re Problem with Pencil Torch Flame

***
W. Curtiss Priest, Director, CITS
Center for Information, Technology & Society
466 Pleasant St., Melrose, MA 02176
Voice: 781-662-4044
http://www.cybertrails.org

Chinese, Generic Pencil Torch Technical Note
March 12, 2007


Failure Mode:

No flame
No blue flame, torch flares, butane escapes very quickly

Keywords: repairing torches, fixing torches, problem with
pencil torch, unable to light pencil torch

Introduction:

If you have found this note and have not tried to open the
torch, you are probably in luck. If you have unscrewed
the torch burner head, you most likely have lost the orifice.

Why?

I had to purchase a second torch just to see what comprises
the orifice. It turns out that this is a thin sliver of
a disk and demanding for even good eye sight.

Those who are used to standard BernzOmatic propane torches
know that when the torch has low or no gas flow (no audible
sound) and cannot be lit, that there is a brass orifice
between the tube from the tank and the burner head. Further,
the head has two flat spots, as the maker expects it to
be disassembled when the orifice is clogged.

Included in most kits is a sheath of fine steel wires. To
clear a clogged orifice, one pushes a wire through the center
drilled hole in the orifice. The diameter of the wire is
9.5 mils, suggesting that the orifice is around 10 mils in
diameter. Most importantly, the orifice is a largish object,
about 1/4" long and a taper fits into the end of the tube and
the face is rounded to create a seal with the head.

Decades ago BernzOmatic made a pencil torch, model TX. It
used an earlier style stubby propane canister. However,
it can be adapted to use with a standard 14.5 oz. propane
tank by using a valve fitting to the tank that has a ribbed
hose connection, a short piece of high pressure polyethylene
tubing (the kind used to bring water to ice machines), and
adding a ribbed hose connection at the torch end -- I cut
the top of the empty tank so I could solder the hose connection
to that. I see that BernzOmatic makes a similar hose
connected miniature torch, the ST-900.

When the orifice on the TX clogs, the hole is only 2.5 mils
in diameter and no common steel wire is easily available. The
smallest such wire is a common part of a sewing kit -- it is
the steel wire loop that is supplied to make threading
needles easier. That wire is 5 mils in diameter. However,
there is the alternative of using an ultrasonic cleaner and
many people have one -- called a humidifier. The style that
uses a tank placed on top of a white base uses a piezioelectric
element to aggitate the water enough to create tiny droplets
above the element. Those droplets are funnelled up and
dispersed into the air. That element can easily be used as
an ultrasonic cleaner.

To clean an orifice, or anything small, like a small mechanical
watch or jewelry, remove the tank, clear away the salts that
deposit around the element and then use an appropriate solvent.
As the unit depends on the liquid (water) to cool the element,
these units always have a sensor for water level. If it is
a unit that senses conductivity from a pin to the element, just
take a clip, a short piece of wire and clip to the pin and place
the wire into a little puddle of water over the element. If it
is a float, use string to lift it. Whatever, do not let the
element run dry.

To clean an orifice, use water with a drop of detergent. First
run the unit for a minute with just water/detergent to clear
away anything soluble. Then rinse the area. Now place the
orifice into the water/detergent puddle and turn the unit on
for a minute. After rinsing and shaking the orifice, see if
you now see a pin hole of light. If not, give it another
treatment.

As for the orifice on the Chinese pencil torch, the orifice
is incredibly small. From the factory it is a steel disk
that is 2.45 mm. in diameter and .05 mm. thick. And the
pin hole is about the same size as on the BenzOmatic TX,
about 2 mils in diameter.

Repair if you have not lost or damaged the orifice:

If you still have the orifice, clearing the hole is
simple but exacting. Most of us have no experience dealing
with a disk this small. It can be bearly handled with
fingers. It defies tweezers, wanting to fly out when
pinched, as it is slightly tapered at the edges.

So, clear a table space and place a white fine cloth down.
Now, if the disk falls, you'll see it. And the disk will
not travel far if it tries to roll or skate.

Removing the disk:

1. hold the body of the torch in one hand and standard
pliers in the other

2. lightly grip the head with the pliers, not too tightly,
not too lightly

3. loosen the head

4. holding the unit horizontally over the white cloth
unscrew the threaded tube to the head

5. the disk tends to stay inside the head, but, as you
pull the two apart, look at the face of the threaded
tube, you should see a fairly large hole ... if the
disk is stuck over that, then brush it with your
finger to get the disk onto the cloth

6. when the disk is inside the head, you can try to
rap the disk out by tapping the threaded end of
the head against the cloth

7. if the disk will not fall out or rap out, you need
a pin that is less than .07" in diameter. A #52
drill bit will do, or a largish sewing needle

you press the pin into the center hole of the
front of the burner head. You will feel it hit
the disk, now slowly push the disk onto the cloth

8. you might wish to verify if you can see the clog,
but, be warned -- holding the disk up to a light
is pesky and be sure not to raise the disk, say,
more than a foot above the white cloth

9. as the disk is so thin, the clog is easily removed
using a fine sewing needle. Note, there are dozens
of ways sewing needles are sized. Singer, for example,
sizes them with the British gauge number. But, Dritz
sizes them with a scale that runs about 3-10, where
10 is the finest

also ... important ... the sewing needle is much
larger than this hole ... we are just using the
sharp point on the tip of the needle. And, the
size of the point does not always correspond to
the size of the needle, but, in general, the finer
needles have sharper points in the last 1 or 2 mils
of their length

So, a Singer sized needle to use is a #26 or #27

And, a European sized needle to use is a #9 or #10

If you have a Jo-Ann's Fabric store, get the Dritz
"20 Quilting Betweens" number 56B-10. "Betweens
are only shorter in length than "Sharps" -- and
both have the same points. The Betweens are available
in the smaller size because working on fine quilts,
the person wants a shorter needle for dexterity

10. with the needle on the cloth, just press the needle
into the hole until it stops. Now flip the disk
over and do that again. The clog should be cleared

[Note: some people lick their fingers to work with
small things, such as thumbing pages. But, do not.
You don't want to introduce junk. Natural levels
of body oils on the finger tip will typically provide
enough stick to pick the disk up if you scoot the disk
as you try to raise it.]

