Very heavy 12 15

_Cutting Torches._--Steel may be cut with a jet of oxygen at a rate of
speed greater than in any other practicable way under usual conditions. The
action consists of burning away a thin section of the metal by allowing a
stream of oxygen to flow onto it while the gas is at high pressure and the
metal at a white heat.

[Illustration: Figure 23.--Cutting Torch]

The cutting torch (Figure 23) has the same characteristics as the welding
torch, but has an additional nozzle or means for temporarily using the
welding opening for the high pressure oxygen. The oxygen issues from the
opening while cutting at a pressure of from ten to 100 pounds to the square
inch.

The work is first heated to a white heat by adjusting the torch for a
welding flame. As soon as the metal reaches this temperature, the high
pressure oxygen is turned on to the white-hot portion of the steel. When
the jet of gas strikes the metal it cuts straight through, leaving a very
narrow slot and removing but little metal. Thicknesses of steel up to ten
inches can be economically handled in this way.

The oxygen nozzle is usually arranged so that it is surrounded by a number
of small jets for the heating flame. It will be seen that this arrangement
makes the heating flame always precede the oxygen jet, no matter in which
direction the torch is moved.

The torch is held firmly, either by hand or with the help of special
mechanism for guiding it in the desired path, and is steadily advanced in