Many people claim that these torches are just "too dangerous", and dozens of other similar comments.
And they will say you should just use a "safe" propane torch.
Well, I have some news...
Propane torches aren't completely safe either.
If you have a minute, I'd like you to watch a video or two.
Thats a bomb if anything is, just a regular old "safe" propane tank.
Here's another good video.
Paint cans don't even have any safty valves or anything on them, and there made out of thin sheetmetal.
I once read about someone who droped a full can of spraypaint in his basement, he was lucky to get out alive, the house wasn't so fortunate.
The can split, and the gas was ignited by the pilot light on his water heater.
The point I'm trying to make isn't that gasoline torches are perfectly safe, but that very few things are.
These torches "might" be more likely to have a problem than propane torches, though thats mostly a matter of opinion. And remember propane is under a whole lot more pressure than the gas in these torches. It's more likely to actually explode, rather than just burn.
So again, I never said that there safe, but just use the same care and common sense you use whenever your in your shop,and you should be fine.
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Alright, lets start with a few pictures...
These aren't all of my torches, but enough to see a few different designs and styles.
"Detroit Torch & Mfg. Co."
My favorite of my torches, I don't know the year but it's quite old, notice there is no wood or bakelite on it.
Everything is metal.
My guess is that it's from the 1920s
I finally found out why it has two valves, according to a book I found on google books...
"Two needles control the supply of fuel that enters the combustion chamber and enables the user to regulate the size, and quality of the flame. The upper needle cleans the orifice and cannot enlarge it, and the lower needle is a blunt-point shut-off needle, so that the burner cannot be damaged."
'Otto Bernz" (later know as bernzomatic)
Another Otto bernze, I think it's a later one, notice the stamped steel handle as opposed to the earlier cast one.
"Dunlap" Steel tank
"Handy Imp Torch set" the box is really torn up, but most of it is there.
The solder and flux is original
"Lenk" miniture
"Merit" miniture
A small 2 chamber alcohol torch, probably made by Lenk.
All (except for the 2 chamber alcohol torch) of my torches burn gasoline.
Some miniature torches burn alcohol, and some torches burn kerosene.
The kerosene torches are more common in Europe, I've never actually seen one around here, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.
They do look quite different, so there usually not hard to spot.
Here's an example, (not mine, it belongs to "svampklas" on forgasarforeningen, in Sweden)
It seems for kerosene torches there is no standard design, there are all different shapes and sizes, but all of the ones I've seen look quite different from gasoline torches.
But be careful, some of them might look similar to gas torches, I don't know for sure.[/quote]
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Now on to the rebuilding.
The first thing I do when I get a torch, is clean it, not necessarily polish it but scrub it down as best I can.
Then you will be able to get a better look at the tank, look it over, use a magnifying glass if you want.
Your looking for anything unusual, maybe a crack, maybe a bulge, anything you feel could weaken the tank.
If it look solid, then it's time to move on see what needs replacing.
Lets start here.
Unscrew the cap on top and pull out the pump itself.
Chances are you'll have to replace the pump leather.
Sometimes just soaking it in oil will be enough, but it's rare.
Generally they just fall apart.
I already replaced this one awhile ago, but it still needed some oil rubbed in to it.
If the oil doesn't fix it, then just take it off.
This is a little different on every torch, but it's pretty self explanatory, most of them are held on with a nut, I've also seen them with a snap ring.
If the old leather is in good enough condition to measure, make note of it's size and thickness.
Where you find the leather to make the new one is up to you.
I pick up any leather purses when I see them in the trash, usually at a fleamarkets.
There's a bunch of ways to cut the new leather circle, but the best way I've found is to take a good sturdy pair of dividers and sharpen a cutting edge on one of the legs.
Then just set it to the right size, stick the pointed leg in the leather, and cut out the circle wither the other leg.
Next, punch out hole in the center, and soak it in oil.
Now it's time to reassemble it, and start wrestling it back in the tube.
This is a lot easier on some torches than others, on my otto bernze torches the pump tube is tapered at the top, and it makes inserting the new leather quite easy.
Unfortunately, most of them are straight, and it can be quite a fight getting it to fit.
You just have to experiment with that, find a technique that works for you.
Next, take a look at the check valve.
There are a lot of different kinds of check valves, but most of them work basically the same.
Hopefully just soaking it in oil will be enough to fix it.
Don't be impatient, let it soak over night or more.
If it still doesn't seal, then it gets a little more complicated.
More on that later.
Another spot it might leak is right around here.
Take a look at it, make sure none of the seal is cracked or missing, and soak it with oil.
If it still leaks, find an O-ring the right size and use that.
Here's another spot.
This rarely leaks, the seal itself is actually made of lead.
But it's not impossible, I saw one where the lead was chipped out.
Again, an O-ring is the best thing I know of to fix it.
But you have to pick one that looks way to small, and stretch it out to fit.
If you get one that just slips on, it will squish out of the way when you tighten it down.
Alright, almost there, but there's one or two more things to do.
This is one of them.
Loosen the nut and the knobe, and take the whole thing out.
Now, separate the two pieces.
But be careful, inside the nut is a graphite seal.
I squirt some oil inside it before unscrewing it past the threads.
Next, it's time to do some polishing, just clean up the whole shaft. I used a buffing wheel, if you don't have one (I suggest you get one!) I guess you could use some very fine steel wool.
After it looks clean, just put it back the way you found it.
Tighten the nut as much as you can and still turn the knob without it being to stiff.
If it leaks, take it back off and replace the graphite seal. I've never done that, so I can't be of much help there.
Finally, rinse out the tank with gas a few times, or until it looks somewhat clean when you pour it out.
Once it's full, start pumping, when I'm testing after a rebuild, I like to pump 50 to 60 times, or as much as I can without it getting to hard to pump.
Then just let it sit.
Stick your ear up next to anything and everything that could possible leak, including all solder joints.
If you don't hear anything, you should be good to go.
But let out all that pressure before you try lighting it!
And thats, just about it for a basic rebuild, you can go a little more in depth, but I haven't needed to yet.
More to come....