11. to replace the disk do not attempt to either drop it
into the hole in the head or use the threaded tube
to place it into the head. If you drop the disk in,
it will most likely not be flat and will be crushed.
If you attempt to start screwing the threaded tube
onto the head, with the disk balanced on the end
of the tube, the disk can easily slip and get caught
in the threads, and become pulverized

12. to replace the disk, you want to balance the disk
on the end of thin rod with a flat end that just
fits into the threaded region. A number 40 drill
bit will do, or, you can use a common round tooth
pick -- Diamond "Elegant tooth picks." This
dowel is 2.1 mm. (.0825"). One end is slightly
rounded -- carefully grind or sand that end flat

with the toothpick pointed up, with the disk centered,
now just lower the threaded hole of the torch head
down onto it ... the toothpick will go in about 1/4"

you can now hold the head horizontally and look
at a lamp through this hole ... you should see
a tiny pin hole of light

13. with the torch head pointed down, clear lose cement
from the threaded tube and screw the tube in, hand
tight. Now hold the body of the torch and with
the pliers give the head a snug turn ... you are
lightly crushing the copper onto the two brass
surfaces ... now, the only opening will be the pin
hole

Some might ask, is this worth it? Well, if you have only
one pencil torch and are in the middle of a project that
requires that one torch, then surely this is worth the
twenty minutes to do this. And, while the #10 Dritz is
the ideal point, probably almost any of the smallest needles
in a pack will do, say, even a #23 (Singer size).

Now, what if you have lost or damaged the disk?

If you have time and are not interested in a "construction
project" -- then stop here and order another torch. In
that I sense that these torches are sold in the millions,
perhaps a local hardware store or hobby shop has one, within
driving distance (however, I do sense that small retail
hobby shops are dying out ... several that I called had
disconnected).

However, if you enjoy projects, as a hobby, then it is
a fairly easy matter to make a disk, or many disks

To make a disk we fabricate a custom punch for copper
and we use the above Dritz needle to create the 2 mil.
diameter hole.

Copper flashing is commonly available. Also often the
interior of PC monitors are lined with a copper sheet
for RF interference protection. The following instructions
are for 3 mil. copper. If the copper is thicker or thinner,
you will have to adjust the piercing force (below) as
appropriate.

Fabricating the punch:

I pondered how to make this tiny disk and I realized that
the only practical way to make a "perfect" round disk
of this size is with a punch. If you are a hobbiest,
then you may have already acquired a punch set for cloth,
rubber, or soft metals ... mine is called a "Maxi Punch
Set" and has a handle and six punches ranging in size
from 8 mm. down to 4.8 mm. But, of course, not 2.45
mm.

And, to punch copper, we can make a punch with soft
steel. It turns out that an 8-32 steel screw is a
usable size, so we machine one that is 1" long.

You need, at least, a drill (preferably a drill press),
a number drill set, and a rotary grinder (preferably a
Dremel-like with a cutoff wheel). We will drill a hole
down the center of the screw and then taper the screw
from the outside with the cutoff wheel at an angle, thus
creating the cutting edge.

Steps:

1. cut the head of the screw off with a hack saw
or cutoff wheel

2. to accurately centerpunch one end of the screw, place
the screw in the drill, and, with it turning, take
the rotary tool with a carbide cutter -- such as
a chishel tooth and holding the bit in the plane
of the screw, remove the threads on the part of
the screw protruding from the chuck

as soon as you see no threads, you are done, and
it does not matter if you were perfectly parallel --
we are just clearing the threads to see the end.
Do not remove material further, we need the remaining
wall size

3. carefully locate the center and centerpunch

4. with a #45 drill, place the screw in a machinest
vise (there are "V"s to hold round objects straight)
and drill in about 1/4"

5. we want to finish with a #41 drill, but, because that
size drill bit gets close to the outer diameter of
this trimmed screw

at this point I never trust that the final drill
will be centered if I see that the current hole is
not perfectly centered

my way of assuring centricity is to eye the hole
and with a carbide chishel bit of a size smaller
than the current hole (or any burr or diamond
coated bit) I carefully remove material on the
inside wall that is "too far in." You are "walking
the hole out." And, as you do, you are also getting
it closer to .096" diameter -- the size of the hole
a #41 drill cuts.

now drill the end with the #41. If you break through
the wall, you must start over

6. tapering the outside is fairly quick and easy. You
again turn the screw with the threaded end in the
chuck. As you turn, you angle the cutoff wheel at
about 45 degrees to the end of the screw/punch

if the result is a punch with a ragged end, just
square the end off by pressing it against the side
of a spinning cutoff wheel, and then angle the end
again

7. to permit removing a punched disk we need to create
a hole to the other end of the punch. Take a #50
drill, place the punch in the bench vise, and drill
from the punch end through to the other end. As
this is nearly an inch long hole, be sure to raise
the bit every few seconds so that the cut metal is
released and the bit does not bind

When done, the punch can be held with vise grips as described
below.

Fabricating the torch orifice:

One is making a very small disk which is difficult to handle
because it is also thin. Work in a contained clear area
with bright light.

Tools:

1. small bench vise with a 3/8 inch brass nut, with a side
face, facing upwards
2. 2 small vise grips
3. one shortened #10 Dritz sewing needle
4. one home made copper punch
5. one postal scale (or, ideally, a slide spring scale)
6. one block of wood
7. a number 52 drill bit
8. a number 40 drill bit
9. a flat punch -- around 1/4" diameter

Materials:

3 mil copper (for other thicknesses you'll have to adjust
the force on the piercing needle)

Preparation:

As one will put the orifice into a copper disk, the scale
will push on the end of the needle with a selected force. As
the #10 needle is only .0180" in diameter, it is easily bent.

One of the vise grips should be a pair with either a smooth
or serrated jaw at its end, say, 3/8" of jaw width. The
sewing needle is shortened such that its point comes out one
end of the jaws about 1/16" and does not come out the other
end. (Now, pressure on the side of the vise grip will press
the needle into the copper foil.)

With practise, it takes about four minutes to punch and
prepare the copper disk. It takes about one minute to
press the hole.

Steps:

1. With the punch in a "needle nosed" vise grip, pointing
out the front of the pliers, place the copper sheet
over the wood block, press the punch, and rotate about
half a turn left and right with constant pressure

Too little pressure, you will not press through to the
wood.

2. Press the copper disk out, using a #52 drill through the
far end of the punch onto the brass nut. Surround the area
with your fingers, as when the disk pops, it can fly. (you
can always punch another one

3. The disk will have an edge curl. This must be removed.
Take the end of a flat punch (or almost anything with
a flat end) and press down on the disk, evenly. Look
and assure yourself that you flattened the disk evenly.
Press with a slight circular action -- this will assure
contact with all edges.

3. Take a black permanent marker and roll it on the disk to
mark that side. Roll off of the disk, as, just lifting
will take the disk with the pen.

4. Eyeball the center of the disk (not critical). Place the
point of the Dritz #10 needle/vise grip in the center and
hold those pliers so that the needle is straight up.

