Which do you use? Torch lighting question..

[AlivELampworK]

hello all! as some of you know, i go to school for scientific glass technology at salem community college in NJ. we're learning alot about lab safety and things along that line. just curious, so i'm posting a poll to see what beadmakers use...

how do you light your torch???

[Megan]

I use a BBQ style lighter, nearly empty.. Just enough to spark to light it.. Store it away in a drawer

[Carolyn M]

BBQ lighter also, put away after use.

[AlivELampworK]

and if you're answering, "something else i'm not thinking of" post it! i'd like to hear other methods too. :biggrin:

[Rose Leslie]

I use a welding torch striker. It gives off enough sparks to light the torch. I feel that it is safer than a lighter. I have used lighters though. I have also seen them blow up. So that is why now I've learned to use a striker.

[beadaddicts]

I'm a match girl. I hate strikers, and I'm too big a chicken to try my bic! LOL!

[bjcohan]

I use a BBQ style lighter, nearly empty.. Just enough to spark to light it.. Store it away in a drawer

That's what I use, but mine is completely empty. The spark comes from the flint, but there's no butane left and therefore no risk.

I hate those sparker/striker things - none of mine gives me as consistent a spark as my used-up long empty butane thingy. Besides, we use the long butane lighters at the restaurant to light our candles, so I'll never run out of empty ones...

Oh, and it is NEVER on my bench, just in case. I keep it on top of a rolling cabinet underneath my bench.

Barb

[SadiesJewels]

Well, as a long term silver fabricator I have always used the striker across the ridged metal surface thingie. Older people I note find it easier to use the battery operated strikers. I consider these the safest to use as there is no other fuel around. I have to say I feel the most comfortable with my hand held striker ...

I wouldn't want a butane lighter close by, or matches for that matter. It's easy to use the striker imho...and safest.

sadie

[Feldt's Glass]

I purchased a striker when I first started and noticed it left crap on the face of my torch. I decided to just use a basic lighter and put it on a shelf out of the way after I light up.

[lunamoonshadow]

Aim-N-Flame (bbq lighter!)...it's the only thing I can keep lit long enough to light my hothead outside--it's windyish & I'm ususally chasing the gas around trying to get it to light :roll:
Once it's lit I put the lighter back inside the house...so no chance of blowing it up with flying glass...

[Kara]

We use wooden matches. As an added bonus, I like the way they smell when they burn.

The strikers we've gotten are a PITA. Seems like you have to work it forever just to get it to light the torch. I'd rather get RSI from something a little more fun than a sparker.

[Erica]

I use a plain old Bic lighter. I put it away in a drawer after I light the torch, though. I would never leave it out on my work bench.

[Reenie]

I use just a bic lighter or a bbq lighter. hey normally go on my lap or to a side shelf.
Irene

[daffodildeb]

I use wooden matches, and store them away after the torch is lit.

[one-eared pig]

I use a Bic lighter, and put it in my back pocket after lighting.

[Ronnie_Renee]

Hey Ali...I use my bic lighter and it sits on the table next to me.

[Beadbug]

I use a zappo lighter it has a nice little stand that came with it. I tried for a year to use the flint striker you get when you get your set up and it worked half the time. The zappo has a steal case and I put it over on the other desk when done so it is not near the torch area. I know this is a big no no but I just got totaly sick of trying with the other thing.

Tracy

[laserglass]

a propane torch

[jknappcampbell]

battery operated striker

[navarre]

I use a metal housed - gas filled barbecue\oven lighter.

I'm not a fan of the plastic lighters - they can be nasty if breached by something hot.

And I dont like most of the piezo lighters around as they have plastic housings.

I justify the metal one in that hopefully its less likely to go off if an accident occurs.

[Judi_B]

BBQ lighter that is kept on a shelf away from the bench

[Hothead Beads]

Striker here, but used a lighter for the HH.

[Kalera]

I use a welding striker. They're $2 at the welding shop and refill flints are something ridiculous like 10 for 79 cents, one flint lasts a year, and I like being able to keep it with my other tools on the workbench without worrying about blowing myself up, LOL!

[MitzyGail]

I have a sparker, but I don't know where it is. I use a long bbq lighter most of the time. It lives across the room from the torch in a ceramic flower vase with extra mandrels. I do always walk over there (about four steps away) and put it back in the vase before I torch.
I also use long wooden matches sometimes.

[jrandrup]

I have used the spark lighter, zippo, matches and plastic BIC lighter.

I HATE the spark lighter. It rarely strikes the first time, and by the time it does, there's such a buildup of propane I get a real big "woosh" and a giant flame. Scary!

