can't get my flame right

[lejjewellery]

I seem to be having a few problems with my torch the last week or so and was wondering if anyone could help or give a few pointers. I have a cricket and i try to have my flame set to neutral but the 'needles' seem so small that i think i'm working with a oxydised flame, i also seem to be going through my oxygen bottle pretty quickly too. If i turn my gass up a bit it turns my glass murky, especially baby pink colour.
Can someone give me a few pointers?

[helbels]

Hiya, I'll try to help, but it could be the blind leading the blind here as I've not been on my cricket too long, so I might be completely ignorant myself!

I do find that I have to keep the needles really small on the Cricket, or else it's just so hot that it burns everything.  I really only realised how hot it works a couple of weeks ago when I did a course on a Minor, which was so slow in comparison, it was eye popping.  I then realised I'd had my Cricket up way way too high for the past few months (which explains why my spacer making was so crap - I was literally melting the blighters off the mandrel!!).

What I do it turn Oxy on until its at level 4 (or even 3.5) then gradually turn up the propane just to the point where there is no yellow at all in the flame.  Then sometimes I turn it down even from there.  Anything bigger than that and it just gets crazy hot.  And when I'm working with stringer I turn it RIGHT down until there's hardly any needles at all!

You can tell the difference between it and an oxydising flame even when you have the flame down low - try turning your oxygen up and you will see that it starts to hiss. If it's not hissing, you probably aren't oxydising.

Don't know if that's any help?

Helen x

[lejjewellery]

Thank you, i have it so it's small but it isn't quite hissing yet  . I was just a bit worried as i was using my oxygen pretty quick but it's only been since i got a new bottle that it doesn't seem right. Maybe it's something to do with that  .