Blowtorch Sky: how Blowtorches Work @museum.de

You have to admit there's something vaguely romantic about the sight! Hundreds of blowtorches orbiting around a spire ball ... or is it some undiscovered planet? ... or the Death Star maybe?

By the way, the blowtorch plays a starring role in every metal roofer's kit. It's used to heat the soldering iron, which melts the solder, which in turn bonds the metal components.

But take note! Soldering is not the same as welding! Soldering only liquefies the solder to join the metals, while welding also melts the metals you're about to join. There's evidence of soldering technique being used in Ancient Egypt more than 5,000 years ago, to make gold and silver jewellery. Back then and more recently, the soldering irons were heated in coal or wood-fired stoves or over an open fire. Which is quite a complicated affair. And to ensure that one of the soldering irons was always ready for use on the roof or gutter, several were heated in the stove at the same time. So the metal roofers had "several irons in the fire" at all times.

It took until the end of the 1790s before all that changed! That was when a certain August von Marquardt developed the portable blowtorch in the town of Eberswalde in Brandenburg. At first, it ran on steam from spirits of wine (ethyl alcohol, that is), and later on petrol... and became the metalworker's faithful companion.

Since then, this lovely little flamethrower has never left a metalworker’s side and follows him to all the rooftops of the world. Sooo romantic!