - more like a gentle stream than the pounding Niagara my little hh puts out. And heat! I see things melting the way they are supposed to!

I'm Upgrading!

Yup, today I am going to order things!! It's exciting and nerve racking, and it's going to be a huge learning curve, I'm sure I'll be back at square one for a while getting used to all the extra heat and trying to figure out how in heck to program a kiln, but I'm dreaming of all things I'll be able to do that I can't do now -wooohooo!! Everything's coming from the folks at Artistry In Glass who I would recommend to anyone, great prices, wonderful service and normally orders ship very quickly. This one I'll have to wait a couple of weeks for because they'll need to get the kiln and oxycon in for me.

Here's what I'm ordering -



JenKen BK3 - I've heard good reports, it's a decent size and comes with the digital controller, it's got the bead door so I can anneal beads as I go or batch anneal if I prefer, it plugs into a 120 (regular) outlet. I did look into getting a kiln that would fire ceramics as well, but it would have meant having to move up to a 240 (stove/drier) plug which is just not feasible at the moment. This one is large enough so that I can experiment with some fusing and other projects if I want to. I know a couple of people with this kiln also so I can hopefully get some help setting up annealing schedules.

Nortel Mega Minor - Originally I was torn between the Nortel Minor and a Mini CC torch. The Mini CC sounded great but I was a little concerned because a lot of people were commenting that the knobs get hot, especially if it's being run on one oxycon. I got the feeling that to use this torch to its fullest capacity it would need tanked oxy or two oxycons. The Minor is a very popular alternative to the CC, many lampworkers use them, especially as their first oxy-propane torch. Then! Tadaaa! Nortel came out with a new torch! The Mega Minor - I read reviews and any info I could find on this torch, it is a step up from the Minor and from what I've read runs hot and really well on just one oxycon. Hot enough to do borocilicate glass! And it's RED! What more could you ask??



M15 Oxycon - There is a lot of discussion about what is best tanked oxygen or an oxygen concentrator or generator. I don't think there is much doubt that tanked oxygen is purer and can generate more heat. For me the thought of dealing with oxygen tanks and having to get them filled just did not work. I don't know why but I find the thought of a huge oxygen tank chained to the wall far more intimidating than a bbq tank of propane sitting outside my window. That said I had to figure out which Oxycon to go with. I chose this one because - it's what my supplier sells, so I can get it from within Ontario, but also this model has an oxygen booster available should I require one in the future if I upgraded to a really big torch ;o) ...no that's not on my radar at the moment, but looking at the charts for this model and the Mega Minor torch I should have more than enough heat to keep me happy for a long time! I know someone who's using this model and she's very happy with it.