Author: Matt74
Date: 2018-02-21 03:58
I love my Blazer ES-1000 micro torch.
It heats the cup fast, and is not prone to burning the pads. The flame is adjustable. It gets super hot, and puts out a large volume of heat. You can even do small silver soldering jobs on broken keys (with the right solder - I think I got mine from Music Medic.) You can turn the flame way down to lighter size. You can adjust the “volume” and “blast” seperately, so you can have a small intense flame, a small gentle flame, a huge gentle flame, or a blast furnace. My only complaint is that it’s a bit difficult to adjust really low, and the piezo won’t start it if it has been turned down all the way. You have to turn it up a bit, start it, and then turn it down. It doesn’t have to be turned that low to pad - it just burns fuel. With it a little higher than minimum it pops right on. You can use it for just about anything. You could probably soft solder trumpet slides. You need to use Blazer fuel. There might be a different model with a lower max operating temperature that would adjust to minimum more conveniently. Worth every penny.
It’s easier to use than an alcohol burner IMO (at least the one I have - which is perfectly useable), or a regular bench torch (with the big tank - I was always burning pads with the gas bench torch.) The alcohol burner worked, but it was kind of slow and I still burned pads sometimes, and you have a live flame on your bench while you are making adjustments. The “blast” from the micro torch keeps the flame from curling around the cup and burning the pads, like a softer flame wants to.
You can only use a lighter in emergencies because you’d go through cases, and you get soot all over the keys. The micro torch does not leave soot.
- Matthew Simington
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The Clarinet BBoard
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