Good beginner Oxy Acetylene setup....

[zruvalcaba]

Guys, wanted to get an experts opinion on a decent beginner's setup for light torch use. I'm a hobbyist gunsmith...mostly build up Cold War Era rifles G3, FALs, etc. All of my work that requires skilled TIG work is sent off to a guy who does the work for me. Since I don't want to butcher a $300 receiver and several hundred dollars in additional parts, I prefer to send that detailed stuff out to someone with more skill than me. There's other stuff that's pretty difficult to screw up that doesn't require a TIG to do that I could do myself with a Oxy/Acetylene setup. Heating up and straitening a cocking tube for a G3/Cetme build for instance. Since my work would be very very light and seldom performed I'm thinking of starting out my welding endeavors with an out-of-the-box Oxy/Acetylene setup. My searches so far have steered me toward Victor and more specifically this setup here:

http://www.thermadyne.com/products/detailProduct.html?prodID=0384-0936

It looks like they come with the cylinders so I would just need to get them filled at my local welding supply store and I'm good to go right? Any opinions on this? Thanks for any tips in advance....

 

[A**holes Garage]

That will work for small projects.

Although I don't know how abundant those bottle sizes are at your local gas supplier.

 

[zruvalcaba]

That will work for small projects.

My projects are fairly small and infrequent. I would say I work on a new rifle once every 6 months. It would be used mostly for heating and very very small patch jobs on trigger frames and what not.

Although I don't know how abundant those bottle sizes are at your local gas supplier.

Don't you just bring the bottles in and they refill them right then and there? Kind of like a propane tank at your local gas station?

 

[A**holes Garage]

Don't you just bring the bottles in and they refill them right then and there? Kind of like a propane tank at your local gas station?

Yes, but those are small bottles, I haven't seen them in plentiful amounts at my gas store, but yes, that's how the swap is supposed to work.

Check with your local welding/gas supplier if they carry inventory on that size for swapping.

 

[Flathead Red]

I have looked at that same kit as they carry it at Lowes. I think you would be fine with tht set up for what you seem to need it for.

Red

 

[coldfusion21]

My projects are fairly small and infrequent. I would say I work on a new rifle once every 6 months. It would be used mostly for heating and very very small patch jobs on trigger frames and what not.



Don't you just bring the bottles in and they refill them right then and there? Kind of like a propane tank at your local gas station?

Not here, here most places I've seen want to swap out your bottles, they already have filled ones waiting. I've never had a problem with that so I've never asked about filling a specific bottle back up. Possible they won't do it though. Better to find your lws and ask

 

[zruvalcaba]

I have looked at that same kit as they carry it at Lowes. I think you would be fine with tht set up for what you seem to need it for.

Red

Thanks Red. There's a Lowes not too far away from my house. Might check pricing there before resorting to an online purchase. Nothing better then having that peace of mind that you can bring it back if anything happens.

 

[fordcragar]

Another thing that you might think about, is bottle size. Price what it would cost to fill the smaller bottle compared to the next size larger. IIRC, the price difference might not be very much, but you will get a lot more gas. I started out with small bottles, and I'm not sure how many times that I traded them in over the years for bigger bottles. Anyway, it might be worth checking out. Sometimes my bottles will last me for a couple of years.

 

[Nick M]

My projects are fairly small and infrequent. I would say I work on a new rifle once every 6 months. It would be used mostly for heating and very very small patch jobs on trigger frames and what not.



Don't you just bring the bottles in and they refill them right then and there? Kind of like a propane tank at your local gas station?

It takes a while for the acetylene tanks to be filled safely, so I have been told.

With 25/75% welding gas, one welding shop I went to filled the same bottle right there for me, while another shop I went to swapped the bottle for a new one. When I asked about keeping my original one (it was a brand new bottle I had bought at Tractor Supply) they told me that they fill them all at once on a big rack, then do a leak test. I walked out without my original bottle.