I have taken some CE classes at Salem CC and Carlisle School of Glass Art in Millville, NJ, and use matches. I prefer WOODEN matches to the cardboard ones because my fingers are farther away from the flame, and they seem to light easier.

My good friend gave me a Zippo lighter, which I love. It's all metal, and I feel safer with this than the plastic lighters. I always place it on a shelf under my steel worktable as soon as my torch is lit. It's good to know that when the butane is all used up, I can still use it with just the flint. I didn't even think of that.

When I use the plastic lighter, I also place it out of harms way as soon as the torch is lit.

This actually brings up another question...

For those who don't use a sparklighter, do you light your lighter/match first, place it under the torch, then turn on the propane? Or do you turn on the propane first, then light your torch?

I light my lighter first, then turn on the propane. That way I don't get a huge "woosh" when it lights up. But I know people who really like that "woosh".

Just wondering...

[Ever After]

I like the woosh, i turn on propane, light it, bic, turn on oxy, stick the bic in my bra, or on the other side of the table..
seems to me by the time you get a match lit, or the striker going youve got alot more propane built up?
I use stick matches to when i cant find a lighter..

[tmm-99]

striker.

[debkauz]

I have a huge box of wooden matches that I carry in my 'bag o stuff'. Don't know why but I love boxes of wooden matches.

[Sheltie19]

I use a bic lighter.... when I get my studio done and upgrade.. I plan on using a striker ...

[bclogan]

I'm a Zippo gal.... Metal housing, zippo fuel and not butane. MUCH safer. I couldn't STAND the striker thingies. I can never get a good spark, and the big Whhosssh scares the bejeezus out of me.

I light the zippo first, turn on the NG, and then light it.

Barbara

[jrandrup]

I really like the woosh....lol
Not sure what you mean by sparklighter....is that a striker you are referring to?

I turn on the propane first, then use my (welding) striker.


ETA: Nevermind my response.....I'm having a "duh" moment.....please excuse it.....lol

I guess the sparklighter is the same as the striker. I had never heard the term "welding striker" before. When I got my toolkit, it was listed as a sparklighter. Here's a picture.

[jrandrup]

I like the woosh, i turn on propane, light it, bic, turn on oxy, stick the bic in my bra, or on the other side of the table..
seems to me by the time you get a match lit, or the striker going youve got alot more propane built up?
I use stick matches to when i cant find a lighter..

I would caution against putting a plastic butane lighter in your bra. My friend and I have both been burned by flying glass in that area. I would hate for that to blow up!

[Afterdark]

battery operated striker

What the heck is a battery operated striker?? I need one of these- (ya more tools baby!!)
I'm a lefty and all the dang strikers seem to be made for right handed people.

I prefer the stiker so I keep the fuel off of my working space. That's all I need is a hot piece of glass to hit the lighter and light the house up for the holidays!!

[SuzyQ]

Ali, are you going to tell us what is considered the safest according to school?

I use a striker which I assumed is the same as a sparker.

[Carlabeads]

I use a bic lighter - I light the lighter, then turn on the propane. I don't like the woosh - lol. I always, always put my lighter in my back pocket after the torch is lit. I am WAY paranoid about flying glass hitting the lighter.

Oh, and speaking of flying glass - is it possible for the hoses to burn through because of hot glass hitting them? I have had a couple of instances where a big glob of hot glass flies off and hits the ground in front of my work bench(concrete floor) right near the hoses. There really isn't a way for me to move the hoses - the oxygen is chained up in a corner to the left of my torch, so has to come in front of the work bench and then underneath to the torch, and the propane tank is outside the garage, and the hose comes through the wall in front of where the work bench is and then to the torch...
I don't mean to change the topic of the thread with this question, but thought since we're discussing safety I would ask.

Carla

[AlivELampworK]

wow two pages!! i am going to tell you whats the safest according to salem.

the striker, the welding striker, sparker, whichever you guys call it. the one that is posted in a picture. they are what you want to use. zippos are okay, but we're still told to use strikers. butane lighters can BLOW UP. i've been trying to find the picture of the butane lighter explosion in a glass shop for the past few hours, but i can't find it, if i do i'll post it here.

i used a bbq butane lighter for a while, and then a bic, and then i saw the pictures of what an explosion looks like and heard stories from our instructor about butane lighters being on the base of a lathe and exploding because of the heat around it. needless to say i use a striker. even if your butane lighter is in your pocket or bra (:lol:) there is still a chance of explosion.

i feel like its really important for people to be aware of the dangers involved in a glass studio situation. butane lighters are really really dangerous. strikers are only a few dollars at hardware stores or at welding supply stores. i think our lives and talent are worth the cost of a striker. :biggrin:

[PaulaD]

Hey Ali. I use a striker. (The square one). It took me a long time to figure out how to use it right though and I really didn't know until the gas man showed me how to use it. We teach using matches (tiny boxes if you remember) because most people don't know how to use the striker and because that's how Smircich taught me.
Paula

[Sue H-K]

I'm bad...I use a bic....I take it out of the drawer, light the torch, and immediately put it back in the drawer which is no where near my torch.

