Sooty beads

awrylemming · September 05, 2010, 03:11:40 PM

Hi,
Is there anybody who can help me? I am having a huge problem with streaks of 'soot' through my clear beads. I am working on a hothead, so have tried changing to a new bottle of Mapp, cleaning my glass, have used Reichenbach, Effetre and CIM clear and am still getting these streaks, 15 beads later. Aaarghh!
Will be upgrading to a Minor in a couple of months and I can't wait ...

Helen G · September 05, 2010, 03:49:34 PM

Not really worked on a hothead but would guess you are either working too close to the base of the flame and/or letting the glass get too hot in one spot, keep the bead moving to avoid this

Hopfully a hothead expert will be along soon!

Redkite · September 05, 2010, 04:09:30 PM

Sounds like not enough air is getting to the flame - have you tried cleaning the airholes? Wait till the torch is cool, then tip it upside down & check there's nothing blocking them.

awrylemming · September 05, 2010, 05:34:02 PM

Genius! Not only was there a blockage, there was a huge sooty build up inside - no more soot

Thanks so much, I was getting sooo frustrated - couldn't understand it as all was fine last night and didn't think of looking at the torch itself. How daft am I?

AnnaSpanna · September 05, 2010, 09:34:59 PM

After a week or so of prolonged use whilst my HH is lit I will tap the head of it with something hard (usually a set of molegrips - but don't use your graphite marver as it will chip) and my torch will splutter out some sooty sparks of carbon. This helps prevent the build up of gunk which can ruin your beads. I also found that in my early days of starting with my HH I was just generally working too low down in the flame. Clear and the light transparent blues were always getting sooty, smokey and dirty streaks.

awrylemming · September 06, 2010, 01:20:27 PM

I thought I had solved the problem with the airholes, but I spoke too soon. I suspect I probably do have a build up of yuck inside the torch, so will give your solution a try. Failing that, has anybody ever dissasembled their hothead successfully for cleaning? I found a link showing how to do it but am a bit dubious ....

awrylemming · September 06, 2010, 02:16:40 PM

Anna
Thank you - I have now successfully finished two sets of beads that I had been struggling with since Saturday. I shall make it a habit, giving my torch a whack before I start melting. And it has saved me from the horror of dismantling! Great tip - it should be included in the hothead documentation

And now, to play ...
Sue

Les · September 06, 2010, 02:36:17 PM

Sometimes, when a propane cylinder is running low, beads can become dirty, as the muck that swills about at the bottom gets more concentrated

So it'a always worth checking your propane levels too if you've had your cylinder for a while

AnnaSpanna · September 06, 2010, 04:46:34 PM

Glad to be of assistance

Betty the Chook · September 07, 2010, 09:35:58 AM

When I first started I struggled with this too. The advice from various people on here to me was:
1 Give your torch a bit of a tap with something sturdy to clear out sooty muck when you first turn it on (gas up really high)
2 Stay further out in the flame
3 Keep moving in the flame
4 Stay away from Effetre 004 (I use Effetre 006 exclusively now for everything)
5 One thing that really helps for me is not to have the torch up too high. Gas pressure may be different over there ( I am in Australia and use propane in a 9kg BBQ bottle) but I never work with my gas on full bore. I start it that way and then turn it down a little until the flame colour closer to the torch head changes from a lighter blue to a slightly darker colour. This has been the most important thing for me to avoid sooty muck.

Hope this helps.

awrylemming · September 07, 2010, 11:04:53 PM

Thanks for all these tips - I tend to work much cooler than my son, who likes to blast away as high as he can go! I think perhaps his habit of doing so may have been somewhat to blame for the yuck. It's good to know that the age old advice when something doesn't work of 'hit it with a hammer' (or equivalent) still stands. Although I didn't use a hammer! Probably would have if nothing else came to hand tho', cos I lurve melting glass ...

Veebee · September 07, 2010, 11:13:30 PM

And clean your rods before use too. The oils from your fingers will cause black streaks, so if you are going to use a lot of clear, have several claned rods on your bench and only use them down as far as where you hold them. I use a cd marker on my rod so I know the cut off points of where I can touch the rod and where I can melt down to

Betty the Chook · September 08, 2010, 02:32:58 AM

and I forgot to mention to melt, pull off and discard the start of your transparent rod. Just the first little bit that goes streakyish when you melt it.

awrylemming · September 11, 2010, 10:49:25 PM

Sorry it's taken so long to reply. I have been flattened with flu

Thanks for these tips - I always have good intentions when it comes to cleaning my rods, but thought it wasn't worth the tedium - but I will take tedium over frustration any time, especially when it comes to clear. Haven't tried nipping a bit off the end , but will begin doing that too. And I will be buying a CD pen asap.
I have been reading through previous posts every time I have a problem, and have found great answers to my own errors - it's taken a while before I actually needed to post , as so much has been covered. This forum is great!

Sooty beads

Redkite