GTT Sidewinder: the two-stage surface-mix torch for assembly and spot heating

The GTT Sidewinder is Glass Torch Technologies’ versatile surface-mix torch, a two-stage, 22-jet burner with a 7-jet center fire (configured as a standard-mix Bobcat or a Triple Mix Lynx) and a 15-jet, fully surface-mixed outer fire. It’s built to bring a controllable surface-mix flame to assembly, spot heating, and off-bench boro work, and GTT offers it both as a hand torch with an on/off switch in the handle for the outer flame and as a 2-/4-stud bench setup. Few GTT torches are as flexible about how you mount and run them.

What the two-stage surface-mix flame gives you

The Sidewinder is a surface-mix design: fuel and oxygen meet at the face of the torch, keeping the mixing chamber cool and giving a clean, penetrating flame. Triple Mix, GTT’s patented mixing technology, enters only if you configure the center fire as a Lynx; the standard center is a Bobcat and the 15-jet outer is fully surface-mixed either way. The two stages let you go from a pinpoint up to a wide soaking flame, with the outer fire on its own switch in the hand-torch version. For the underlying tech see GTT Triple Mix technology and surface mix vs premix torches; for why a penetrating flame suits boro, read soaking vs penetrating flame.

Hand torch or bench

The Sidewinder’s calling card is flexibility. As a hand torch it’s ideal for assembly and spot heating, bringing the flame to a join or a localized area on a larger piece, with the outer flame on a thumb switch. As a 2-/4-stud bench torch it works as a fixed burner instead. If you’re deciding which format suits your work, see bench vs hand torch.

Who the Sidewinder is for

It suits intermediate-to-advanced makers who need a mobile, controllable flame for assembly, spot heating, and boro rather than a single fixed detail burner. The wide flame range, a tiny pinpoint up to 2.5in x 30in for solid boro to 3in, is what lets one torch cover both fine and large hand work.

Glass, fuel, and oxygen

The Sidewinder burns propane or natural gas with oxygen, and GTT says its flame suits soft glass and borosilicate alike. On the oxygen side, GTT says it runs great on two or three 8 LPM concentrators, and our catalog carries a ~15 LPM reference converted from GTT’s flow table for the largest usable flame; plan a multi-concentrator or tanked-oxygen supply and confirm with GTT. To size it to your work, see how many LPM does my torch need and oxygen concentrator vs tanks.

Where it sits in the GTT lineup

The Sidewinder is GTT’s mid-size hand torch / convertible, a surface-mix assembly torch sitting below the flagship Delta Elite hand torch. It shares its 7-jet center with the Lynx and Bobcat and its 15-jet outer ring with the Phantom, so the flame behavior is familiar across the line.

Before you buy

Budget for the whole system, not just the torch: a multi-concentrator or tanked oxygen supply, 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. The catalog price is GTT’s listed price for the 2-/4-stud bench configuration with Lynx center fire, and the oxygen figure is converted from GTT’s flow table for the largest usable flame; confirm your exact configuration and current pricing with GTT before purchasing.