I do use my striker, but sometimes it is just easier to get it to light with the bic.

[Ahava]

bbq lighter

[Crazy Woman]

Electronic striker here. Love it! Here's a link: http://glasscraftinc.com/product/product_detail.cfm?part_id=6971

Works like a charm. Never have to worry about something hot falling on it and blowing stuff up. I've had mine for a couple of years and have not even changed the batteries.

[Glassgoodies]

I flicca da bicca. (I don't keep it near a heat source and I light it before turning on the torch).

Mythbusters did a show on exploding lighters.

[evilglass]

I use a bic and it goes in the back pocket.

I light the lighter, then turn on the propane a teeny bit to get an itty bitty flame. I hate the woosh.

I'd like to know *how* a bic lighter can explode when in a back pocket that I'm sitting on? It seems likely they'd be exploding randomly all over the place, were that the case. Most smokers carry them in a pocket, not locked away somewhere.

[AlivELampworK]

here is an essay written by a graduate from salem who, on his final exam, which is a demo, lit his torch with a lighter. he was failed.

Why Butane lighters don't belong in the glass shop

As you already know butane lighters don't belong in the glass shop. If we want to understand why we have to analyze this situation from a molecular perspective.
Let say for example were at a glass shop in the middle of summer. We know that the environment around a glassblower could easily be 110 degrees F. if inside this unsuspecting glassblowers pocket is a butane lighter there are serious risks to take note of: The vapor pressure of pure propane at 100 degrees F is almost 90 psi. Now Boyle's Law states that the product of the volume and pressure of a fixed quantity of an ideal gas is constant, given a constant temperature.
So as the glassblower is performing his job little does he know that inside his pocket the molecules of propane in his lighter are moving faster and faster, trying to expand, increasing the pressure of their container more and more. Until at a certain point the pressure is too much and the plastic shell breaks producing a fireball that engulfs our glassblower in flames.
Do you want to be as unfortunate as this glassblower? I don't think so. So next time your in a glass shop you might want to use a sparker and keep your butane lighter at home.


there is high temperature in a glassblowing situation. maybe you are safe with the lighter in your back pocket, but taking the risk is up to you i guess. strikers are just definitely the safer way to go.

[AlivELampworK]

oh yeah, he was forced to right that essay in order to graduate. they're really serious about safety here.

[LyndaJ]

BBQ lighter. Move it completely away from the heat after.

Have you seen the Mythbusters where the were blowing up lighters??? It's enough to make you ALWAYS remember to move it out of the way.

[Kara]

This actually brings up another question...

For those who don't use a sparklighter, do you light your lighter/match first, place it under the torch, then turn on the propane? Or do you turn on the propane first, then light your torch?

I light my lighter first, then turn on the propane. That way I don't get a huge "woosh" when it lights up. But I know people who really like that "woosh".

Just wondering...

I ALWAYS always always light the match first, then turn the propane on. I like my eyebrows and burning hair just smells nasty.

[SuzyQ]

Now that I have a Betta there is no whosh. But even with my Minor I knew how to turn it on so low there was no whosh. But boy did I get a whoosh at Paula's studio when I lit the Mini CC for the first time, lol.

[DarleenMB]

I use the battery operated sparker that I got from Glasscraft and I LOVE it. I started with the metal one. Once I got used to the battery operated one that was it. It's funny to watch people try them for the first time. To a one, they're all afraid of it. There really is no reason. You hold it below the torch face, press one of the metal bars against the torch and the sparker begins to emit sparks. Barely turn the gas knob and voila. You have a small flame.

[ChaseDesigns]

We always use our striker. People, if you are having trouble using your striker, change the flint to a new one. Instant success.

[AlivELampworK]

We always use our striker. People, if you are having trouble using your striker, change the flint to a new one. Instant success.

definitely! there are good strikers, and bad strikers out there too. try a few different kinds if you find you just can't use a particular striker!

[PaulaD]

But boy did I get a whoosh at Paula's studio when I lit the Mini CC for the first time, lol.


