Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I'm guessing that the hole has to be very symmetrical
so the jet of gas goes down the center of the tube that mixes the air.

Not worth fixing, but could be a learning exercise.

mike wrote:
Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I'm guessing that the hole has to be very symmetrical
so the jet of gas goes down the center of the tube that mixes the air.

Not worth fixing, but could be a learning exercise.

Harbor Freight sells sets of very tiny carbide mill/drill bits (in random
sizes) . Not sure just how tiny you need , but I had some that were so small
they'd break if you breathed hard on them . Takes a very accurate machine to
use 'em .

--
Snag

Think of a stranded wire - use one wire as a push / cut - Make a D
shaped cutter and see if it will cut/clean.

Martin

On 5/22/2015 9:31 PM, mike wrote:
Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I'm guessing that the hole has to be very symmetrical
so the jet of gas goes down the center of the tube that mixes the air.

Not worth fixing, but could be a learning exercise.

On Friday, May 22, 2015 at 7:32:30 PM UTC-7, mike wrote:
Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

You might give it a bit of suction (syringe and a small-bore teflon tube
was how we did that kind of thing in the lab). Or, paint it with glue that
doesn't stick to brass, then peel that off when dry, and hope it pulls the clog
out.

Laser, EDM, or #80 drill are all kinda standard. Perhaps also chemical etching.
One cute way, is to stack a dozen pieces of shim, and poke 'em with a needle.
Then look at the top one. If the hole is too big, look at the second... and so on.

whit3rd laid this down on his screen :
On Friday, May 22, 2015 at 7:32:30 PM UTC-7, mike wrote:
Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

You might give it a bit of suction (syringe and a small-bore teflon tube
was how we did that kind of thing in the lab). Or, paint it with glue that
doesn't stick to brass, then peel that off when dry, and hope it pulls the
clog out.

Laser, EDM, or #80 drill are all kinda standard. Perhaps also chemical
etching. One cute way, is to stack a dozen pieces of shim, and poke 'em with
a needle. Then look at the top one. If the hole is too big, look at the
second... and so on.

In days gone by we had (there is still one in my workshop) a device
called a PRIMUS PRICKER for just that job in Primus kerosene stoves.
They consist of a short piece of fine wire crimped in a cheap tin plate
handle :-Z

--
John G Sydney.

mike prodded the keyboard with:

Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I'm guessing that the hole has to be very symmetrical
so the jet of gas goes down the center of the tube that mixes the
air.

Not worth fixing, but could be a learning exercise.

You could always try a bristle from a wire brush !

--
Best Regards:
Baron.

On 5/22/2015 9:31 PM, mike wrote:
Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I'm guessing that the hole has to be very symmetrical
so the jet of gas goes down the center of the tube that mixes the air.

Not worth fixing, but could be a learning exercise.

Clean it with a ultrasonic machine. Try water, then 180 proof alcohol.
(Vodka works) Avoid sticking anything through itty bitty holes to
avoid making itty bitty burrs that can be a big problem. Your local
jewelry store can clean it.

mike wrote:
Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I've wondered the same about the orifice in propane torches. They're made
of brass and the holes is barely visible. A #80 drill bit is much much
larger than those holes.

On Sunday, May 24, 2015 at 1:23:26 AM UTC-4, Cydrome Leader wrote:

How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I've wondered the same about the orifice in propane torches. They're made
of brass and the holes is barely visible. A #80 drill bit is much much
larger than those holes.

I do not know, but one way would be to put a aluminum wire inside a brass tube. Then draw the brass tube down in size, machine the brass to the right dimensions and then etch out the aluminum.

They make 10 ma fuses in a similar way. Except for the fuses they put an platinum wire inside a copper tube. And etch the copper off the platinum.
A 10 ma fuse is so thin, you can barely see it with a magnifying glass.

Dan

On 5/23/2015 1:37 PM, wrote:

On 5/22/2015 9:31 PM, mike wrote:
Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I'm guessing that the hole has to be very symmetrical
so the jet of gas goes down the center of the tube that mixes the air.

Not worth fixing, but could be a learning exercise.

Clean it with a ultrasonic machine. Try water, then 180 proof alcohol.
(Vodka works) Avoid sticking anything through itty bitty holes to
avoid making itty bitty burrs that can be a big problem. Your local
jewelry store can clean it.

Good call. Ultrasonic cleaner fixed it.
Plugged up again. Seems that the foam filter designed to keep
crap out of the orifice was depositing crap in the orifice.
Took that out and it's working.
Assume it will plug up from crap in the butane tank, but I'll
worry about that when it happens. For now, it works.
Thanks.

By the way - the tank I had in the backyard that was locked up
during winter - we are using it now. The central core expanded
into the cylinder around it that squeezed down on it - locking it tight.

Put it on the Barbecue and there be flames.
So in a 'pinch' one could pour a pan or water cooker over the knob
section to warm it up and get the gas available when freezing.

Martin

On 5/25/2015 5:09 AM, mike wrote:
On 5/23/2015 1:37 PM, wrote:

On 5/22/2015 9:31 PM, mike wrote:
Butane gizmo. Got it at a yard sale. Not clear it ever worked.
Is full of Butane.
The orifice is two concentric brass parts screwed together
with a tiny metal disk in between. Disc is very thin and about .150
diameter. Has a TINY hole for the orifice.
50X microscope is the best I had handy. Can tell there maybe
was a hole..maybe...

How can I clean or ream such a tiny hole?
How did they manufacture it in the first place?

I'm guessing that the hole has to be very symmetrical
so the jet of gas goes down the center of the tube that mixes the air.

Not worth fixing, but could be a learning exercise.

Clean it with a ultrasonic machine. Try water, then 180 proof alcohol.
(Vodka works) Avoid sticking anything through itty bitty holes to
avoid making itty bitty burrs that can be a big problem. Your local
jewelry store can clean it.

Good call. Ultrasonic cleaner fixed it.
Plugged up again. Seems that the foam filter designed to keep
crap out of the orifice was depositing crap in the orifice.
Took that out and it's working.
Assume it will plug up from crap in the butane tank, but I'll
worry about that when it happens. For now, it works.
Thanks.