Am I Hot Enough for Boro

[JBeads]

I did a search and most come up as having tanked oxy or a much bigger concentrator than me.

I am on a Minor with an itty bitty 5'er, can I do Boro and will I get the spectacular colors or should I just wait until I can upgrade my torch and concentrator?
Are there any colors or makes of Boro that will work on this setup? I heard through the grape vine that sometimes certian colors and makes work better than others...not sure how true that is as the source is not all that great.....

If anyone does have this setup and is getting results, would you mind posting a pic or 2, please.

Thanks for any input.

J

[Mr. Smiley]

Pipyr has a great tutorial on how to use boro on your set up... you're limited, but it's not out of reach.

[bclogan]

I second Pipyr's tutorial.

But do think about sometime in the future upgrading at least the oxycon....

[Bunyip]

Yeah, a second oxycon is helpful but certainly not necessary, though there is a learning curve.

[Sue in Maine]

They're not kidding about Pipyr's tutorial AND it is really cheap!

My understanding of a minor is that it's not quite as hot as a mini cc BUT you can do boro on it... just not honking huge beads. Moonlight Creations has worked boro on her minor before.

Sue

Edited to add: While you are at it, you should get her EYE CANE TUTORIAL. She shows how to make realistic eyes in BOTH boro AND 104 glass. Great tute.

[Jamn!]

I used to do boro on two concentrators. I think you can do it but you have to "really" remember to keep your glass hot more so than someone who can go back in and burn haze off with tanked oxy.

[JBeads]

Wow thanks for the quick responses!

I will definately have a look at that tutorial.

Thanks!

J

[rg9403]

screw the oxy con...The torch is fine if you just lease a tank. At least then you have no limits. With that torch and a 5'er you'll just be making beads. also ...Many boro colors are sensitive to flame type. I'm not sure your oxy purity would keep up with it on one con.

It all depends on what your goals are. That is the most important Factor.

[Jamn!]

tanks are better but they want to try without one.
I still love the color I can get out of Silver Beach on concentrators.... I love the soft lilac tones. Yum!

[Bunyip]

Tanked oxy is a mixed blessing... oxy fills rapidly add up to the cost of a second concentrator. Based on my usage and fill costs (even with a fulltime job I was using a minimum of a K tank per week @ $22.00/ea) that adds up to an M-15 concentrator in 6 months...Sadly we have 2 lampworkers in my house so the usage was even more...

[Jamn!]

Ouch huh! I wish there were an inexpensive way to get all the oxy we need!

I think I will buy one of Pipyr's tutorials! I bet she has lots of good tips in it!

[patezd]

I used a minor and tanked oxy and did fine with my smaller beads and sculptural work but it was raaaaattttthhhhheeerrrrr ssssllllllloooooooowwwww woooooorrrrrrrk getting beads round and balanced. Switched to a Cricket with the tanked oxy a couple of months ago and am quite happy. Burns hotter, uses less oxy, melts the glass faster. I do both soft and boro and have limited torch time right now so I haven't been able to experiment with the boro as much on the Cricket but I feel that it is easier to strike DAP and Silver Creek which are the ones I have been working with the most right now.

[Mr. Smiley]

I teach on minors and tanked oxy all the time. That Minor will rock if you keep turning the knobs... or ad enough flow through concentrators... I like the Cricket too... but the flame isn't as wide. A little more focused and that's great for some things. It is a better boro bead torch on a single concentrator, no doubt.

[Jamn!]

Keep turning the knobs? Is that how she keeps things HOT?

What I think Brent is saying is that you can get more ooomph out of the oxy if you use it in spurts when you are using concentrators... I think!