5. A number 7 Petersen Vise Grip weights 160 grams. With
your scale you need to add somewhere around 1200-1500
grams.

This is sufficient force to drive the point of the needle
through the disk and into the brass. But, it pushes only
the needle end which is about 2 mils diameter and not
the entire needle which is 18 mils in diameter.

You should be able to pick up the disk by just raising
the vise grips. You should see the point end of the
needle, just coming out the other side of the disk.

6. Inserting the disk is touchy. It cannot just be dropped
into the torch end of the unit because it will not lie
flat and screwing in the torch body will crush the disk.

So, you need to do a balancing act. And do this close
to the table so when the disk falls, you can easily
recover it. Note: the disk is light enough that the
oils on your finger tip is enough to pick it up from
a flat surface. Do not lick your finger -- that would
leave material that could clog the orifice. You will
find that pressing your finger on the disk, with a slight
sideward swiping action will pick it up reliably.

One places the disk on the flat end of a #40 drill bit
with the black side facing the bit. Why? You have not
drilled a hole, you have pierced one. So, there is a
tiny copper coller around the hole on the side the
needle came out. If you point that towards the butane
source, it will more easily clog, so we point it away.

You have the disk/bit in one hand and the torch head
in the other, you carefully line the end of the bit
up with the screw threaded hole in the torch head
and push it in (about 3/8"). You should be able to
hold the torch head towards a light (keep the head
horizontal to keep the disk in) and see a tiny, tiny
pin hole of light.

If you see no pin hole, start over and press the needle
with another 200 grams of force.

7. Clear the threaded end of the torch body of lose cement

8. Screw the thread into the torch head until it stops
turning

9. Take regular pliers. Hold the torch body in one hand,
apply the pliers to the torch head, lightly. Too hard,
you'll score the head. Too soft, you'll skate. Now
just give the head a snug turn. This compresses the
disk/washer around its edges so that the orifice is now
the only passage for the butane into the head

If you have a microscope you can view your result. Use
a 30x magnification. To determine the size of your hole,
place the disk with the black side down. Now take the
needle threading wire (measure its thickness with a caliper
or micrometer; they tend to be 5 mils) and place the wire
next to the hole. You should see a hole that has a diameter
about half that of the wire -- i.e., the pierced hole is
about 2.0 mils.

This size -- 2.0 mils. -- is about as large as the hole
should be. The flame size will be somewhat greater than
the original.

One interesting side-effect of being able to make these orifices
is that you now have the ability to make the torch cooler or
hotter. The smaller the hole, of course, the smaller and thus
cooler the flame. (This can also be done by adjusting the gas
flow from the body, but, this behaves differently, and requires
fussing. If you are, say, a jeweler, you can tame the flame
to a known setting. If you have two torches, you can set
one for a small flame and another for a larger flame.



--


W. Curtiss Priest, Director, CITS
Center for Information, Technology & Society
466 Pleasant St., Melrose, MA 02176
781-662-4044 http://Cybertrails.org

Way overlong; booorrring; mildly informative if you can stand it; well
written; waste of time as typical of cross-posting trollish pedants.

Bob (opinions are us) Swinney


"W. Curtiss Priest" wrote in message
. ..
***
W. Curtiss Priest, Director, CITS
Center for Information, Technology & Society
466 Pleasant St., Melrose, MA 02176
Voice: 781-662-4044
http://www.cybertrails.org

Chinese, Generic Pencil Torch Technical Note
March 12, 2007


Failure Mode:

No flame
No blue flame, torch flares, butane escapes very quickly

Keywords: repairing torches, fixing torches, problem with
pencil torch, unable to light pencil torch

Introduction:

If you have found this note and have not tried to open the
torch, you are probably in luck. If you have unscrewed
the torch burner head, you most likely have lost the orifice.

Why?

I had to purchase a second torch just to see what comprises
the orifice. It turns out that this is a thin sliver of
a disk and demanding for even good eye sight.

Those who are used to standard BernzOmatic propane torches
know that when the torch has low or no gas flow (no audible
sound) and cannot be lit, that there is a brass orifice
between the tube from the tank and the burner head. Further,
the head has two flat spots, as the maker expects it to
be disassembled when the orifice is clogged.

Included in most kits is a sheath of fine steel wires. To
clear a clogged orifice, one pushes a wire through the center
drilled hole in the orifice. The diameter of the wire is
9.5 mils, suggesting that the orifice is around 10 mils in
diameter. Most importantly, the orifice is a largish object,
about 1/4" long and a taper fits into the end of the tube and
the face is rounded to create a seal with the head.

Decades ago BernzOmatic made a pencil torch, model TX. It
used an earlier style stubby propane canister. However,
it can be adapted to use with a standard 14.5 oz. propane
tank by using a valve fitting to the tank that has a ribbed
hose connection, a short piece of high pressure polyethylene
tubing (the kind used to bring water to ice machines), and
adding a ribbed hose connection at the torch end -- I cut
the top of the empty tank so I could solder the hose connection
to that. I see that BernzOmatic makes a similar hose
connected miniature torch, the ST-900.

When the orifice on the TX clogs, the hole is only 2.5 mils
in diameter and no common steel wire is easily available. The
smallest such wire is a common part of a sewing kit -- it is
the steel wire loop that is supplied to make threading
needles easier. That wire is 5 mils in diameter. However,
there is the alternative of using an ultrasonic cleaner and
many people have one -- called a humidifier. The style that
uses a tank placed on top of a white base uses a piezioelectric
element to aggitate the water enough to create tiny droplets
above the element. Those droplets are funnelled up and
dispersed into the air. That element can easily be used as
an ultrasonic cleaner.

To clean an orifice, or anything small, like a small mechanical
watch or jewelry, remove the tank, clear away the salts that
deposit around the element and then use an appropriate solvent.
As the unit depends on the liquid (water) to cool the element,
these units always have a sensor for water level. If it is
a unit that senses conductivity from a pin to the element, just
take a clip, a short piece of wire and clip to the pin and place
the wire into a little puddle of water over the element. If it
is a float, use string to lift it. Whatever, do not let the
element run dry.

To clean an orifice, use water with a drop of detergent. First
run the unit for a minute with just water/detergent to clear
away anything soluble. Then rinse the area. Now place the
orifice into the water/detergent puddle and turn the unit on
for a minute. After rinsing and shaking the orifice, see if
you now see a pin hole of light. If not, give it another
treatment.

As for the orifice on the Chinese pencil torch, the orifice
is incredibly small. From the factory it is a steel disk
that is 2.45 mm. in diameter and .05 mm. thick. And the
pin hole is about the same size as on the BenzOmatic TX,
about 2 mils in diameter.

