Good evening everyone,
As many of you are probably aware from my prior posts in the past, I purchased a Smith Mini Torch quite some time ago and have been trying to perfect my flame polishing method. My issue has always been that I do not have a very steady hand when trying to insert the torch tip into the barrel, therefore I find myself bumping the inside of the barrel a lot. When that happens, as you can imagine it will scratch the inside therefore requiring that it be wet sanded all over again. I have thought long and hard trying to figure out a method of being able to position my torch in a steady mode which will allow me to very methodically insert the torch tip into and out of the barrel with the same cadence without hitting the edges. Last night it finally came to me.
I headed down to the hobby shop this morning and purchased a piece of model train track and a railroad car. I then attached the track to a piece of aluminum plate and mounted it to a piece of oak 4x4 to position on my lathe bed. I then inserted some scrap pieces of metal inside of the car in order to build up the front end of the torch so that it will slide in and out of the barrel at the proper height. I have not tried it yet with the torch burning, however everything looks promising at this point. I will give it a shot tomorrow and keep you posted.
If you have any questions or comments, I will certainly welcome them.
I have several pictures listed below. Thanks! Tom