Hehe. Lots of pressure...

Paula

[evilglass]

here is an essay written by a graduate from salem who, on his final exam, which is a demo, lit his torch with a lighter. he was failed.

Why Butane lighters don't belong in the glass shop

As you already know butane lighters don't belong in the glass shop. If we want to understand why we have to analyze this situation from a molecular perspective.
Let say for example were at a glass shop in the middle of summer. We know that the environment around a glassblower could easily be 110 degrees F. if inside this unsuspecting glassblowers pocket is a butane lighter there are serious risks to take note of: The vapor pressure of pure propane at 100 degrees F is almost 90 psi. Now Boyle's Law states that the product of the volume and pressure of a fixed quantity of an ideal gas is constant, given a constant temperature.
So as the glassblower is performing his job little does he know that inside his pocket the molecules of propane in his lighter are moving faster and faster, trying to expand, increasing the pressure of their container more and more. Until at a certain point the pressure is too much and the plastic shell breaks producing a fireball that engulfs our glassblower in flames.
Do you want to be as unfortunate as this glassblower? I don't think so. So next time your in a glass shop you might want to use a sparker and keep your butane lighter at home.


there is high temperature in a glassblowing situation. maybe you are safe with the lighter in your back pocket, but taking the risk is up to you i guess. strikers are just definitely the safer way to go.

Everyone chooses which risks they feel are acceptable.

Even with a new flint in it, I cannot operate my striker. I didn't know about battery operated ones, I'll look into them.

I personally feel the risk of my bic exploding in my back pocket, due to ambient heat, to be pretty low. I live in Florida. I smoke. I keep and have kept lighters in my vehicles for over 15 years. In the summer, it can easily be 140 or so in the car. Currently, on sunny days, it still is probably over 100 in the car.

I've heard of lighters exploding in vehicles-due to it being too hot. Very very rarely. Once in my lifetime has it happened where I heard about it.

I choose to minimize other risks. I never torch when I am tired. I think that is a *huge* safety risk, one that immensely increases your chances of having a severe burn. I always, without fail, wear long pants to torch in. I always pull my hair back so none is in my face at all, or anywhere near a flame. I make sure my hair doesn't have styling products in it when I torch-which means I rarely use any of them-because just about every product is very flammable. I keep a bucket of water right on hand, not only for quenching tools, but for a "just in case".

I personally feel that, since I can't light my torch without a bic or matches-and my matches would be gummy really fast in Florida humidity in my studio-I'd prefer to use the torch and take the very slim risk of my lighter blowing up in my pocket from ambient heat.

[jrandrup]

My sparklighter was brand new with plenty of flint. I don't think that was the problem. The problem was with the fluctuation of the propane coming through the hose. At the studio, we have 2 torches connected to the same tanks. Both the propane and oxygen fluctuate when you first fire them up for the day. It also happened to me at a class where 5 torches were connected to the same tanks. I kept clicking the sparklighter, and nothing. I turned off the gas, waited for it to dissipate, and started again. I clicked several times, then a great big "WOOSH"! The same thing happened to other students there, too. I also noticed that some hotheads are easy to light, while others are very difficult.

So, why are the sparklighters safer than wooden matches? Is it the length of the handle? They make wooden fireplace matches that are 6", but they are hard to find. I know one of my students will ask me this, and I'm curious about the answer.

[AlivELampworK]

Everyone chooses which risks they feel are acceptable.

Even with a new flint in it, I cannot operate my striker. I didn't know about battery operated ones, I'll look into them.

I personally feel the risk of my bic exploding in my back pocket, due to ambient heat, to be pretty low. I live in Florida. I smoke. I keep and have kept lighters in my vehicles for over 15 years. In the summer, it can easily be 140 or so in the car. Currently, on sunny days, it still is probably over 100 in the car.

I've heard of lighters exploding in vehicles-due to it being too hot. Very very rarely. Once in my lifetime has it happened where I heard about it.

I choose to minimize other risks. I never torch when I am tired. I think that is a *huge* safety risk, one that immensely increases your chances of having a severe burn. I always, without fail, wear long pants to torch in. I always pull my hair back so none is in my face at all, or anywhere near a flame. I make sure my hair doesn't have styling products in it when I torch-which means I rarely use any of them-because just about every product is very flammable. I keep a bucket of water right on hand, not only for quenching tools, but for a "just in case".