Repair if you have not lost or damaged the orifice:

If you still have the orifice, clearing the hole is
simple but exacting. Most of us have no experience dealing
with a disk this small. It can be bearly handled with
fingers. It defies tweezers, wanting to fly out when
pinched, as it is slightly tapered at the edges.

So, clear a table space and place a white fine cloth down.
Now, if the disk falls, you'll see it. And the disk will
not travel far if it tries to roll or skate.

Removing the disk:

1. hold the body of the torch in one hand and standard
pliers in the other

2. lightly grip the head with the pliers, not too tightly,
not too lightly

3. loosen the head

4. holding the unit horizontally over the white cloth
unscrew the threaded tube to the head

5. the disk tends to stay inside the head, but, as you
pull the two apart, look at the face of the threaded
tube, you should see a fairly large hole ... if the
disk is stuck over that, then brush it with your
finger to get the disk onto the cloth

6. when the disk is inside the head, you can try to
rap the disk out by tapping the threaded end of
the head against the cloth

7. if the disk will not fall out or rap out, you need
a pin that is less than .07" in diameter. A #52
drill bit will do, or a largish sewing needle

you press the pin into the center hole of the
front of the burner head. You will feel it hit
the disk, now slowly push the disk onto the cloth

8. you might wish to verify if you can see the clog,
but, be warned -- holding the disk up to a light
is pesky and be sure not to raise the disk, say,
more than a foot above the white cloth

9. as the disk is so thin, the clog is easily removed
using a fine sewing needle. Note, there are dozens
of ways sewing needles are sized. Singer, for example,
sizes them with the British gauge number. But, Dritz
sizes them with a scale that runs about 3-10, where
10 is the finest

also ... important ... the sewing needle is much
larger than this hole ... we are just using the
sharp point on the tip of the needle. And, the
size of the point does not always correspond to
the size of the needle, but, in general, the finer
needles have sharper points in the last 1 or 2 mils
of their length

So, a Singer sized needle to use is a #26 or #27

And, a European sized needle to use is a #9 or #10

If you have a Jo-Ann's Fabric store, get the Dritz
"20 Quilting Betweens" number 56B-10. "Betweens
are only shorter in length than "Sharps" -- and
both have the same points. The Betweens are available
in the smaller size because working on fine quilts,
the person wants a shorter needle for dexterity

10. with the needle on the cloth, just press the needle
into the hole until it stops. Now flip the disk
over and do that again. The clog should be cleared

[Note: some people lick their fingers to work with
small things, such as thumbing pages. But, do not.
You don't want to introduce junk. Natural levels
of body oils on the finger tip will typically provide
enough stick to pick the disk up if you scoot the disk
as you try to raise it.]

11. to replace the disk do not attempt to either drop it
into the hole in the head or use the threaded tube
to place it into the head. If you drop the disk in,
it will most likely not be flat and will be crushed.
If you attempt to start screwing the threaded tube
onto the head, with the disk balanced on the end
of the tube, the disk can easily slip and get caught
in the threads, and become pulverized

12. to replace the disk, you want to balance the disk
on the end of thin rod with a flat end that just
fits into the threaded region. A number 40 drill
bit will do, or, you can use a common round tooth
pick -- Diamond "Elegant tooth picks." This
dowel is 2.1 mm. (.0825"). One end is slightly
rounded -- carefully grind or sand that end flat

with the toothpick pointed up, with the disk centered,
now just lower the threaded hole of the torch head
down onto it ... the toothpick will go in about 1/4"

you can now hold the head horizontally and look
at a lamp through this hole ... you should see
a tiny pin hole of light

13. with the torch head pointed down, clear lose cement
from the threaded tube and screw the tube in, hand
tight. Now hold the body of the torch and with
the pliers give the head a snug turn ... you are
lightly crushing the copper onto the two brass
surfaces ... now, the only opening will be the pin
hole

Some might ask, is this worth it? Well, if you have only
one pencil torch and are in the middle of a project that
requires that one torch, then surely this is worth the
twenty minutes to do this. And, while the #10 Dritz is
the ideal point, probably almost any of the smallest needles
in a pack will do, say, even a #23 (Singer size).

Now, what if you have lost or damaged the disk?

If you have time and are not interested in a "construction
project" -- then stop here and order another torch. In
that I sense that these torches are sold in the millions,
perhaps a local hardware store or hobby shop has one, within
driving distance (however, I do sense that small retail
hobby shops are dying out ... several that I called had
disconnected).

However, if you enjoy projects, as a hobby, then it is
a fairly easy matter to make a disk, or many disks

To make a disk we fabricate a custom punch for copper
and we use the above Dritz needle to create the 2 mil.
diameter hole.

Copper flashing is commonly available. Also often the
interior of PC monitors are lined with a copper sheet
for RF interference protection. The following instructions
are for 3 mil. copper. If the copper is thicker or thinner,
you will have to adjust the piercing force (below) as
appropriate.

Fabricating the punch:

I pondered how to make this tiny disk and I realized that
the only practical way to make a "perfect" round disk
of this size is with a punch. If you are a hobbiest,
then you may have already acquired a punch set for cloth,
rubber, or soft metals ... mine is called a "Maxi Punch
Set" and has a handle and six punches ranging in size
from 8 mm. down to 4.8 mm. But, of course, not 2.45
mm.

And, to punch copper, we can make a punch with soft
steel. It turns out that an 8-32 steel screw is a
usable size, so we machine one that is 1" long.

You need, at least, a drill (preferably a drill press),
a number drill set, and a rotary grinder (preferably a
Dremel-like with a cutoff wheel). We will drill a hole
down the center of the screw and then taper the screw
from the outside with the cutoff wheel at an angle, thus
creating the cutting edge.

