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What else can be used in an alcohol lamp other than denatured alcohol. Due to the wisdom of our local government, DA is not available except on prescription form the local chemist/pharmacy. And the local 3 here won't sell it to me - aaaarrgh! What are my fellow Aussies using? (Nick Kingston) Methyl Hydrate. (Mike Lajoie) What do they use in your area to fuel marine unpressurized alcohol stoves, Methyl Hydrate? I'd check with a local marine supply and see what they say. (Don Schneider) If you can find Methyl Hydrate, that will do the trick. It is what I use. (Robert Cristant)
I'm looking for a brass alcohol lamp. Anyone know of a good source? Can't seem to find anything on eBay worth the time or money. Don't really feel the need to pay Golden Witch's prices, but something along the lines of what they offer would be nice. I'm just tired of the noise the air gun puts out. I wouldn't mind listening to some music while I straighten strips. (Robert Hicks) No Help on a brass lamp, but glass lamps do a good job and they can be found in hobby stores. Our friend Tom Smithwick (and I) feel more comfortable with an alcohol lamp. I just seems easier for me to feel the bamboo, and gauge the heat intensity more accurately. (Ralph Moon) Try Angler’s Workshop, they have plain glass ones that aren't expensive (John Channer) Look up "alcohol blow torch" on eBay Sometimes they are labeled just "blowtorch," so you need to wade through the gas blowtorches to find the alcohol ones. I bought 2 recently on eBay for $5.95 or $6.95 respectively. Unscrew the blowtorch part and then (if you have the tool) you can shine it bright with ease on a buffing wheel with rouge (taking care around any decent label that is left). Then apply a spray coat of lacquer. I turned a cap or snuffer from some waste nub of nickel silver. Aluminum would work fine for a cap. Or just blow the flame out. If I get bored later I will make an adjustable wick. You can buy a package of wicks on the web or use a piece of a cotton mop. (Shorinternational.com sells a package of wicks and also a nice squat chrome-plated brass alcohol lamp by Grobet that is safer than a glass lamp, though glass is safe enough too. And they sell those special Grobet files too for lapping ferrules. I think they might be the distributor for Grobet in the US.) There is something soothing about the shiny brass tool in the pursuit of a nostalgic craft. There are also a couple of web sites about gasoline or alcohol blow torches for latent pyromaniacs who collect them and still want to make them work as designed before WW II. (Paul Franklyn) I recall seeing some alcohol lamps on eBay very recently in the section called Business and Industrial / lab equipment. I go to the listing (and others) this way rather than by searching in order to get around the various ways people describe things. (Carey Mitchell) Fondue pots and chafing dishes often have brass or copper alcohol lamps. You probably could pick one up at a junk shop or a garage sale for very little $. (Doug Easton)
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