So I am now playing with fire. Literally.
For several years I’ve wanted to learn how to solder, but having a big tank in my house with a regulator, along with chaining the whole thing to my desk sorta scared me off. So I bought a small butane microtorch. I was terrified of it at first, but I bravely went outside (so I didn’t die from butane off-gases or blow up the house) and filled it, after analyzing the directions closely and also watching a YouTube video on how to do it. I read the directions again on how to light it, and I got it on the first try! I had an absolute death grip on that thing, but I did it. My first soldering attempts were not good – I had turned the flame to its lowest setting, so it wasn’t getting my work hot enough to allow the solder to flow. I’m getting better at it, but I do still find myself holding it in a death grip. More recently I bought a slightly bigger handheld torch…it has a wider flame so it’ll allow me to make wider rings and other larger pieces. Overall, it does still make me nervous, but I’m quite proud of myself for learning to use a torch!