On 15 May 2006 03:18:06 -0700, "steve"
wrote:

Does anyone know if I can still get hold of a carbon brazing torch? I
saw one a few years ago. It had two carbon electrodes in a kind of
holder and connects to an arc welder. Also, do they work? Are they any
good?

They definitely work. Any good? Well... it's cheap, and quite able
to do good brazing on work of suitable size, perhaps not for something
like silverbrazing posts onto earrings. It's cheap. You must
wear an arcwelding mask, so visibility is not as good as when brazing
with a flame. Good ventilation is required because a carbon arc can
produce cyanogen gas -- but good ventilation should always be used
when welding or brazing.

I brazed a lot of stuff with a carbon arc torch and a really cheap
90-amp 110-volt arcwelder (J. C. Whitney) before I got an O/A
setup.