I personally feel that, since I can't light my torch without a bic or matches-and my matches would be gummy really fast in Florida humidity in my studio-I'd prefer to use the torch and take the very slim risk of my lighter blowing up in my pocket from ambient heat.

who's to say what the odds are having an explosion from a bic lighter. i guess i started this thread to make beadmakers reading more aware of the situation they're putting themselves into. not to force you into using a particular method. thats your choice if you choose to risk anything while blowing glass.. but at least be aware of what you're risking.

people can talk down sparkers as much as they'd like, yeah they take time to get used to, but if you find a good sparker and get the hang of it, it is no big deal.

[AlivELampworK]

My sparklighter was brand new with plenty of flint. I don't think that was the problem. The problem was with the fluctuation of the propane coming through the hose. At the studio, we have 2 torches connected to the same tanks. Both the propane and oxygen fluctuate when you first fire them up for the day. It also happened to me at a class where 5 torches were connected to the same tanks. I kept clicking the sparklighter, and nothing. I turned off the gas, waited for it to dissipate, and started again. I clicked several times, then a great big "WOOSH"! The same thing happened to other students there, too. I also noticed that some hotheads are easy to light, while others are very difficult.

So, why are the sparklighters safer than wooden matches? Is it the length of the handle? They make wooden fireplace matches that are 6", but they are hard to find. I know one of my students will ask me this, and I'm curious about the answer.

i dont have an answer to why sparkers are prefered over matches. all i know is that sparkers don't explode.

[AlivELampworK]

i really wasn't trying to preach with this thread, rather to share knowledge i gained at school to beadmakers. and i was also curious of how most people light their torches.

[SuzyQ]

You don't sound like you are preaching Ali. Some of those that want to take a known risk are feeling the need to defend themselves. That is their problem, not yours. I'm sure there are people who are now wiser and are going to switch. If you saved just one flameworker from an accident your job was well done.

[Emily]

Striker.

If a bit of hot glass hits a striker, nothing happens. If a bit of hot glass hits a pack of matches, or a box of matches, it goes up in flames. I've seen it happen. (Next to me, in a class. Luckily we had a metal can for hot glass on the floor, and we could pick up the flaming pack of matches and drop it safely in the can.)

If a bit of hot glass hits a plastic lighter, you've got an explosion. Rashan Jones lost his eyebrows that way.

Rashan Jones's exploding lighter post (http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=736203&highlight=lighter#post736203)

Imagine what he would have lost if he'd stuck it in a bra (OK, a shirt pocket) instead of on the table. Sorry, but sticking a lighter in your bra is just NUTS.

If I'm trying to light a torch with a match, I'll light the match, then turn on the propane. There's plenty of time. When I used wooden matches, before I forced myself to learn to use the striker, I could get the match lit, put the matchbox back into the metal box where I kept it, close the metal box and put it off the work table, turn on the propane, and light the torch before the match burned out or burned me. (OK, I used kitchen matches, not little wooden ones.)

[Janice]

i really wasn't trying to preach with this thread, rather to share knowledge i gained at school to beadmakers.

Nope, not preachy at all :) My husband is a research scientist, and as such, has been working in labs for decades...there are only strikers there, for safety reasons. All of the research facilities that he's worked at have had in-house glass blowing facilities...same thing.

Guess what I use?!! :lol:

J.

[PaulaD]

I think any book ever written says that the lighters are dangerous. Exploding gas is nothing to screw around with. Btw, the reason that you light the match (if using matches) before opening the propane is that if you open the propane first and don't get a good light up you will fill the room with gas. We use matches (the tiny boxes) because even if the box caught fire it's a tiny fire that we can easily put out as we are all ugly concrete with a sprinkler over us! Of course if the match box burnt a hose then we'd have a problem. (That's why you all get the saftey talk from me before the class!) The strikers are more dangerous when someone doesn't know how to use them. People tend to leave the gas open and strike and strike and strike while the room fills up with gas. They are safer though once you do know how to use them. You should be able to strike on the first try to light the torch. The cup of the striker should be facing the torch face about a half an inch away from it. For the striker you open the gas knob first and then strike right away...I teach my beginners to open just a crack so as not to get the whoosh...They get little tiny flames and can always make them bigger...
Now let's talk about students (and a few "teachers") that walk away from their torch with it on .....
Paula

[Just Nancy]

I use a bic that is housed in a metal casing. That way I can replace the lighter without refilling which I always spill.

I either put it on a stool by my drink or in my pocket when I'm done. When I build my regular bench I'm going to have a shelf under my work surface for it.

I've seen an electric starter (or something without a manual striker and if someone mentioned where to get one I'll be checking it out).

Edit: I finally got the link loaded for the electric striker. Some day I will switch. My thing about not using the striker is a hand/arthritis thing. It is a motion my hands don't do. Honestly I'm not too worried about my bic.

