Posted by David Sherman on Friday, June 11, 2004 at 3:47PM :
In Reply to: Re: cutting torch posted by Jon in Mississippi on Friday, June 11, 2004 at 1:58PM :
I have not used an oxy/propane cutting torch, but once you get the steel hot enough to burn, it's the burning steel and oxygen that provide the heat, not the propane or acetylene. Once it's cutting, a conventional torch will keep cutting even if you shut the acetylene off, which is a free way to save on acetylene. Unless you're doing a huge amount of cutting, I can't imagine cost of acetylene being worth the investment in a whole separate torch set. It's the oxygen that gets used up fast when cutting.
There are acetylene/air torches and oxy-propane torches that jewelers and refrigeration people use for brazing (hard soldering), but they don't get hot enough to weld steel.
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