Tim Deagan - Fire: The Art and Science of Working with Propane

Make: Fire

The Art and Science of Working with Propane

By Tim Deagan

Copyright 2016 Tim Deagan. All rights reserved.

Printed in Canada.

Published by Maker Media, Inc.,
1160 Battery Street East, Suite 125,
San Francisco, California 94111.

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Publisher: Roger Stewart

Editor: Roger Stewart

Copy Editor: Elizabeth Campbell, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Technical Reviewer: Dave X

Proofreader: Elizabeth Welch, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Interior Designer and Compositor: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Cover Designer: Maureen Forys, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Indexer: Valerie Perry, Happenstance Type-O-Rama

Photo credits

Chapter 1 opening photo: Hep Svada, 2015 Maker Faire Bay Area, Angel of the Apocalypse sculpture by Flaming Lotus Girls

Chapter 2 opening photo: Hep Svada, 2015 Maker Faire Bay Area, Chester The Fire Breathing Horse Artcar designed by Jason Anderholm, Rebecca Anders, and Don Cain

Chapter 13 opening photo: Caroline Mills (mills), 2008 Burning Man, Mutopia, The Flaming Lotus Girls

April 2016: First Edition

Revision History for the First Edition

2016-04-15: First Release

See oreilly.com/catalog/errata.csp?isbn=9781680450873 for release details.

Make:, Maker Shed, and Maker Faire are registered trademarks of Maker Media, Inc. The Maker Media logo is a trademark of Maker Media, Inc. Make: Fire: The Art and Science of Working with Propane and related trade dress are trademarks of Maker Media, Inc.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Maker Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps.

While the publisher and the author have used good faith efforts to ensure that the information and instructions contained in this work are accurate, the publisher and the author disclaim all responsibility for errors or omissions, including without limitation responsibility for damages resulting from the use of or reliance on this work. Use of the information and instructions contained in this work is at your own risk. If any code samples or other technology this work contains or describes is subject to open source licenses or the intellectual property rights of others, it is your responsibility to ensure that your use thereof complies with such licenses and/or rights.

978-1-680-45087-3

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To my wife Tracy and daughter Val, who are the brightest fires in my life.

Sweet lady propane.

Hank Hill, King of the Hill

As a kid, I loved building models. Seeing a completed fighter plane, PT boat, or hot rod emerge from injection molded sheets was a major thrill. But by middle school, I found that I was gluing airplane parts to hot wheels cars, mixing boxes of parts to make new models, and generally painting outside the lines. As much fun as it was to build the designers models, there was an extra thrill in building my own creations.

By high school, I began expanding my toolset and building things that werent from kits. Line-following and light-sensing robots wandered around my room. I began buying project books and devouring the skills and knowledge they contained. I did build things from the books, but usually just enough to gain some level of mastery. Then I was off on my own again, trying to build things Id never seen before.

This book is written so that the projects are heavily documented and is designed to leave very little ambiguity about their construction. Ive always hated project books that left out important details or were vague about how to do something. I wanted this book to tell you everything you need to know to be successful.

However, this doesnt mean that you should feel you have to slavishly follow these instructions to have fun and build a successful project. There are many ways to accomplish the same thing when it comes to things like plumbing fittings. Sometimes you have to make do with what you can find. Adapting (safely) is fine. Ill also offer enhancement suggestions with each project. Please be sure to read Chapter 1, Understanding Propane, so that you have a good foundation in how to work safely with propane. Then modifying the projects to pursue your own goals is perfectly appropriate.

Propane is a wonderfully common fuel source, yet there is a lot of misinformation about it among makers and artists who would like to incorporate it into their work. Blacksmiths and metal casters use propane to power torches artists and makers use it to create flame effects like flambeaux, booshes, Rubens tubes, and other visual displays. Its available almost everywhere, is nontoxic and, given simple precautions, very safe to handle. Nevertheless, newcomers often have trouble finding out the requirements for working safely and confidently with propane. This book is an attempt to help people get up to speed on using propane in their projects and to offer some complete DIY projects to start out with.