[melissabeads]

I use a welding striker.

[MrBooger]

I haven't seen what I use. A hunk of flint and an old hunting knife. There is a big whoosh when it gets a spark on it. I tell you it's better than rubbing those two sticks together about drain the proprane before I would get it lit!
Bic lighter then in the pocket.
Have A Great Day!

[AlivELampworK]

I haven't seen what I use. A hunk of flint and an old hunting knife. There is a big whoosh when it gets a spark on it. I tell you it's better than rubbing those two sticks together about drain the proprane before I would get it lit!
Bic lighter then in the pocket.
Have A Great Day!

:lol: mr booger i :love: you! :lol: give cheryl a big hug for me.

[Dasi]

I saw Patty Walton use the battery operated lighter from Glasscraft. A year later I had extra money and bought it. I love it!!!! I thought $30 was a lot. That is why I held off. I am so happy with it now!

[pandora]

I answered something else...but use a bar-b-que lighter ("Plastic butane lighter" made me think of those little ones...that would be dangerous!)
Aloha,
Elise

[AlivELampworK]

I answered something else...but use a bar-b-que lighter ("Plastic butane lighter" made me think of those little ones...that would be dangerous!)
Aloha,
Elise

its just as dangerous as a bic.

[rusticstudio]

Wooden matches and sometimes a BBQ lighter, but I'm not very coordinated with those things!

[LouiseI]

Matches here, and I make sure it's lit before I turn on the gas - I want to know I have a flame! I'd be panicky with a sparker thinking it wasn't going to spark, and a bic or barbecue lighter would just make me nervous -- two things to worry about lighting then!
I guess I have an irrational fear of the room filling with gas in the space of a second or two and then exploding around me :|

[Kevan]

I use a magnifying lens and the sun.


Or a 17th century tinder pistol.


I like to keep it old school.

[AlivELampworK]

after all, old school is the safest way to go. ;) a magnifying glass and the sun.... :lol: thats a good one.

[judi]

I buy a box of wooden matches and cut of the stricker pad. I tape that down to my desk so it's always convienient. Keep the matches away from the torch in a bowl. I learned this from my teacher and find it the best for me.

[NLC Beads]

Started with wooden matches, but switched to a striker... Because they're more fun to play with, sparks in the dark when I'm bored. :D

[fyrsmith]

My daughter Zora gave me a Zippo for Christmas. It ALWAYS works, unlike any of my other lighting devices. I have even learned that trick of snapping it open and lighting it with one hand!

-Don-

[Michelle Walsh]

I use a magnifying lens and the sun.


Or a 17th century tinder pistol.


I like to keep it old school.

:lol:

~Michelle

[WeeMary]

I use one of those kitchen sparkers, no battery, no fuel, no flame. It's plastic, so is deteriorating, but I can't get the hang of welding sparkers.

[AlivELampworK]

I use one of those kitchen sparkers, no battery, no fuel, no flame. It's plastic, so is deteriorating, but I can't get the hang of welding sparkers.

one of the magic wand lighters.. you'd light a BBQ grill with?

[Janice]

I've been looking for a BBQ lighter that does not use fuel...I could have sworn that they used to exist, but I have not been able to find one anywhere! So I didn't imagine these things did exist at one time?

J.

[Crazy Woman]

ELECTRONIC LIGHTER/ STRIKER

2 "AA" batteries power this automatic torch lighter, making it safe to set on the workbench. Pressing the igniter creates an electronic spark to easily light your torch. Measures 3" W x 3" L x 2" H

http://www.glasscraftinc.com/product/product_detail.cfm?part_id=6971 to see photo! I love mine and won't ever go back to a manual striker.

[MariJohnson]

Bic lighter and behind me on my plastic drawer thingy. ALWAYS. But for the students and the Open Torch nights, wooden matches. I hate strikers.

[WeeMary]

Ali, yes, something like this one, a piezo electric lighter.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Piezo-Electric-Spark-Gas-Lighter-Ignitor-Igniter-BBQ_W0QQitemZ300069156021QQihZ020QQcategoryZ20712Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[scouncil]

BBQ lighter which is then placed outside the ventilation "box" about 5 feet away. I have an old striker, but i can't reliably make it work and the woosh really scares the cr#p out of me. Visions of house fire.....

[MariJohnson]

The bad part about strikers is that some people can't get the hang of them. Attended a workshop where some were experienced, some were not. An experienced beadmaker who wasn't used to a striker kept trying to light her torch. Turned on the propane, click click click. Looked up at the teacher, all the while the propane is on. Teacher runs over, grabs the striker and strikes it, but all that propane was pooled and KA-BOOM! Teacher burned her hand.