Steps:

1. cut the head of the screw off with a hack saw
or cutoff wheel

2. to accurately centerpunch one end of the screw, place
the screw in the drill, and, with it turning, take
the rotary tool with a carbide cutter -- such as
a chishel tooth and holding the bit in the plane
of the screw, remove the threads on the part of
the screw protruding from the chuck

as soon as you see no threads, you are done, and
it does not matter if you were perfectly parallel --
we are just clearing the threads to see the end.
Do not remove material further, we need the remaining
wall size

3. carefully locate the center and centerpunch

4. with a #45 drill, place the screw in a machinest
vise (there are "V"s to hold round objects straight)
and drill in about 1/4"

5. we want to finish with a #41 drill, but, because that
size drill bit gets close to the outer diameter of
this trimmed screw

at this point I never trust that the final drill
will be centered if I see that the current hole is
not perfectly centered

my way of assuring centricity is to eye the hole
and with a carbide chishel bit of a size smaller
than the current hole (or any burr or diamond
coated bit) I carefully remove material on the
inside wall that is "too far in." You are "walking
the hole out." And, as you do, you are also getting
it closer to .096" diameter -- the size of the hole
a #41 drill cuts.

now drill the end with the #41. If you break through
the wall, you must start over

6. tapering the outside is fairly quick and easy. You
again turn the screw with the threaded end in the
chuck. As you turn, you angle the cutoff wheel at
about 45 degrees to the end of the screw/punch

if the result is a punch with a ragged end, just
square the end off by pressing it against the side
of a spinning cutoff wheel, and then angle the end
again

7. to permit removing a punched disk we need to create
a hole to the other end of the punch. Take a #50
drill, place the punch in the bench vise, and drill
from the punch end through to the other end. As
this is nearly an inch long hole, be sure to raise
the bit every few seconds so that the cut metal is
released and the bit does not bind

When done, the punch can be held with vise grips as described
below.

Fabricating the torch orifice:

One is making a very small disk which is difficult to handle
because it is also thin. Work in a contained clear area
with bright light.

Tools:

1. small bench vise with a 3/8 inch brass nut, with a side
face, facing upwards
2. 2 small vise grips
3. one shortened #10 Dritz sewing needle
4. one home made copper punch
5. one postal scale (or, ideally, a slide spring scale)
6. one block of wood
7. a number 52 drill bit
8. a number 40 drill bit
9. a flat punch -- around 1/4" diameter

Materials:

3 mil copper (for other thicknesses you'll have to adjust
the force on the piercing needle)

Preparation:

As one will put the orifice into a copper disk, the scale
will push on the end of the needle with a selected force. As
the #10 needle is only .0180" in diameter, it is easily bent.

One of the vise grips should be a pair with either a smooth
or serrated jaw at its end, say, 3/8" of jaw width. The
sewing needle is shortened such that its point comes out one
end of the jaws about 1/16" and does not come out the other
end. (Now, pressure on the side of the vise grip will press
the needle into the copper foil.)

With practise, it takes about four minutes to punch and
prepare the copper disk. It takes about one minute to
press the hole.

Steps:

1. With the punch in a "needle nosed" vise grip, pointing
out the front of the pliers, place the copper sheet
over the wood block, press the punch, and rotate about
half a turn left and right with constant pressure

Too little pressure, you will not press through to the
wood.

2. Press the copper disk out, using a #52 drill through the
far end of the punch onto the brass nut. Surround the area
with your fingers, as when the disk pops, it can fly. (you
can always punch another one

3. The disk will have an edge curl. This must be removed.
Take the end of a flat punch (or almost anything with
a flat end) and press down on the disk, evenly. Look
and assure yourself that you flattened the disk evenly.
Press with a slight circular action -- this will assure
contact with all edges.

3. Take a black permanent marker and roll it on the disk to
mark that side. Roll off of the disk, as, just lifting
will take the disk with the pen.

4. Eyeball the center of the disk (not critical). Place the
point of the Dritz #10 needle/vise grip in the center and
hold those pliers so that the needle is straight up.

5. A number 7 Petersen Vise Grip weights 160 grams. With
your scale you need to add somewhere around 1200-1500
grams.

This is sufficient force to drive the point of the needle
through the disk and into the brass. But, it pushes only
the needle end which is about 2 mils diameter and not
the entire needle which is 18 mils in diameter.

You should be able to pick up the disk by just raising
the vise grips. You should see the point end of the
needle, just coming out the other side of the disk.

6. Inserting the disk is touchy. It cannot just be dropped
into the torch end of the unit because it will not lie
flat and screwing in the torch body will crush the disk.

So, you need to do a balancing act. And do this close
to the table so when the disk falls, you can easily
recover it. Note: the disk is light enough that the
oils on your finger tip is enough to pick it up from
a flat surface. Do not lick your finger -- that would
leave material that could clog the orifice. You will
find that pressing your finger on the disk, with a slight
sideward swiping action will pick it up reliably.

One places the disk on the flat end of a #40 drill bit
with the black side facing the bit. Why? You have not
drilled a hole, you have pierced one. So, there is a
tiny copper coller around the hole on the side the
needle came out. If you point that towards the butane
source, it will more easily clog, so we point it away.

You have the disk/bit in one hand and the torch head
in the other, you carefully line the end of the bit
up with the screw threaded hole in the torch head
and push it in (about 3/8"). You should be able to
hold the torch head towards a light (keep the head
horizontal to keep the disk in) and see a tiny, tiny
pin hole of light.

If you see no pin hole, start over and press the needle
with another 200 grams of force.

7. Clear the threaded end of the torch body of lose cement

8. Screw the thread into the torch head until it stops
turning

9. Take regular pliers. Hold the torch body in one hand,
apply the pliers to the torch head, lightly. Too hard,
you'll score the head. Too soft, you'll skate. Now
just give the head a snug turn. This compresses the
disk/washer around its edges so that the orifice is now
the only passage for the butane into the head

If you have a microscope you can view your result. Use
a 30x magnification. To determine the size of your hole,
place the disk with the black side down. Now take the
needle threading wire (measure its thickness with a caliper
or micrometer; they tend to be 5 mils) and place the wire
next to the hole. You should see a hole that has a diameter
about half that of the wire -- i.e., the pierced hole is
about 2.0 mils.

This size -- 2.0 mils. -- is about as large as the hole
should be. The flame size will be somewhat greater than
the original.

One interesting side-effect of being able to make these orifices
is that you now have the ability to make the torch cooler or
hotter. The smaller the hole, of course, the smaller and thus
cooler the flame. (This can also be done by adjusting the gas
flow from the body, but, this behaves differently, and requires
fussing. If you are, say, a jeweler, you can tame the flame
to a known setting. If you have two torches, you can set
one for a small flame and another for a larger flame.



--


W. Curtiss Priest, Director, CITS
Center for Information, Technology & Society
466 Pleasant St., Melrose, MA 02176
781-662-4044 http://Cybertrails.org

Speaking of WAAAAY overlong, you really didn't need to quote the whole
****ing text to point that out....eh?
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Robert Swinney wrote:
Way overlong; booorrring; mildly informative if you can stand it; well
written; waste of time as typical of cross-posting trollish pedants.

Bob (opinions are us) Swinney



--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

North sez:

" Speaking of WAAAAY overlong, you really didn't need to quote the whole
****ing text to point that out....eh?"

Are you the watchdog here? Read what you want, let the rest hang out.

