Do I need a bigger torch or can I just add a second oxycon

[crystalflipz]

I'm working on a Piranha with a 5L reconditioned Oxycon and until recently that has worked really well for me. Now I'm doing more work with focals and generally bigger beads, and I feel like I don't have enough "flame area" to keep my bead consistantly warm. If I add a second Oxycon, or perhaps get a better Oxycon, will this help, or am I going to need to look at getting a bigger torch - and a bigger oxycon - down the road.
THanks
Carol

[Cosmo]

It won't make the flame any wider. It will make it hotter, but not wider.

A second concentrator will help you work faster. But, you may just have to make yourself get in the habit of continually heating your bead. It's a good habit to get into no matter what you're making or what torch you are working on.

[kbinkster]

Originally Posted by Cosmo

It won't make the flame any wider. It will make it hotter, but not wider.

A second concentrator will help you work faster. But, you may just have to make yourself get in the habit of continually heating your bead. It's a good habit to get into no matter what you're making or what torch you are working on.

I agree. It is a good habit to get into continually heating your bead, getting into a rythm. Instead of getting a torch with wider face right away to keep a wider surface warm, you can learn to balance heat and move pieces around.

When you are working larger masses, it is better to have a hotter flame. You can melt your gathers faster. Adding a second concentrator or moving to a higher output one will allow you to get that heat needed for working a larger mass. And then, when you are ready to do even bigger things (when balancing heat and moving the piece just isn't enough on its own), you can move to a larger torch.

[crystalflipz]

I try and keep my glass moving through the heat fairly frequently. Am I right in thinking that if I'm working hotter and melting faster, it's easier to keep the whole piece moving through the flame?
Carol

[kbinkster]

Well, if you put more heat deep into the glass to begin with, it holds it there a little longer and it does get a little easier to keep the whole piece moving. But, there is a point where the work does get too large to do that comfortably. How large are you wanting to go?

[crystalflipz]

Thanks for all the help! When I started reading another thread on the correct flame size, I suddenly realized that a big part of my problem was that I wasn't working on a big enough flame, so I have not been getting the best performance out of the setup that I have. Once I turned up the gas and O2 to give me a larger flame with 1/4" candles, there was way more heat coming out of the torch. I'll see if this works with the larger pieces. By larger pieces I'm thinking about 4-6" tubes and bicones, since I want to do some pens and the like.
Thanks
Carol