I saw this happen.

So in my studio... small boxes of matches. Like Paula said, even if it went up, I'd pick it up with a set of tweezers and drop it into the water jar.

YMMV, but for us it's matches.

[Emily]

Teacher runs over, grabs the striker and strikes it, but all that propane was pooled and KA-BOOM! Teacher burned her hand.

Teacher should have known better. Teacher should have shut off the torch and let the propane disperse before trying again.

The place where I do Open Torch and take classes occasionally uses book matches that are kept in Altoid boxes. The Altoid boxes appeared after a hunk of hot glass caught one of the books of matches on fire.

I can't light paper matches. I bring my striker and usually my metal box with my wooden matches (because I can't get the torches lit with a striker after I've turned off the tank and am burning off what's left in the lines.)

[Norskiglass]

I use the good 'ol Striker.....the butane lighters I heard tend to blow up if you leave them around your bench:(

[Torch Singer]

I think there are a couple reasons why people get the scary whoosh when using a striker:
1) Holding the bowl of the striker in front of the torch face
2) incorrect squeeze technique
3) heavy-handed torch turnoffs

Holding the bowl of the striker in front of the torch face allows it to fill with propane before you strike, which inevitably leads to a scary whoosh and the possibility of burns (or at least singed knuckles). Better to hold the striker alongside the torch with the bowl (where the grooved metal and flint are) facing toward where the flame will be).

I find that holding the striker in my right hand like I'm making a fist, with the moving part in my curled fingers and the other side against the palm on my hand, allows me to squeeze with slight downward pressure on the flint, resulting in some pretty impressive sparks--every squeeze. Try it!

Finally, what I see over and over again in classes I've taken, is people who overtighten the knobs on their torches. They're so tight that to open the valve, they have to exert a fair amount of pressure and end up opening the knob further than they intended. This not only wastes fuel and oxygen, but also can damage the valves on the torches. You don't want to have propane leaking into the room but you don't need to crank down the knobs like the lug nuts on your tires, either! By being gentle turning your torch off, you can also just barely crack the fuel to light it, then turn it up and add in the O2.

Jood

[Dia-T]

a better link for the piezo lighters.
http://www.modernoutpost.com/gear/details/cg_piezo.html

and an ewxplanation for why they work.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity

[DesertDreamer]

Jood is right, I know I'm doing it wrong, but I can never seem to get it all right. I'll stick with my Zippo, turned way down and safely set out of the way after lighting.

[scoutycat]

Hmm, no one has mentioned my concerns with bics and matches...
1) keeping lighters in pockets can (in rare cases) cause a pocket (or bra) full of butane. A pocketful of butane is a bad thing around hot things like torches and kilns. Not a likely cause of an explosion, but it apparently has happened (so says my high school chem prof)
2) Items in a room where oxygen is used are often more flammable since the may become oxygen saturated and so burn more quickly. Using fire around them is a bad idea (so says my hubby, the firefighter)
3) Using matches to light your torch could result in very burned fingers if the oxy is on & the match burns way faster than you thought it would.

[Ed_Slawson]

We don't like sparkers, mainly because small bits of flint and steel wind up all over your becnchtop, tools and marver... if they are picked up by the hot glass, they leave an ugly bit in the finished bead. We use refillable butane lighters that are totally encased with metal. Lacking these, we have used metal zippos, the type that use lighter fluid.

[hummingbird3172]

My sparker works perfectly every time. I used to use a bbq lighter without problems...the sparker took a little getting used to, but now it is even easier than the bbq lighter ever was.

[beadlover9]

I now use a striker. I used a lighter for a long time and when it ran out of juice I started using the striker ive had for years...Now i dont seem to be afraid of it and its VERY easy to use for me.

[beadworkstudio]

I use a striker I got at Home Depot and it's easy for me to use but it did take some practice. I took a class a couple of months ago at Glasscraft, and had difficulty with their strikers. The textured strip inside mine is different, so I can totally see why some people have had trouble. Try a few different brands and you'll find one that works for you.

[Tobias]

Only 18 people use a zippo????? Seriously....

[jhgenii]

...I just use a welding sparker. Learned to use one years ago while learning to weld, no biggie.

[Jane P]

Wooden matches. Light the match, put the matches away, turn on the propane. Neat and simple.