Bob (BS filter off) Swinney


"JR North" wrote in message
.. .
JR
Dweller in the cellar

Robert Swinney wrote:
Way overlong; booorrring; mildly informative if you can stand it; well
written; waste of time as typical of cross-posting trollish pedants.

Bob (opinions are us) Swinney


--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:
--------------------------------------------------------------
"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

On Fri, 6 Apr 2007 09:53:33 -0500, "Robert Swinney"
wrote:

Way overlong; booorrring; mildly informative if you can stand it; well
written; waste of time as typical of cross-posting trollish pedants.

Bob (opinions are us) Swinney


Least it wasnt in Chinglish..kinda sorta.

Gunner


"W. Curtiss Priest" wrote in message
...
***
W. Curtiss Priest, Director, CITS
Center for Information, Technology & Society
466 Pleasant St., Melrose, MA 02176
Voice: 781-662-4044
http://www.cybertrails.org

Chinese, Generic Pencil Torch Technical Note
March 12, 2007


Failure Mode:

No flame
No blue flame, torch flares, butane escapes very quickly

Keywords: repairing torches, fixing torches, problem with
pencil torch, unable to light pencil torch

Introduction:

If you have found this note and have not tried to open the
torch, you are probably in luck. If you have unscrewed
the torch burner head, you most likely have lost the orifice.

Why?

I had to purchase a second torch just to see what comprises
the orifice. It turns out that this is a thin sliver of
a disk and demanding for even good eye sight.

Those who are used to standard BernzOmatic propane torches
know that when the torch has low or no gas flow (no audible
sound) and cannot be lit, that there is a brass orifice
between the tube from the tank and the burner head. Further,
the head has two flat spots, as the maker expects it to
be disassembled when the orifice is clogged.

Included in most kits is a sheath of fine steel wires. To
clear a clogged orifice, one pushes a wire through the center
drilled hole in the orifice. The diameter of the wire is
9.5 mils, suggesting that the orifice is around 10 mils in
diameter. Most importantly, the orifice is a largish object,
about 1/4" long and a taper fits into the end of the tube and
the face is rounded to create a seal with the head.

Decades ago BernzOmatic made a pencil torch, model TX. It
used an earlier style stubby propane canister. However,
it can be adapted to use with a standard 14.5 oz. propane
tank by using a valve fitting to the tank that has a ribbed
hose connection, a short piece of high pressure polyethylene
tubing (the kind used to bring water to ice machines), and
adding a ribbed hose connection at the torch end -- I cut
the top of the empty tank so I could solder the hose connection
to that. I see that BernzOmatic makes a similar hose
connected miniature torch, the ST-900.

When the orifice on the TX clogs, the hole is only 2.5 mils
in diameter and no common steel wire is easily available. The
smallest such wire is a common part of a sewing kit -- it is
the steel wire loop that is supplied to make threading
needles easier. That wire is 5 mils in diameter. However,
there is the alternative of using an ultrasonic cleaner and
many people have one -- called a humidifier. The style that
uses a tank placed on top of a white base uses a piezioelectric
element to aggitate the water enough to create tiny droplets
above the element. Those droplets are funnelled up and
dispersed into the air. That element can easily be used as
an ultrasonic cleaner.

To clean an orifice, or anything small, like a small mechanical
watch or jewelry, remove the tank, clear away the salts that
deposit around the element and then use an appropriate solvent.
As the unit depends on the liquid (water) to cool the element,
these units always have a sensor for water level. If it is
a unit that senses conductivity from a pin to the element, just
take a clip, a short piece of wire and clip to the pin and place
the wire into a little puddle of water over the element. If it
is a float, use string to lift it. Whatever, do not let the
element run dry.

To clean an orifice, use water with a drop of detergent. First
run the unit for a minute with just water/detergent to clear
away anything soluble. Then rinse the area. Now place the
orifice into the water/detergent puddle and turn the unit on
for a minute. After rinsing and shaking the orifice, see if
you now see a pin hole of light. If not, give it another
treatment.

As for the orifice on the Chinese pencil torch, the orifice
is incredibly small. From the factory it is a steel disk
that is 2.45 mm. in diameter and .05 mm. thick. And the
pin hole is about the same size as on the BenzOmatic TX,
about 2 mils in diameter.

Repair if you have not lost or damaged the orifice:

If you still have the orifice, clearing the hole is
simple but exacting. Most of us have no experience dealing
with a disk this small. It can be bearly handled with
fingers. It defies tweezers, wanting to fly out when
pinched, as it is slightly tapered at the edges.

So, clear a table space and place a white fine cloth down.
Now, if the disk falls, you'll see it. And the disk will
not travel far if it tries to roll or skate.

Removing the disk:

1. hold the body of the torch in one hand and standard
pliers in the other

2. lightly grip the head with the pliers, not too tightly,
not too lightly

3. loosen the head

4. holding the unit horizontally over the white cloth
unscrew the threaded tube to the head

5. the disk tends to stay inside the head, but, as you
pull the two apart, look at the face of the threaded
tube, you should see a fairly large hole ... if the
disk is stuck over that, then brush it with your
finger to get the disk onto the cloth

6. when the disk is inside the head, you can try to
rap the disk out by tapping the threaded end of
the head against the cloth

7. if the disk will not fall out or rap out, you need
a pin that is less than .07" in diameter. A #52
drill bit will do, or a largish sewing needle

you press the pin into the center hole of the
front of the burner head. You will feel it hit
the disk, now slowly push the disk onto the cloth

8. you might wish to verify if you can see the clog,
but, be warned -- holding the disk up to a light
is pesky and be sure not to raise the disk, say,
more than a foot above the white cloth

9. as the disk is so thin, the clog is easily removed
using a fine sewing needle. Note, there are dozens
of ways sewing needles are sized. Singer, for example,
sizes them with the British gauge number. But, Dritz
sizes them with a scale that runs about 3-10, where
10 is the finest

also ... important ... the sewing needle is much
larger than this hole ... we are just using the
sharp point on the tip of the needle. And, the
size of the point does not always correspond to
the size of the needle, but, in general, the finer
needles have sharper points in the last 1 or 2 mils
of their length

So, a Singer sized needle to use is a #26 or #27

And, a European sized needle to use is a #9 or #10

If you have a Jo-Ann's Fabric store, get the Dritz
"20 Quilting Betweens" number 56B-10. "Betweens
are only shorter in length than "Sharps" -- and
both have the same points. The Betweens are available
in the smaller size because working on fine quilts,
the person wants a shorter needle for dexterity

10. with the needle on the cloth, just press the needle
into the hole until it stops. Now flip the disk
over and do that again. The clog should be cleared

[Note: some people lick their fingers to work with
small things, such as thumbing pages. But, do not.
You don't want to introduce junk. Natural levels
of body oils on the finger tip will typically provide
enough stick to pick the disk up if you scoot the disk
as you try to raise it.]

