Boro Newbie
 

just spent my afternoon playing with Boro and didn't get anywhere. I'm using a Lynx and basically the same neutral flame I would use on soft glass. the Boro was pliable but really never moved to a liquid, do I need to really crack up things on the torch? i'm just following the directions of the manufacture in setting up the flame. 7-9 inches of a propane fame, turn on the oxygen till it starts to hiss, back off just a touch, turn on the second oxygen and refine flame and candles to 3/8-1/2". no problems in soft glass, just isn't enough to move Boro around.
tips welcome.
thanks Murf
am i just impatient?

Turn up your HEAT, Murf! :grin: A Lynx'll "do it", you just need a LOT more heat......

And, just for the record - when working with boro (vs soft) you need to be
really paying attention to how hot your mandrel is getting.
Focus the heat on the glass - not the mandrel.
I burned through a buttload of mandrels before I learned
how to keep them out of the flame :lol:.

crank everything way up but especially the oxygen. the ratio of oxygen to propane is 6 to 1 for a boro flame. you want to bring that bead down to 1-2centimeters away from the torch head too where you wouldn't dare bring a soft glass bead.

Just went out and the results seemed better. The Lynx has two oxygen knobs the main and the fine adjust lets say. If I open the main up to much, then I lose the finer adjustment. Also the clear and I’m trying to make pendants runs or melts much faster than the colors I was applying. Certainly need longer punts than soft glass, and maybe some sun block as well. Thanks, keep any tips coming this way.
Murf

Murf, what are your pressures at?? I raged my lynx...about 3 psi propane and 20 psi oxy. Boro will melt like buttah ;) Crank it up, bring it close (to the torch head) and melt some boro! You really want to pound a lot of heat into boro to get nice colors...work it white hot and strike at the end. Also remember that with boro, chances are you will be adjusting that flame a LOT. For just about everything I do, the flame gets adjusted...don't be afraid to make the candles longer or a little shorter depending on what you are doing...just be careful if they are shorter that you are pounding plenty of oxy through there to keep the heat off the face of the torch ;) The lynx should melt that glass in no time at all...it's an awesome boro torch!! :D

Ditto everyone - plus - it takes a lot of playing with all the variables - flame, glass, and muses - I've had a Lynx for about four months now and every session is a lesson on how everything works together (or doesn't) ... I always intend to try one thing different, but my random nature drives me into trying everything I can think of instead of mastering that one thing I planned on. Oh well... at least I learned how to make tiny encased boro beads on 1/16th mandrels... without burning up the mandrels. Now if I can only get pulled and centerd points ...arrrgh.

I have only tried the Lynx once with soft glass, but I surely love it with boro!

Oh, a face shield helps too.

Go have some fun!
Sally

Pipyr - Wow - thanks for posting the pressures you're using with the Lynx. I have been told that I'm not using enough oxygen to get decent colors from boro. I guess I've been following the "rules" too closely - the instructions that came with the Lynx say to set the propane at 5-8 psi and oxygen 10-15 psi. Using the lowest propane (5 psi) and the highest oxygen (15 psi) that GTT recommneds would only give a 3/1 ratio and Paula suggest a 6/1 ratio. I thought I might do harm to the torch if I strayed outside these parameters. Now to find more oxygen!!

Judy

I have a question about that 20 psi in oxygen, I am running Dual Devilbiss Concentrators and believe they collectively max at 18 psi and have the propane at 5-8 psi. My question is if I run the full extend of oxygen that I can through the primary knob the secondary knob fails to refine the flame. Really baulk at thought of hooking back to my oxygen tank due to cost. So is the 16-18 psi falling short in my needs? Sorry still need to play more before I can make any judgments, just curious of course.

knock the propane back to 3 and crank both concentrators up to max and you should be good to go. more PSI is better but 18 should do you fine

Adding concentrators does not increase the PSI output, just the volume. You are still only getting about 9 to 10 PSI of oxygen, so you probably want to drop your propane down to 3 PSI or so.

I was hoping to get away from tanks, but it looks like unless you go with a high priced generator like the Huricane or Psyclone you just can't get the pressure and volume for boro.

I'm pretty much of a boro newbie as well. I have made marbles but have had trouble with getting the colors to come out. I need info on developing colors that are not washed out and on annealing and garage temps and schedules. Thanks tons!!!

Hi Jeannie...

I pm'd Jeannie and told her she could get some really great boro information in this forum! Hope you get what you're looking for!

Thanks Jo! I"m gonna go play a little before the temp goes over 100 here and I'll report back later on! ;)

OK! Well I am through in there for today. I lit my apron on fire and burned holes in it and sucked in a bunch of smoke and scorched my shorts. I'm gonna go swimming. lol. Thanks for your hints. I'll check more later.