A very exciting package came to my door the other day. With commuting to Manhattan totally out of the question for the moment, it’s well past time that I outfit my home workbench for more than just the little stone setting jobs I used to do there. That being said, it is just a little corner in a residential basement, and I’m used to working in some pretty serious shops with industrial grade equipment that I just can’t reasonably keep at home. But I don’t have access to those shops at the moment, so last week I finally cracked and ordered a butane micro torch.
People, I was VERY skeptical of these torches. Nobody I worked for during my first few years used them. None of my teachers did either. When I was a student, nobody was working at home, because the school shops were fully outfitted and we had nearly unlimited access, so I never even heard about them. When someone finally did recommend the micro torch as a solution for what to have for occasional personal projects, I found it hard to believe they could compete with the equipment we were using in the factories.
And can they? Well, not really. This little torch just isn’t as hot or as versatile as what I’m used to. BUT is exceeds expectations to an astounding degree. I don’t have much in the way of precious metals kicking around the house but I do have quite a bit of copper around, so I started experimenting and pretty soon I had even the hard solder flowing pretty nicely. A little while and a polished stone later and I had built this little setting:
I’m not really satisfied with the fit and workmanship on this one but it was so nice to have the freedom to experiment in my own space at home. I’m sure I’ll be doing more in the future. Maybe setting some more unconventional objects? I’m open to suggestions!
Devon Makes These 
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