11. to replace the disk do not attempt to either drop it
into the hole in the head or use the threaded tube
to place it into the head. If you drop the disk in,
it will most likely not be flat and will be crushed.
If you attempt to start screwing the threaded tube
onto the head, with the disk balanced on the end
of the tube, the disk can easily slip and get caught
in the threads, and become pulverized

12. to replace the disk, you want to balance the disk
on the end of thin rod with a flat end that just
fits into the threaded region. A number 40 drill
bit will do, or, you can use a common round tooth
pick -- Diamond "Elegant tooth picks." This
dowel is 2.1 mm. (.0825"). One end is slightly
rounded -- carefully grind or sand that end flat

with the toothpick pointed up, with the disk centered,
now just lower the threaded hole of the torch head
down onto it ... the toothpick will go in about 1/4"

you can now hold the head horizontally and look
at a lamp through this hole ... you should see
a tiny pin hole of light

13. with the torch head pointed down, clear lose cement
from the threaded tube and screw the tube in, hand
tight. Now hold the body of the torch and with
the pliers give the head a snug turn ... you are
lightly crushing the copper onto the two brass
surfaces ... now, the only opening will be the pin
hole

Some might ask, is this worth it? Well, if you have only
one pencil torch and are in the middle of a project that
requires that one torch, then surely this is worth the
twenty minutes to do this. And, while the #10 Dritz is
the ideal point, probably almost any of the smallest needles
in a pack will do, say, even a #23 (Singer size).

Now, what if you have lost or damaged the disk?

If you have time and are not interested in a "construction
project" -- then stop here and order another torch. In
that I sense that these torches are sold in the millions,
perhaps a local hardware store or hobby shop has one, within
driving distance (however, I do sense that small retail
hobby shops are dying out ... several that I called had
disconnected).

However, if you enjoy projects, as a hobby, then it is
a fairly easy matter to make a disk, or many disks

To make a disk we fabricate a custom punch for copper
and we use the above Dritz needle to create the 2 mil.
diameter hole.

Copper flashing is commonly available. Also often the
interior of PC monitors are lined with a copper sheet
for RF interference protection. The following instructions
are for 3 mil. copper. If the copper is thicker or thinner,
you will have to adjust the piercing force (below) as
appropriate.

Fabricating the punch:

I pondered how to make this tiny disk and I realized that
the only practical way to make a "perfect" round disk
of this size is with a punch. If you are a hobbiest,
then you may have already acquired a punch set for cloth,
rubber, or soft metals ... mine is called a "Maxi Punch
Set" and has a handle and six punches ranging in size
from 8 mm. down to 4.8 mm. But, of course, not 2.45
mm.

And, to punch copper, we can make a punch with soft
steel. It turns out that an 8-32 steel screw is a
usable size, so we machine one that is 1" long.

You need, at least, a drill (preferably a drill press),
a number drill set, and a rotary grinder (preferably a
Dremel-like with a cutoff wheel). We will drill a hole
down the center of the screw and then taper the screw
from the outside with the cutoff wheel at an angle, thus
creating the cutting edge.

Steps:

1. cut the head of the screw off with a hack saw
or cutoff wheel

2. to accurately centerpunch one end of the screw, place
the screw in the drill, and, with it turning, take
the rotary tool with a carbide cutter -- such as
a chishel tooth and holding the bit in the plane
of the screw, remove the threads on the part of
the screw protruding from the chuck

as soon as you see no threads, you are done, and
it does not matter if you were perfectly parallel --
we are just clearing the threads to see the end.
Do not remove material further, we need the remaining
wall size

3. carefully locate the center and centerpunch

4. with a #45 drill, place the screw in a machinest
vise (there are "V"s to hold round objects straight)
and drill in about 1/4"

5. we want to finish with a #41 drill, but, because that
size drill bit gets close to the outer diameter of
this trimmed screw

at this point I never trust that the final drill
will be centered if I see that the current hole is
not perfectly centered

my way of assuring centricity is to eye the hole
and with a carbide chishel bit of a size smaller
than the current hole (or any burr or diamond
coated bit) I carefully remove material on the
inside wall that is "too far in." You are "walking
the hole out." And, as you do, you are also getting
it closer to .096" diameter -- the size of the hole
a #41 drill cuts.

now drill the end with the #41. If you break through
the wall, you must start over

6. tapering the outside is fairly quick and easy. You
again turn the screw with the threaded end in the
chuck. As you turn, you angle the cutoff wheel at
about 45 degrees to the end of the screw/punch

if the result is a punch with a ragged end, just
square the end off by pressing it against the side
of a spinning cutoff wheel, and then angle the end
again

7. to permit removing a punched disk we need to create
a hole to the other end of the punch. Take a #50
drill, place the punch in the bench vise, and drill
from the punch end through to the other end. As
this is nearly an inch long hole, be sure to raise
the bit every few seconds so that the cut metal is
released and the bit does not bind

When done, the punch can be held with vise grips as described
below.

Fabricating the torch orifice:

One is making a very small disk which is difficult to handle
because it is also thin. Work in a contained clear area
with bright light.

Tools:

1. small bench vise with a 3/8 inch brass nut, with a side
face, facing upwards
2. 2 small vise grips
3. one shortened #10 Dritz sewing needle
4. one home made copper punch
5. one postal scale (or, ideally, a slide spring scale)
6. one block of wood
7. a number 52 drill bit
8. a number 40 drill bit
9. a flat punch -- around 1/4" diameter

Materials:

3 mil copper (for other thicknesses you'll have to adjust
the force on the piercing needle)

Preparation:

As one will put the orifice into a copper disk, the scale
will push on the end of the needle with a selected force. As
the #10 needle is only .0180" in diameter, it is easily bent.

One of the vise grips should be a pair with either a smooth
or serrated jaw at its end, say, 3/8" of jaw width. The
sewing needle is shortened such that its point comes out one
end of the jaws about 1/16" and does not come out the other
end. (Now, pressure on the side of the vise grip will press
the needle into the copper foil.)

With practise, it takes about four minutes to punch and
prepare the copper disk. It takes about one minute to
press the hole.

Steps:

1. With the punch in a "needle nosed" vise grip, pointing
out the front of the pliers, place the copper sheet
over the wood block, press the punch, and rotate about
half a turn left and right with constant pressure

Too little pressure, you will not press through to the
wood.

