Water-Cooled TIG connectors confusion

Sounds like CK is going to get you squared away, that's excellent. I've only been TIG welding for a few years, so take my advice for what it's worth, which is about zero! My machine is maxed out at around 200A, and I mainly use it on .125" or thinner material, but occasionally up to .250". I'd say 75% of the time, the torch has a #8 Furick cup w/gas lens and 3/32" electrode. It's fine on steel or aluminum. If doing stainless or chrome moly, I go to a larger cup, especially on stainless, or joints that require a lot of electrode stick out. I often use a clear cup as I like them, but they are extremely fragile.
 
@akjeff : Thanks for the clues about consumables. It is inevitable that I will at some point be trying it out on (thin) stainless. Is there a hexavalent chrome hazard? I guess I mean .. does one have to do such welding outside and need breathing protection?

Come to that, the mask(s) I have are 3M, the ones that make users look like an extra from "The Fly". They have enough dust particle filtration, and activated carbon to take out organics like solvents, paints etc. Do folk use something like these with filters intended for welding fumes? I know nothing about this aspect. I guess I will end up binge-watching YouTube on this.

I know the obvious. One needs the welding gloves, and jacket, or at least some protection up the arms. I have my trusty leather apron, and I guess it would help against hot slag, or dropping hot stuff on me, but I have never been so properly been into welding situations enough to get any special stuff.
 
hex chrome is more of a concern when you MIG or stickweld stainless from what I've read. TIG welding should not produce a plume of hex chrome smoke, and if it does, there is something terribly wrong with the setup or the weldor. I will add that there could very well be some hex chrome produced with TIG welding, but with MIG or stick welding....well if you haven't seen how much smoke those processes produce...LOL. That being said I always wear a 3M respirator with 2297 filters. Always.


Choosing the Proper Respirator/Filter for...

I have gotten into TIGing together metal sculptures from used bicycle parts and am trying to choose a respirator and filter. I do my best to prep/clean the metals I work with, but invariably I can't get everything. The materials that come up which I am concerned about are... * Chrome plating...
weldingweb.com

1st welding lesson

The man teaching me spent about an hour going over basic tools and explained what they did just so I'd have some familiarity with what did what. We looking at some of the projects he's made over the years and he explained why he made them and how. After that, we started cutting. I cut the same...
weldingweb.com
 
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On "1st welding lesson", there is something a bit wrong about it!

This is quite besides the low self-esteem, and the apparently 40 years professionally experienced welder offering truly crappy setups. The best most experienced welders do not simply show their prowess by routinely welding on filthy rusted metal. Oxide between the butt joint surfaces has to be removed, and no professional welder would put up with it. On some of the practice pieces, the rust was not so bad as to be too much of a disadvantage, but even so, I doubt good welders would skip a quick cleanup unless they were in one hell of a hurry!

The picture that put it beyond all doubt for me had to be one the of the galvanized Unistrut. Even before I had ever attempted stick weld #1, I knew never to do this! I that situation, I would have felt doubt that teacher's professional 40 years was well spent!

Zinc metal and other related vapours released in a weld arc are incredibly toxic, and may involve gases that will pass straight through particulate filters. Being inorganic, they might not be much stopped by activated carbon either. Who would deliberately make a weld joint in steel contaminated by zinc? Regardless the very little I know about welding, I know to grind back the galvanizing beyond where the arc can liberate zinc!
 
There's literally one video you need to watch as a beginner TIG welder:


Followed by:


Don't overthink it. Basic consumables. Keep it simple. Even a water cooled torch is overkill for setting out IMHO. The important thing is practice, which fusting with kit only detracts from. Only thing I'd say, and I think Justin mentions: use larger diameter Tungstens. 2.4mm are great. 1.6mm are a path to deep frustration. You can weld low amps with a big tungsten just fine, but not the other way around!

Latest H&S guidance is that any welding fumes are mildly carcinogenic. Industry is switching to air fed masks. Is it an issue for an occasional use hobbyist? Maybe not. Diesel fumes are pretty darn harmful and we still merrily pump that into the atmosphere....
You're very wise to stay clear of galvanized stuff, though. It's often truly horrid to weld even with good prep.
 
graham-xrf said:
On "1st welding lesson", there is something a bit wrong about it!

