Welding Tips and Tricks

Hello,

I had an interest in regards to what a good quality TIG torch costs. If you were in the market to purchase a good quality water cooled 250 Amp TIG Torch (with 25' leads), what would be the most you would be willing to pay?

Thank you in advance for your response.

Infotig

What machine are you putting this torch on?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/200765611028?ss ... 1423.l2649
this torch here fits on a machine with the 1/2 inch dinse, and the 5/8 rh gas line.
what fitting/connector goes on your machine?

ps. if you want a flex-loc, here's a good one.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-WP-20-Swivel ... 20d88ccabc

John,

I believe that infotig is doing market research via the forum for the company that he works for. Most of his posts he prefaces with "I work for a company in the industry..." or something to that effect. I don't think he's actually looking for a torch per se, just trying to get a feel for what people are looking for, and looking to pay for the parts that they are looking for.

In that case, $15

I just bought one of the flex loc torches that John linked above from USA weld. That's the best price I've found for a FL230 w/ 25' superflex cables, cable cover, and a Dinse connector.

Nice ! - I'm hoping Poundland will start selling welding consumables ! - compete with that !

zank wrote:In that case, $15

I just bought one of the flex loc torches that John linked above from USA weld. That's the best price I've found for a FL230 w/ 25' superflex cables, cable cover, and a Dinse connector.

How do you like that torch zank???
I'll be getting a Syncro 250DX here pretty soon, and It comes with a 25ft weldcraft 20 and I was looking at getting the HTP flex-loc.
Is It a pretty good flex-loc? does it compare to the CK flex-loc?

~John

Hi John,
I love the Flex Loc. I mostly weld tubing, and this torch has really helped. It does take a little getting used to. After about a week or so though it was second nature to adjust the head angle.

And yes, all of the HTP torch packages are genuine CK torches and Superflex cables. The only thing missing is the little sticker on the handle. But the CK logos are molded into the torch head. Score!!

So what HTP calls the 20-series swivel head is a CK FL-230. Same torch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... ZoyxfqOpOM

Here's a review on It. what have you found?

zank wrote:Hi John,
I love the Flex Loc. I mostly weld tubing, and this torch has really helped. It does take a little getting used to. After about a week or so though it was second nature to adjust the head angle.

And yes, all of the HTP torch packages are genuine CK torches and Superflex cables. The only thing missing is the little sticker on the handle. But the CK logos are molded into the torch head. Score!!

So what HTP calls the 20-series swivel head is a CK FL-230. Same torch.

Quite right, my Invertig 221 came with a CK 20-style torch. I should have upgraded to the flexloc but I screwed up and didn't. I just ordered a Tec Torch roto-head since it was a bit cheaper than the CK Flexloc, and the connections appear identical. I guess this leaves me with a rigid CK 20-style torch for sale, with less than 20min welding time on it.

Same boat here, Oscar. I have a CK130 (9 style) flex head that's been sitting in a box for two years. Once I got the flex loc, I didn't want or need to go back to a regular torch. And I never liked how the flex head was kind of...limp.

John, I had seen that review a while back, and I think it's pretty spot on. The only thing I would add is regarding the knob. The trick is to turn the head to tighten it up and not try to turn the knob to tighten. So what I do to change the angle is loosen the head about a 1/16 of a turn or less, turn the head and knob together, and then hold the knob and turn the head to snug it down. Once you do it a few times, you will know where to position the head before tightening in order for it to end up where you want it when it's tightened. It becomes intuitive very quickly.

I used a hack saw to put some cut grooves on my flex lock knob to make adjustments easier with glooves on.

rick9345 wrote:I used a hack saw to put some cut grooves on my flex lock knob to make adjustments easier with glooves on.

I put one big groove in mine

Thank you all for chiming in with your feedback on my post. John, thanks for sharing the links you provided. The Flexloc torch concept is interesting (I can see how this certainly helps with maneuverability).
The USA Weld price point was also appreciated.