Looking for a ribbon burner

[Brant Answorth]

Hi all ad happy hollidays. I am building a glory and would like to use a ribbon burner. I was hoping someone might have a used one. Am trying to get a better heat than my round headed bruner. I think it was the largest one. I met a glassblower who says the ribbon ones can be hotter. Thanks

[Pete VanderLaan]

If you do buy a used one, make sure it has no cracks. I would suggest a new one from Charlie Correll who took over Tom Ash's business/He's in Massachusetts.

[Brant Answorth]

Thank you. I saw them and though maybe someones hand down would be cheaper. My round one is in good shape but a friend wants it for making knifes. Are the ribbon ones proned to cracking?

[Pete VanderLaan]

I view all burners as fragile, and they really don't work if they are distressed.

[Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig]

I only have experience with Essemce ribbon burners, and they are welded steel bodies with stainless tubes going through the very hard castable hot face. You could not harm it if you tried. You may have to recast the hot face after about 15 years of daily very hot use.
I’ve seen a Gibberson burner break on a furnace as it got physically pinched as the furnace was turned off, and things shrunk. Those are very fragile.
The output of a burner is very dependent on how much fuel and air you can push through it , and many gloryholes are woefully under powered on the blower. You can only give so much gas to match the air coming in… so if you don’t have enough air, it doesn't matter what burner you have.
If you search the archives for -25 dollar burner head- there is a long discussion on burners and a couple I built just for fun. The stainless one hit 2570 F -1410 C in 10 minutes in a medium GH, before I shut it down to avoid damaging the GH.

[Eben Horton]

Charlie Correll makes the pine ridge ribbon burner. They are are bomb proof and are what most glassblowers use for a ribbon burner.

[Kenny Pieper]

If you buy a used one I would recommend not getting one built by Tom Ash. He had metal tubes running half way through the burner. Over time the metal can degrade and start to close down the ports.
Very hard to drill out.
The burners that Charley make do not have metal tubes in the ports so not a problem.

[Brant Answorth]

sorry for that

[Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig]

Its unusual to hijack your own thread

[Pete VanderLaan]

Well, Tom no longer makes them so no harm, no foul. I recall seeing all those damn metal tubes down at Charlie's so I'm glad to hear that he pushed them overboard.

I think the purpose of almost any thread is to see where it goes. The truly deceptive ones are not remotely about what the headline asks about.

[Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig]

Ok, it was kind of a joke

[Pete VanderLaan]

We need some sort of a filter for American / Swedish humor attempts that get lost in translation.

[Pete VanderLaan]

Brant, I looked at your original thread given my awesome power. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it.

[Michael Ahlefeldt-Laurvig]

I thought we were taking about burners, not blocks

[Pete VanderLaan]

It's all in the "B" section of the O.E.D. Go see a movie called "the Professor and the madman."

[Pete VanderLaan]

Certainly not worth making yourself. I guess I have to wonder about the patent and / or intellectual property rights. It's a nice enough looking tool.

[Pete VanderLaan]

I do question using Mizzou. That's only a 60% alumina castable.