CO2/Argon 5%, 10%, 15% ?? When? Why?

[General Zod]

Thanks for the tip. I will be looking for non-split collets. The link place pops up a warning they only ship to UK on orders over $135, and come to that, the import requirements since 1st January may be new.

My welder (from Poland) at first got returned to the supplier, who promptly messaged me that they were going to try again, with new paperwork. It has arrived now, and from my first lookings, it is a super machine. Very "German" looking.

The instructions say that the TIG torch must be a TIG 17V type with s gas valve at the handle. Being a TIG newbie, I am guessing that that is a hand version of flow control that is also done by foot pedal control in some systems. I really have no idea.

The gas bottle I have right now happens to be 5%CO2 with 95% Argon, intended for MIG. To begin, I have quite a lot to play with in welding up the 40mm (about 1.5") steel angle sections, and I expect I will be OK with the supplied 0.8mm (0.03") wire.

My eye is on TIG for welding the type 201 stainless steel tray for my lathe. It's to be made of two 60cm x 40cm food industry trays joined together. They look about 1.6mm thick. Like doing car bodies, I suppose it could be done with MIG as a series of short little dabs, and then grind back the inevitable splodges, but here is where I thought to use TIG, with a 308 stainless filler, which is supposedly good for joining austenitic stainless of the same type. There is the choice also of 316 filler with a tad more silicon, supposedly good for welding 201 also. You can bet I will be trying it out on the off-cuts first!

So, for all this, I have to put together the gas tube and connection to the welder, the handle (air cooled?), and the most likely useful collection of little parts (as per your link). I suppose I will have to invest in a second bottle deposit for the pure Argon, which then makes possible a Frankenmixer as suggested by @General Zod earlier. That would be for the future.

I see in your link https://weldfabulous.com/welding-supplies/tig-welding/tig-consumables/ there are various "Gas Saver Kits" like this one with a Pyrex Cup.
View attachment 352178
That one listed at $38.99
I take it the mesh thing at lower left is one of those "gas lenses" that apparently make a smooth gas flow straight down.

Then there is the little tube with the sloped exit.
View attachment 352179

We have two things competing for the name "Gas Lens". Both are 3/32"

View attachment 352180View attachment 352181
Prices are $11.69 for the left side .. .. and $22.42 for the one on the right

The variety of designs (and prices) from every vendor and his dog seem infinite. A whole cluster of tiny bits and pieces, and I haven't yet got to the sharp pointy tungsten bits, available in all angles and diameters, and some folks grind them to their own preference.

Sure - I am happy to go with the starter recommended default. Right now, it's still a little hard to see which that is!

No they are not competing for the same name. The one on the left is for 9/20 style torches ( the copper threaded portion is actually smaller than the picture suggests, and definitely smaller than the one on the right), and the one on the right is for a 17 style torch. The one on the right is also known as a "stubby" gas lens collet body because it's specific purpose, aside from creating laminar flowing gas, is to allow the user to use 9/20 style cups, which are shorter in OAL than the ones for 17/18/26 style torches. I have all of this in my collection. Literally everything posted here thus far, I have it. I even have quad-blend tungstens that no one has mentioned

 

[rwm]

Zod- How do you feel about the wedge style collets? and which one do I want for my 17 torch?
Robert

 

[G-ManBart]

I agree on the split collet from CK. I use them at work everyday. We usually run pretty hot on one of our stations, usually at 175 amps. You will fry a split collet in a jiffy. They will be twisted up in a day. The wedge collet will last for weeks.

Joe

Air-cooled, or water-cooled torch setup? I have a pile of split collets, so I haven't bought any of the wedge style. I'm running a Syncrowave 250DX TIGRunner water-cooled setup and can run 200-250A for as long as I want and not have issues with the split collets. I can't even remember the last time I had to change one, but it was likely because I was too aggressive tightening the tail cap. I can't imagine ruining one in a day.

 

[General Zod]

Zod- How do you feel about the wedge style collets? and which one do I want for my 17 torch?
Robert

I don't know which ones you want, because you should decide for yourself. Wedge Collets from CK (I have to be specific because they invented them AFAIK, and there are off-brands now as well) work, and they last long, plain and simple. At the same time, I have more regular copper collets than CK wedge collets. Once when I was a rookie, back in '10 or '11, I did manage to twist a regular collet because I switched out a fouled tungsten and then over-tightened the back cap immediately while the whole torch (and collet) was still hot. The softened copper collet twisted, and had to be replaced. Once I learned on my own that could even happen, I've been very careful ever since and have never caused that to occur again. I say "caused" because it's all operator error. The back cap doesn't need to be torqued down that hard to begin with. Snug + a nudge more and that's it.

The only disadvantage to wedge collets is that the slanted wedge changes the angle of the tungsten. The longer the nozzle the more it would be noticeable, so the standard 10N-series parts would show this more.

Here is the CK pyrex short kit on a 26 torch (essentially the same as a 17/18 for the purposes of this discussion) with a wedge collet installed. You can see how the tungsten is butted-up against one "side" of the orifice.....

...and has a "relief" on the other side. This is caused by the wedge collet changing the concentricity of the tungsten.

It's not to bad, but you can see how the tip of the tungsten is "off" by about 0.5mm or so.

Is it really that detrimental? No, in the grand scheme of things, this would not make or break a weld. Welder skill has a much larger impact than this tiny anomaly. It could even be advantageous if you "aim" it in the direction of travel, so as to have more argon gas "behind" the arc to protect the weld, but that is splitting hairs.




In contrast, standard collet setup, sets the tungsten pretty much dead-center.