2. Press the copper disk out, using a #52 drill through the
far end of the punch onto the brass nut. Surround the area
with your fingers, as when the disk pops, it can fly. (you
can always punch another one

3. The disk will have an edge curl. This must be removed.
Take the end of a flat punch (or almost anything with
a flat end) and press down on the disk, evenly. Look
and assure yourself that you flattened the disk evenly.
Press with a slight circular action -- this will assure
contact with all edges.

3. Take a black permanent marker and roll it on the disk to
mark that side. Roll off of the disk, as, just lifting
will take the disk with the pen.

4. Eyeball the center of the disk (not critical). Place the
point of the Dritz #10 needle/vise grip in the center and
hold those pliers so that the needle is straight up.

5. A number 7 Petersen Vise Grip weights 160 grams. With
your scale you need to add somewhere around 1200-1500
grams.

This is sufficient force to drive the point of the needle
through the disk and into the brass. But, it pushes only
the needle end which is about 2 mils diameter and not
the entire needle which is 18 mils in diameter.

You should be able to pick up the disk by just raising
the vise grips. You should see the point end of the
needle, just coming out the other side of the disk.

6. Inserting the disk is touchy. It cannot just be dropped
into the torch end of the unit because it will not lie
flat and screwing in the torch body will crush the disk.

So, you need to do a balancing act. And do this close
to the table so when the disk falls, you can easily
recover it. Note: the disk is light enough that the
oils on your finger tip is enough to pick it up from
a flat surface. Do not lick your finger -- that would
leave material that could clog the orifice. You will
find that pressing your finger on the disk, with a slight
sideward swiping action will pick it up reliably.

One places the disk on the flat end of a #40 drill bit
with the black side facing the bit. Why? You have not
drilled a hole, you have pierced one. So, there is a
tiny copper coller around the hole on the side the
needle came out. If you point that towards the butane
source, it will more easily clog, so we point it away.

You have the disk/bit in one hand and the torch head
in the other, you carefully line the end of the bit
up with the screw threaded hole in the torch head
and push it in (about 3/8"). You should be able to
hold the torch head towards a light (keep the head
horizontal to keep the disk in) and see a tiny, tiny
pin hole of light.

If you see no pin hole, start over and press the needle
with another 200 grams of force.

7. Clear the threaded end of the torch body of lose cement

8. Screw the thread into the torch head until it stops
turning

9. Take regular pliers. Hold the torch body in one hand,
apply the pliers to the torch head, lightly. Too hard,
you'll score the head. Too soft, you'll skate. Now
just give the head a snug turn. This compresses the
disk/washer around its edges so that the orifice is now
the only passage for the butane into the head

If you have a microscope you can view your result. Use
a 30x magnification. To determine the size of your hole,
place the disk with the black side down. Now take the
needle threading wire (measure its thickness with a caliper
or micrometer; they tend to be 5 mils) and place the wire
next to the hole. You should see a hole that has a diameter
about half that of the wire -- i.e., the pierced hole is
about 2.0 mils.

This size -- 2.0 mils. -- is about as large as the hole
should be. The flame size will be somewhat greater than
the original.

One interesting side-effect of being able to make these orifices
is that you now have the ability to make the torch cooler or
hotter. The smaller the hole, of course, the smaller and thus
cooler the flame. (This can also be done by adjusting the gas
flow from the body, but, this behaves differently, and requires
fussing. If you are, say, a jeweler, you can tame the flame
to a known setting. If you have two torches, you can set
one for a small flame and another for a larger flame.



--


W. Curtiss Priest, Director, CITS
Center for Information, Technology & Society
466 Pleasant St., Melrose, MA 02176
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Fred Thompson and Condi Rice in '08!!!

Gunner sez: " Least it wasnt in Chinglish..kinda sorta.

Gunner"

Watch it Gunner ! You might invoke the ire of the Bandwidth Police. They
are very sensitive to reposting stuff, don't you know ?

Bob Swinney

On Sat, 7 Apr 2007 21:12:14 -0500, "Robert Swinney"
wrote:

Gunner sez: " Least it wasnt in Chinglish..kinda sorta.

Gunner"

Watch it Gunner ! You might invoke the ire of the Bandwidth Police. They
are very sensitive to reposting stuff, don't you know ?

Bob Swinney



Ooops! My bad!

Lol

Gunner

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet,
balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying,
take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations,
analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer,
cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects. Lazarus Long

"W. Curtiss Priest" hath wroth:

also ... important ... the sewing needle is much
larger than this hole ... we are just using the
sharp point on the tip of the needle. And, the
size of the point does not always correspond to
the size of the needle, but, in general, the finer
needles have sharper points in the last 1 or 2 mils
of their length

Then I was making pinhole cameras in skool, I had nothing but trouble
using sewing needles to make the pinhole in aluminium or brass foil. I
read an old book that suggested using tiny cactus needles. I tried it
and found that it makes a much smaller and cleaner hole (when viewed
with a microscope). The needles have almost no bending strength but
are very strong inline with the point (as long as the needle isn't
bent). Building a tool to hold the cactus needle was tricky, but I
was impatient and just used tweezers.

Way off topic but interesting... pinhole eyeglasses:
http://www.pinholes.com

Pinhole FAQ:
http://glsmyth.com/Pinhole/Articles/FAQ/pin_faq.htm

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Apr 8, 4:32 pm, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:
"W.Curtiss Priest" hath wroth:

also ... important ... the sewing needle is much
larger than this hole ... we are just using the
sharp point on the tip of the needle. And, the
size of the point does not always correspond to
the size of the needle, but, in general, the finer
needles have sharper points in the last 1 or 2 mils
of their length

Then I was making pinhole cameras in skool, I had nothing but trouble
using sewing needles to make the pinhole in aluminium or brass foil. I
read an old book that suggested using tiny cactus needles. I tried it
and found that it makes a much smaller and cleaner hole (when viewed
with a microscope). The needles have almost no bending strength but
are very strong inline with the point (as long as the needle isn't
bent). Building a tool to hold the cactus needle was tricky, but I
was impatient and just used tweezers.

Dear Mr. Liebermann,

I see that some folk simply have no patience to learn the fine art of
engineering and redesign. Really too bad. They might get a life.

As for using a cactus needle, this is truly interesting. I wonder if
such
needles are as small as 2 mil, or how their point is shaped? With
small
vise grips, gripping such things has become very predictable. One
would
feather the tightness on the cactus needle to the point it would not
slide, but
not so hard to crush it, to breaking.

Truly, the hole created with a sewing needle looks like a bullet
passed
through -- the copper is flared, thus the reason I put that "noise"
facing
away from the butane source. A cactus needle, of course, is barbed,
and
I presume it acts like a miniature rasp!

I'll try it some time.



Curtiss