Blowtorches

Anybody (besides me) collect these?

I've actually lit and used some of them.

The guy that I get my auto parts from has two very similar in his window.

When I was a kid, we had one. I remember playing with it. It's a miracle I didn't burn anything down or myself with it. MAN, what a flame!

They use gasoline, don't they?? You pressurize the container and spray out a fine mist for ignition??

Kind of a scary thought, pressurized gasoline spraying...

I think they were used most for melting lead for old hub type sewer pipes?? is that correct??


Greg L.

LsFarm wrote:They use gasoline, don't they?? You pressurize the container and spray out a fine mist for ignition??

Exactly, why do you think it was so much fun for an 8 year old? That thing could easily shoot flames 10-15' no problem.

We had one of those when we were kids too. Ours was drilled out and would spray a flame about 6-8 feet. It was used to kill hornet's.

Another slightly dangerous thing we did was to take Cherry Bomb's, dip them in Elmers wood glue then roll them in BB's or #6 shot. Let it dry, then shoot them up into tree's full of Starlings with big sling shot's. Birds would drop out dead for 20 minutes or so.

We were careful not to have any car's around, as it was hard on the paint!

BK

Yes, they use gasoline. To light them you fill the trough with gas and light it, it heats the nozzle area up. Then you open the valve to release the gas under pressure (an atomizer). The propane torch made them obsolete "the Bernzomatic". One of my blowtorches is made by the Otto Bernz Company.

I have about 11 or 12. The small one in the photo actually uses alcohol. The hook on the top of many of them is for holding a soldering iron while the flame heats it.

To see one in use rent the movie "Ma And Pa Kettle".

Next topic will be "Who else owns an anvil besides me".

John

I've got more than a few of those things, apparently farmers used them for everything because around here they are at just about every yard sale for $1 or $2. I collect the road torches as well, they look like a bowling ball with a wick. For the record I don't use the blow torches, I'm afraid

I always wanted one of the road torches. I used to call them "bombs" because they looked like...well...bombs.

Can you imagine if a road department had some of them and used them now?? People would go crazy calling the police saying there is a road on fire!

Actually, it was kind of stupid, leaving these bowling balls on fire laying around on the road.

C'mon E...light one of those blowtorches, it's fun. Nothing to be afraid of...just go outside first.

When I was a kid, we didn't have access to those beautiful blowtorches for entertainment purposes but we did a lot of experimenting with various products in aerosol cans. The best ever was a can of Lysol brand disinfectant spray. If you held a lit match (preferably a wooden match) about 8 inches in front of the nozzle and sprayed it across the flame, you got quite a nice flamethrower. Oh the joys of youth!!

oh yea, hairspray was my favorite. One of those huge Aquanet 80's CFC cans would shoot a long flame. We would hang out in these empty parking lots where there were lots of pipes laying around and spray the hairspray in one end of the pipe, like a 10 second blast, then light it, and a flame would shoot out the other end a good 10' feet. Anyway... Heres a picture of a road torch. I collect these stupid insulators and old horse & buggy tools too.

Adult friends have told me of their adventures with hairspray and a PVC POTATOE GUN! Apparently, they can shoot a potatoe a hundred yards or more. I have the design for such a gun but never got around to making one. I'd probably get arrested for using it in my town.

Interesting, my Uncle has a vast collection of old minig equipment. Not joking when I say vast either. He could open a small museum by himself if he wanted. One of the fetures for the new forum is going to be a community image Gallery. I'm trying to get my Uncle Aunt to photograph and catlog the collection to share it with everyone. Lot's of very interesting stuff.

e.alleg wrote:Heres a picture of a road torch. I collect these stupid insulators and old horse & buggy tools too.

Funny what people collect....I've always been fascinated by the old "smudge pots" since I was a child (in the early/mid 70's) and would see those around road construction sites at night (this was in southern Indiana). Imagine my delight when the local Fleet Farm store started to carry these torches for home use (made in China, of course). Nevertheless, they were pretty well made and I bought one to use with citrnonella oil, etc. Worked pretty well, but what a mess (black, sooty thing).

I also collect vintage streetlights. I only have a select few, but there are others out there (Google: Joe Maurath) who have enormous collections of both street lights and insulators.

I'd collect more stuff if I had the room for it, but I don't. I'd love to collect vintage electronics (I have a '62 Tektronics 535 o'scope in mint working shape), but alas, I enjoy sleeping IN the house, rather than the garage, so I must keep my better half happy......

Insulators, old tools, wood planes, radios, electric fans, an Andes coal/gas kitchen stove (wife won't let me install it-thinks it's unsafe to burn coal in-or maybe she thinks I might make her use it), a GE refrigerator (no shelves on the door-working condition), yeah, I collect them all. I have an o'scope also, I don't know the model I'll have to check. Also, every television set my parents ever bought (pre 1975) including the last hand wired Zenith color television (pre printed circuit), tube testers, tubes (lots), and a full size blacksmith's anvil. I use a 1938 Craftsman table saw that was my grandfather's regularly.

We have run out of room for it all. Will make one hell of a garage sale someday.

E.,

Thanks for the smudge pot photos.