[theglasszone]

I'm on a Hot Head - using a Sparker. I actually HATE IT, and am considering some other form of lighting my torch. I once turned on the gas, and tried 5 or 6 times to get the spark to ignite it. Little did I know at the time that the gas is a "heavy" gas, and had done some "cascading" downward from the torch head...when it finally did spark, there was quite a POOF! I work on a chair with wheels and automatically pushed myself backward and away from the bench...lucky for me! There was quite an ignition ball of glass, and had I not backed away from it so quickly, it could have caught my clothes, hair or nails! I still am using the Sparker, but if it doesn't light on the first 2 or 3 quick tries, I turn the Torch off, let the gas disburse, and try again. I wasn't afraid before, but it always spooks me now!

Maybe I'll try that "used up BBQ lighter" idea.

DeAnne in CA

[Crazy Woman]

Hi, DeAnne ~ make sure that you have the sparker slightly down below the head of the torch. The cup is for the gas to accumulate.

[Curly Irish Girl]

It's a striker for me......as I'm not a smoker, I have a bit of a lighter use challenge.....but I think it's more likely that it's because that's the way I learned to light the torch in my first experience with glass.

[Listenup]

I voted for something you didn't mention. I use a BBQ long butane lighter - technically a butane lighter, but much longer. Immediately after use it's covered with a kevlar sleeve and set to the side. I have 4 of the sleeves so even if I remember to use them, I can still cover my lighter and cover the holes on my hothead so I can reduce.

[ChrisM]

I have a couple old bics that have been empty for years. They're so easy to use.

Chris

[Kym]

I use a magnifying lens and the sun.


Or a 17th century tinder pistol.


I like to keep it old school.

I don't laugh out loud a lot Kevan but somehow it always seems to be you that causes it! LOL

I use the power of my mind usually but when the brain voltage is low, I use a striker I got when I bought my setup. It must be a good one as it always works perfectly and I like that fact that my fingers are well away from the eventual flame. I smoke and often used to have a lighter in my bra but one day a piece of hot glass flicked off a bead I was cutting and landed right in the middle of my bra. I managed to grab it with tweezers just before it burnt through onto my stomach. Now that bra has a little heart hole edged with seed beads and I don't carry a lighter there anymore.

Kym

[menty666]

I go back and forth between the sparker and the bbq lighter those these days I'm more likely to grab the sparker, it's just there on the bench with me :)

I have a zippo around but a) I can never seem to keep fuel in the thing and b) I don't like having my fingers that close when I'm lighting the torch. I've had a couple of small fireballs m myself when learning to light it and try to avoid them!

[alissa]

Yeah, I used to use a BBQ lighter ("it'll never happen to me, no way...") until one day I left it on the bench and melted a big chunk of the plastic by putting a hot rod on it. Fortunately, I grabbed the rod before it melted through to the butane chamber.

That was the day I threw the lighter out... and switched to a striker. Yeah, it's annoying, but I like myself unexploded.

[meadowesky]

bic lighter. Always. just put it away when you are done. And someone mentioned in their bra.. when you work larger and your chest gets hot enough to melt the screenprinting.. not a good idea :lol:

[bousky]

I use the wood kitchen matches. I am way to absent minded to do the lighter thing! I don't need the extra danger.

[JMB Glass]

I use a vintage zippo and matches in a pinch
the zippo is safer because the fuel isn't compressed

[AlivELampworK]

thats awesome this thread is still looked at.

i personally feel that a BBQ lighter is equally as dangerous as a bic lighter. both are fueled with butane and will explode if hit with glass. i don't see why using a butane lighter isn't taken seriously. the only safe "lighter" would be a zippo. strikers are so convenient when you learn how to use them.

[steph1214]

sparker!!

steph

[Fran]

I use a variety of flint striker, it's got a long handle and you squeeze the trigger *voila* a spark! It's made by Coleman, I think it's designed for lighting camping stoves. I have a traditional welding striker too but this one is really easy to use. Check the camping supply stores. It looks like one of those butane bbq lighters but it's all metal and uses a flint.

[spring_a_leak_in_art]

We use a empty lighter just flick it and it sparks :biggrin: The sparkers seem to be hard to light and then they drop flint on to the worktop, which is really frustrating to press glass onto :cry:
Just my 2 cents

[chayes]

Striker or a lighter whichever is closer

[kbinkster]

I use my kiln and a wad of paper towels. It works great for testing the ventilation, too.




Just kidding!


Lately, I have been bad and have been using a BBQ lighter - BUT, I put it on top of my ventilation box or to the side of it as soon as I light the torch and never have it in the box where hot glass could get to it.

[myrdlebp]

I use a Bic lighter, and put it in my back pocket after lighting.Ditto, glad I'm not the Lone Ranger on that one!8-[