Now i love this new torch, i truly do but… one of the less than obvious problems of changing to a new torch is that you have to relearn… everything.  Yes, everything: flame chemistry, working areas, sweet spots, colour reactions, etc.   After 2.5 years with the Hothead, I was very comfortable with that torch and its quirks so even though it was slow (and noisy!) I could create just about any effect i wanted. 

With the Mega, i’m working about 3x faster (wow!),however, after practicing on and off since the beginning of December I’m still not fully able to replicate techniques i easily did on my trusty Hothead.  I fell in love with glass colours like turquoise, periwinkle, iris gold, furnace frits and one of the Reichenbach whites based on the beautiful variations they revealed in a reduction (low oxygen) flame.  So far, I can’t get any of those colours to do squat on the Mega.   Oh well, i guess I just have to keep practicing.  Now some people will think I’m crazy but to be honest, i really, really miss my Hothead – the noise, the easy setup and simplicity of it – not to mention its fantastic reduction flame. 

While the Hothead uses propane/air, the Mega is a propane/oxygen torch (it can also be used with natural gas).  Some people use refillable, tanked oxygen, I preferred the easier route of machine-made oxygen, hence my purchase of this 5lpm Devilbiss oxygen concentrator. 

Paul & Leanne (Reids Beads, Ottawa) stopped by in December and helped me to set up the new equipment because despite reading the instruction sheets that came with the torch and concentrator, and calls to the manufacturer, I still wasn’t comfortable that i knew enough to set everything up correctly.  It’s good thing too, because once i watched Paul put everything into place, I realized i really didn’t know how all the various parts were supposed to be put together.  Whew!