GTT Lynx: the 7-jet Triple Mix detail torch

The GTT Lynx is Glass Torch Technologies’ compact, single-stage detail torch, and quietly one of the most important torches the company makes. Its 7-jet, patented Triple Mix surface-mix head produces a tight, controllable pinpoint flame that’s a long-time favorite for detail and color work, and the very same Lynx “center fire” is the core GTT builds its larger multi-stage torches around. Learn the Lynx and you’ve learned the heart of the GTT lineup.

What the Triple Mix flame gives you

Triple Mix is GTT’s surface-mix technology: fuel and oxygen meet at the face of the torch rather than premixing inside it. The practical payoff is a clean, quiet, forgiving flame that’s gentle on colors and easy to dial from a soft setting down to a sharp point. The Lynx’s seven jets concentrate that into a precise detail flame rather than a wide soaking flame. For the full explanation, see GTT Triple Mix technology and surface mix vs premix torches.

Who the Lynx is for

The Lynx is aimed at detail and color work, beadmaking, and small borosilicate, anyone who wants a precise, controllable flame more than raw heat. It’s typically described as an intermediate-to-advanced detail torch rather than a first burner; new lampworkers usually start cheaper and come to the Lynx when their work gets fine. If you want a wider, bushier general-purpose flame, compare the Lynx vs the Bobcat; if you want more flame for bigger work, see the Cheetah vs Lynx.

Glass, fuel, and oxygen

The Lynx runs soft (soda-lime) glass and small boro comfortably; it isn’t built for large boro tubes or marbles, which need more heat than a single-stage torch delivers. It burns propane or natural gas with oxygen. Its oxygen appetite is modest for a Triple Mix torch, and many lampworkers run it from an oxygen concentrator, and our catalog carries a ~9.5 LPM reference converted from GTT’s flow table at the largest usable flame; confirm your oxygen supply against your work before you buy. See how many LPM does my torch need and oxygen concentrator vs tanks.

GTT’s own Lynx instructions give a concrete starting point for regulator pressure: set the propane regulator to 5 to 8 PSI and the oxygen regulator to 15 to 25 PSI. Those are line pressures, not flow rates, they don’t tell you how many LPM the torch draws, which is why an oxygen concentrator still has to be matched to the work you actually do. The full setup and lighting sequence is in the Lynx instructions (PDF).

Dialing the flame: the red, green, and blue valves

The Lynx has three valves, and learning what each one does is most of the skill of running it. GTT’s instruction sheet lays it out clearly:

• Red valve, fuel. Light the torch on the red valve alone and get a roughly 7-inch yellow flame going.
• Green valve, main (outer) oxygen. This is the most important oxygen control: it keeps the torch cool and stops the flame burning back into the jet orifices. If the jets glow orange, or you see orange streaks in the blue flame, open the green valve a little more. Red and green together cover most beadwork.
• Blue valve, secondary (inner) oxygen. This focuses and sharpens the flame and gives it thrust; back it off (or close it) for a soft, brushy flame. Excessive hissing or crackling means the blue valve is open too far.

A few rules of thumb straight from GTT: for a soft, brushy flame use only red and green; for a small, very focused flame use only red and blue with the green off; for the hottest flame and the widest range of characteristics, use all three. Don’t run a soft, low, or short flame for long, it overheats the burner. To shut down, close the blue valve, then the green, then the red.

Bench or hand torch

The Lynx is offered as a bench burner and as a hand-torch configuration, so you can pick the format that fits how you work.

Where it sits in the GTT lineup

The Lynx isn’t only an entry into Triple Mix, it’s the center fire GTT builds its multi-stage torches around. Step up to a Phantom, Mirage, or the three-stage models and you’re essentially wrapping more fires around a Lynx-style core, so the flame behavior you learn here carries upward.

Before you buy

Budget for the whole system, not just the torch: oxygen (a concentrator or tanks), the correct propane or natural-gas regulator, flashback protection matched to your torch and gas supply, didymium or boro-rated eyewear matched to your glass, and ventilation. New to plumbing a torch? Start with the fittings, hoses & connectors guide and the glass torch safety setup guide.

Editor’s note: spec details reflect GTT’s own materials, including the Lynx instruction sheet (the regulator pressures above). The catalog’s ~9.5 LPM oxygen figure is converted from GTT’s flow table for the largest usable flame (a ceiling, not a minimum), and current configuration details should be confirmed with GTT before purchasing.