This is quite besides the low self-esteem, and the apparently 40 years professionally experienced welder offering truly crappy setups. The best most experienced welders do not simply show their prowess by routinely welding on filthy rusted metal. Oxide between the butt joint surfaces has to be removed, and no professional welder would put up with it. On some of the practice pieces, the rust was not so bad as to be too much of a disadvantage, but even so, I doubt good welders would skip a quick cleanup unless they were in one hell of a hurry!

The picture that put it beyond all doubt for me had to be one the of the galvanized Unistrut. Even before I had ever attempted stick weld #1, I knew never to do this! I that situation, I would have felt doubt that teacher's professional 40 years was well spent!

Zinc metal and other related vapours released in a weld arc are incredibly toxic, and may involve gases that will pass straight through particulate filters. Being inorganic, they might not be much stopped by activated carbon either. Who would deliberately make a weld joint in steel contaminated by zinc? Regardless the very little I know about welding, I know to grind back the galvanizing beyond where the arc can liberate zinc!
Click to expand...
Perhaps so and I do agree with what you wrote; but I wasn't linking that thread for anything other than the information on the 3M filters. So I think you read a bit too much into it and didn't find the individual post about filtration.:D
 
Lo-Fi said:
There's literally one video you need to watch as a beginner TIG welder:

Followed by:

Don't overthink it. Basic consumables. Keep it simple. Even a water cooled torch is overkill for setting out IMHO. The important thing is practice, which fusting with kit only detracts from. Only thing I'd say, and I think Justin mentions: use larger diameter Tungstens. 2.4mm are great. 1.6mm are a path to deep frustration. You can weld low amps with a big tungsten just fine, but not the other way around!

Latest H&S guidance is that any welding fumes are mildly carcinogenic. Industry is switching to air fed masks. Is it an issue for an occasional use hobbyist? Maybe not. Diesel fumes are pretty darn harmful and we still merrily pump that into the atmosphere....
You're very wise to stay clear of galvanized stuff, though. It's often truly horrid to weld even with good prep.
Click to expand...

His two newer videos go much, much more in-depth at a more fundamental level to understand TIG welding and why new TIG welders who don't have professional/experienced assistance struggle quite a bit at first. Once the consumables/setup is 'good to go' then these are excellent videos to learn from:


 
Lo-Fi said:
There's literally one video you need to watch as a beginner TIG welder:


Followed by:


Don't overthink it. Basic consumables. Keep it simple. Even a water cooled torch is overkill for setting out IMHO. The important thing is practice, which fusting with kit only detracts from. Only thing I'd say, and I think Justin mentions: use larger diameter Tungstens. 2.4mm are great. 1.6mm are a path to deep frustration. You can weld low amps with a big tungsten just fine, but not the other way around!

Latest H&S guidance is that any welding fumes are mildly carcinogenic. Industry is switching to air fed masks. Is it an issue for an occasional use hobbyist? Maybe not. Diesel fumes are pretty darn harmful and we still merrily pump that into the atmosphere....
You're very wise to stay clear of galvanized stuff, though. It's often truly horrid to weld even with good prep.
Click to expand...
Yes - I agree. My logic was I was likely only going to get one TIG torch, so I made it the water cooled type
 
General Zod said:
Perhaps so and I do agree with what you wrote; but I wasn't linking that thread for anything other than the information on the 3M filters. So I think you read a bit too much into it and didn't find the individual post about filtration.:D
Click to expand...
It's OK. I did understand what you intended, and yes, the context was about 3M filters. I guess I let the topic stray a bit.
Your kit, and what you do is just about the gold standard here, and do appreciate that you do the go-slow basics for me.

The torch kit is now back with nice guy at CK (UK branch). I may have to end up with more items from their catalogue before I am done.
 
Regulator with 2 gauges on it is perhaps not enough. I need a flow-meter tube thing - right?
That provides a fertile setting for a whole lot more wrong-sex adapters :)
 
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