Any Oxy/Acetylene guys here?

[66354dream]

Do you guys know if it's safe to wear contact lenses while cutting/welding with OA? obviously I'll be wearing safety glasses and welding goggles but I heard the brightness can still "cook" your contact lenses?

 

[MarkG]

That's a long running rumor in welding-----I think the danger with wearing contacts isn't so much the brightness (since you ARE wearing eye protection, right?) but the risk of having a little spark or something get behind your eye protection and melt the contact lens. That's my understanding of the idea anyway. I wear contacts and either a cheater in my helmet or cheater safety glasses. The brightness can ruin your eyes, with or without contacts if you don't have the right protection.

I'm not a full-time welder anymore though, but I was briefly at a couple places.

 

[jerrdanjohn]

I have used propane for 25 years. My brother cut scrap at a yard and I watched him cut 12" thick with a large scrap torch. Big tip and a lot of pressure. I can start a cut as quick with a LP torch as and acetylene torch and when cutting with either you can cut of the gas completely and cut just using oxygen. If it were cheaper to run acetylene I and every scrap yard would use it. Never could understand why anyone would use acetylene, because of the inconvenience and price *****..

 

[joeswamp]

I took Kent White's 4-day Torch Intensive. (Kent White, Tinman, TM Technologies). He runs classes out of his shop near Nevada City, California. I live close enough to drive there, but a few guys flew in for the course.

I highly recommend this course. By the end of it, you'll understand soldering, brazing & welding with the oxyacetylene torch. You'll know how to adjust the torch for different metals, including steel, aluminum, stainless steel & copper. You will walk away from the course with enough knowledge and experience to make your torch do what you need it to do.

He usually seems to run the torch course in early December.

https://www.tinmantech.com/education/workshops/

Here is an assortment of test pieces I had at the end of the course

View media item 52482
Kev.

Thank you for recommending this, I just took the course over the weekend. Totally worth it, the only other way to get this info would be to apprentice to an old school restoration shop for several months.

I had attempted to teach myself torch welding several years ago and had succeeded only in cranking out lots of **** welds. Kent is a very gifted teacher and really motivates the students to figure out the best techniques. I really liked how he started with soldering and the exercises progressed through the temperatures -- low temp brazing, then high temp brazing, and finally welding. By the time you got to the end you really understood all the hows and whys of torch configuration and control.

That Meco torch with the lightweight hoses is unbelievable! My Smith A1WA feels like a boat anchor by comparison.

I was quite surprised at how beautifully aluminum welds with a torch, I thought it would be impossible but I think it's easier than TIG. The process is certainly more tolerant of dirty material. I want to get some old nasty castings and practice repairing them. That lens Kent sells is also a miracle product, the aluminum orange flux flare disappears completely and all you see is the weld bead flowing out like smooth solder.

So thanks again for the recommendation. To everyone on this forum: If you want to get good with the torch, sign up for this course! High end torch work seems to be a dying art and that's a terrible shame because the torch is so incredibly versatile and can do many things other processes can't.

 

[66354dream]

Thank you for recommending this, I just took the course over the weekend. Totally worth it, the only other way to get this info would be to apprentice to an old school restoration shop for several months.

I had attempted to teach myself torch welding several years ago and had succeeded only in cranking out lots of **** welds. Kent is a very gifted teacher and really motivates the students to figure out the best techniques. I really liked how he started with soldering and the exercises progressed through the temperatures -- low temp brazing, then high temp brazing, and finally welding. By the time you got to the end you really understood all the hows and whys of torch configuration and control.

That Meco torch with the lightweight hoses is unbelievable! My Smith A1WA feels like a boat anchor by comparison.

I was quite surprised at how beautifully aluminum welds with a torch, I thought it would be impossible but I think it's easier than TIG. The process is certainly more tolerant of dirty material. I want to get some old nasty castings and practice repairing them. That lens Kent sells is also a miracle product, the aluminum orange flux flare disappears completely and all you see is the weld bead flowing out like smooth solder.

So thanks again for the recommendation. To everyone on this forum: If you want to get good with the torch, sign up for this course! High end torch work seems to be a dying art and that's a terrible shame because the torch is so incredibly versatile and can do many things other processes can't.

Thank you for sharing that with us, versatility is the primary reason I'm getting into OA. I don't have much room and budget to get all the high tech expensive toys, I will look into the class and if all goes to plan I should be able to take it this coming year. I know what you mean about this being a dying art, I can't even find where to take a course around here locally to get me started.

 

[gearhead1]

I'm in the propane club, but do not use it to weld considering I have both arc and MIG welders. Start with oxy/acetylene, then if you ever get a welder, consider switching to propane. It's cheaper and easier to get than acetylene and a lot more convenient. I can get a gas grill tank on a holiday Sunday if I had to. Acetylene used to only be able to be obtained from a welding supply store open 8-5 when most of us are working. Now Northertool and Tractor Supply have the gas pony brand which makes it easier to get outside of the Monday through Friday 8 to 5. Just a couple things to consider, everyone's situation is different.

 

[joeswamp]

I don't think you can weld steel with oxy/propane. First, the flame is a lot cooler. But more importantly I think there's something in the chemistry of the oxy/propane flame that contaminates the steel weld -- too much hydrogen or something.

I *think* you can weld aluminum with oxy/propane but I've never tried it. Lots of folks weld aluminum with oxy/hydrogen as this was common practice in WWII but it's trickier than oxy/acetylene as the flame is nearly invisible. According to Kent White oxy/hydrogen was adapted during the war as a rationing measure, all acetylene was given to the shipyards to weld steel.

Cutting with oxy/propane is quite popular and is probably a cheaper way to go than oxy/acetylene. Of course cutting is very different than welding -- with cutting the oxygen does all the work via chemical reaction, the fuel is just there to preheat the work.

 

[Showkey]

Gas welding takes practice and skill.

Cobra torch can be a perfect compromise tool in the right hands......it will cut like a plasma and can gas weld aluminum like a TIG in the right hands..........with skills and practice. You will not do either without a lot skill and practice.

http://www.trick-tools.com/How_to_Gas_Weld_Aluminum_DVD_by_Ron_Fournier_GWD00_1534

Remember a $1000 tennis racket or #1 driver will not make you or me a pro player.

 

[joeswamp]

I've never understood those Cobra/Henrob/Dillon torches, people say that they work miracles but I simply don't understand what the appeal is supposed to be.

Not like I'm an expert or anything, but it seems you'd have the most control when the torch is really small and light, and those things have always looked big and awkward to me.

 

[Showkey]

^^^^^^^^ it is the soft flame, the mixing and 4 psi that can make things easier.........but it is not magical. It will not turn a novice into an expert. Yes the shape of the torch is not ideal for many.

 

[Merch1]

I bought a Henrob many years ago. The cutting system is ****. I stripped the torch apart and removed the cutting tip and handle and rerouted the oxy/fuel lines and resoldered them. The torch is still quite heavy because of the brass, but is a lot easier to use. This was long before I heard of the Mico Midget.