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Jelveh Designs - Glass Beads Torched One-by-One

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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2006-10-24, 3:28pm
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Default What do you light your torch with?

Just curious if everyone uses the spark thing (I can't remember what it's called) or a lighter, even though it can hurt your torch...how DOES it hurt your torch?

Thanks, just curious!
~Lynn
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  #2  
Old 2006-10-24, 3:31pm
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I click my bic.



I think using a lighter is better for the torch because you can use a low heat, gentle flame to prewarm the metal a bit before blasting the torch flame on....but I could be wrong.
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  #3  
Old 2006-10-24, 3:33pm
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A spark striker works fine as does a lighter, the only thing that a lighter will ruin is your day when you lay a piece of hot glass rod on it and it blows up (done that a few times, LOL).

Dave
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Old 2006-10-24, 3:38pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keltik
A spark striker works fine as does a lighter, the only thing that a lighter will ruin is your day when you lay a piece of hot glass rod on it and it blows up (done that a few times, LOL).

Dave
Umm, don't leave it on the table?...
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  #5  
Old 2006-10-24, 3:39pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keltik
A spark striker works fine as does a lighter, the only thing that a lighter will ruin is your day when you lay a piece of hot glass rod on it and it blows up (done that a few times, LOL).

Dave
Yikes! That would scare the crap out of me.

I keep my lighter on the table next to my bench.
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  #6  
Old 2006-10-24, 3:44pm
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As far as I've known the issue using a lighter to light the torch is one of personal safety. Basically having a small, pressurized container of fuel lying about the bench subject to hot glass, possibly near an annealing kiln, and of course a running torch could make for a dangerous proposition.
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  #7  
Old 2006-10-24, 3:46pm
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I use a striker and have absolutely no trouble using it - almost always lights on the first strike. Also, it keeps my hands further away from the flame when it lights.
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  #8  
Old 2006-10-24, 3:50pm
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I use a striker. I've seen a pack of matches go up in flames when it was hit by a piece of hot glass. Not too long ago, Rashan Jones posted something here about losing his eyebrows when hot glass hit a butane lighter that he'd left on the table.

If you use a lighter, get it off the table and put it away immediately after you get the torch lit. It's just not safe to have one lying around.

There was a period of time when I couldn't manage to work a striker well enough to light a torch. (I bought a better striker -- there's a heavy-duty type you can get that has a triangular thing that holds 3 flints -- and I forced myself to learn.) During that time, I used matches. I lit a match, and put the box back into a metal box, which was closed and taken off the work table before I turned on the gas. Yes, there's time to do that before the match burns down.
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  #9  
Old 2006-10-24, 3:54pm
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Bic.
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  #10  
Old 2006-10-24, 4:03pm
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bic, which lives in my back pocket afterwards, or is on the far side of the bucket of water I keep on my bench-like 2.5 feet over, and sheltered from the torch., or under the table edge on my lap (rarely).
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  #11  
Old 2006-10-24, 4:14pm
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I use a metal covered lighter that doesn't stay on my table.

That said, strikers come seem to be made in different quality. If you are concerned about your safety you might try a different one. The ones I've seen with 3 flints positioned on a triangle to go across the bar to make the spark are the best. Then you can rotate to use each of the other flints before replacing them. They have them at the welding store that supplies my oxygen.
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  #12  
Old 2006-10-24, 4:16pm
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I use one of those BBQ lighters that lives inside a drawer that hot glass couldn't get to.
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  #13  
Old 2006-10-24, 4:21pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Just Nancy
The ones I've seen with 3 flints positioned on a triangle to go across the bar to make the spark are the best. Then you can rotate to use each of the other flints before replacing them. They have them at the welding store that supplies my oxygen.
That's the kind I like. They're sturdier, so you get a more stable strike. Found mine at Home Depot.
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  #14  
Old 2006-10-24, 4:28pm
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BBQ lighter and I have a place by my glass on a shelf up high that it goes on after I light it.

If you make it a habit, you will be fine.

I tried using the striker kind. I am striker disabled, lol. I would strike it like 6 times and end up with a ton of carbon on my work surface. Then I would put hot glass on the worksurface and pick up the carbon.

So after being frustrated for weeks, I gave the striker up. Couldn't be happier!!
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  #15  
Old 2006-10-24, 4:56pm
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I use a BBQ lighter and always put it away in a metal drawer next to my bench as soon as the torch is lit. I've tried the striker, but usually by the time I get enough spark, there's enough gas around to "whoosh" when it first lights - singed the back of my hand a few times!
Carol
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  #16  
Old 2006-10-24, 4:59pm
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Zippo or wooden matches.

Or, in a pinch, a Bic. But it goes in a back pocket afterwards, for sure.
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  #17  
Old 2006-10-24, 5:08pm
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Wooden matches. I love those great big boxes of matches. No Bic's at my house.
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  #18  
Old 2006-10-24, 5:21pm
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BBQ lighter, and it goes back to the far side of the table opposite of where exploding glass tends to go. It's habit now to put it out of my working area after I've used it.
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  #19  
Old 2006-10-24, 5:25pm
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A metal cased zippo at home studio, and a bic that slides into a metal jacket at the storefront. I don't have the patience for the strikers, although at classes I have the students use them...
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  #20  
Old 2006-10-24, 6:00pm
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Bic that goes away as soon as I am lit. I used matches for a while until I set off the fire alarm. (moved torch from beneath said alarm that night)
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  #21  
Old 2006-10-24, 6:07pm
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I use a bbq lighter and I don't set it on the bench.
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  #22  
Old 2006-10-24, 6:45pm
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Wooden matches.
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Old 2006-10-24, 7:01pm
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I flikka da bicca.
Then the bic goes IMMEDIATELY into the metal drawer BEHIND my
chair - completely out of reach of any stray glass or flames.

Then I wrap the whole room in an asbestos blanket and spray it with
water. Can't be too careful....
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  #24  
Old 2006-10-24, 7:42pm
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BBQ lighter which I then place way away from me. I've done that since i first started and it's habit now.
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Old 2006-10-24, 8:10pm
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I have a striker and a box of wooden matches. If I use the matches, only one match comes out of the box, and the box gets put away before the match even get's struck. I can strike it on my cement board table top cover.
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  #26  
Old 2006-10-24, 8:18pm
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I am using a BBQ lighter too. Though, it goes in the drawer after I used it..
I wouldn't want anything bad to happen.. *shivers*
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  #27  
Old 2006-10-24, 8:35pm
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For those that use a bic or bbq lighter...aren't you afraid of it exploding in your hand?
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Old 2006-10-24, 8:41pm
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I use a striker. While I don't have problems with it, I always use a bic when I'm at a workshop. Go figure. The bic always goes immediately in my pocket. And, when I used to smoke, I'd always keep my lighter in my pocket, too.
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  #29  
Old 2006-10-24, 9:53pm
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I use a striker. It took me ages to figure out how to use it right. When we teach we use small boxes of matches. The newbies are especially more comfortable with the matches. Paula
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Old 2006-10-25, 1:38am
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I use a striker. It's safe, foolproof (and I've proven more than once that I'm a fool) and it works.
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