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Hi, Folks. I have only seen 'Thermic Lances' a couple of times but, as some earlier posters have said, they are SPECTACULAR, both in the show they put on and the work they will do. As I understand it, their main use was in heavy demolition and scrap yard work, cutting up old machinery, etc.. Rust, paint, concrete, water and most of the other things that bother oxy cutting torches make just about zero difference to a thermic lance. Several of our Australian state railway authorities used them at one time or another for quick cutting of railway lines. One alumimium smelter down here tried using a thermic lance to cut up bulk aluminium spillage from smelter pot burn-outs. It worked and it was SPECTACULAR, especially when they came to small pockets of slag that contained a little moisture. The moisture in the slag would explode, spraying molten aluminium for yards around. They gave that away as being not very user-friendly. That was where I came in. I was also in there with a 42 ton Kato excavator with a set of demolition shears testing to see if the shears would cut this spillage. They did and it was decided that the shears were the most effective and user-friendly way of doing it. I was there for 5 months the first time and about 4 months the second time, around 6 months later. I did miss the fireworks displays of the thermic lance though. Thermic lances are NOT designed for delicate cutting operations and are not at all fussy about whether they are cutting a pin, the bush or bearing around that pin or the frame in which pin and bush/bearing reside. See the link below for further information. There is also a small piece about thermic lances under 'Concrete Demolition' in the menu down the left side of this site:
Link
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