Welding Tips and Tricks

Simple question, simple answer I'm sure.

I have never been able to use my short or medium caps on my 17 torch. The collet just won't clamp onto the tungsten. Only the long cap actually works. When I compare the various caps, the threaded brass end appears to be 1mm longer. at most on the long cap. I went to the LWS today and compared my caps to what they had and all the others appear to be of the short variety.

It's a 17 torch with a stubby lens. Original body was a WP-17F but the head recently broke off and I replaced with a CK17R.

So what am I missing?

steve

sru_tx wrote:Simple question, simple answer I'm sure.

I have never been able to use my short or medium caps on my 17 torch. The collet just won't clamp onto the tungsten. Only the long cap actually works. When I compare the various caps, the threaded brass end appears to be 1mm longer. at most on the long cap. I went to the LWS today and compared my caps to what they had and all the others appear to be of the short variety.

It's a 17 torch with a stubby lens. Original body was a WP-17F but the head recently broke off and I replaced with a CK17R.

So what am I missing?

steve

It should work fine, the stubby collets are different but they are working for you on the long back cap. Are you sure the body is screwed it all the way against the insulator? Can you post a pic of your set-up.

I use this setup daily on the 17 torches, CK and Miller with no issues...

I actually had the same problem last week.

Long cap worked fine, brand new short (button) did not tighten the tungsten.

Measured it with a dial indicator and found some differences - took it back and got a different one.

A lot of that stuff isn't half as standardized as it aught to be. Try a few others and you'll find something that fits.

-Sandow

Agreed - this happens more than you think & weirdly I never had a problem with stuff from " Shop River " but I recently bought a CK torch & consumables & there is enough difference in length tolerance with some of it to cause the same problem - easy solution is to drop a small washer down on top of the collet before fitting the back cap - I have also trimmed them in a lathe but not everyone has this available.

I recently had the opposite problem, and the Chinese torch wouldn't allow the back cap and collet body to seat far enough to seal, due to the torch head being too shallow and the threads were meeting in the middle!

I went through a few different collet bodies, collets, and back caps before I found out what was going on, and why I was evaporating tungsten with that particular torch.
A quick trip down to the LWS and I have a CK 26 torch on the same hose, and no more questionable sealing due to short threads.

I'll have to check if any of the Chinese consumables that I got with the torch are too short now, but for the most part I use CK branded stuff, just to reduce the questions in my mind of whether it's the parts or the operator screwing things up. (Hint: usually it's the operator...)

noddybrian wrote:Agreed - this happens more than you think & weirdly I never had a problem with stuff from " Shop River " but I recently bought a CK torch & consumables & there is enough difference in length tolerance with some of it to cause the same problem - easy solution is to drop a small washer down on top of the collet before fitting the back cap - I have also trimmed them in a lathe but not everyone has this available.

Yeah... I had one where the cap was too short on a CK too. I was at the track and had broken my go to torch so I needed it to work. My lathe was me holding a file to it while spinning it in a drill and cursing is ways that would make a hooker blush...

-Sandow

Check to see that your stubby collet is at least 1.16" long. Any shorter and it could very well be the collet's fault.

Interesting Oscar. I checked all of my collets and they are all in the 1.15" range. I bought them from LWS and they are packaged with the Matheson label, made in China. I'll try to order some new ones not from LWS.

I recently got a bad batch of collets the id. was wrong. Was supposed to be for 1/8 but they would bottom out and crush and still not hold the tungsten. Just threw em out and bought more.

Oscar wrote:Check to see that your stubby collet is at least 1.16" long. Any shorter and it could very well be the collet's fault.

Ironic....isn't it

Yea, stupid collets not drinking enough milk in their toddler years, that's why they grow up so short! Drinking all that damn Pepsi instead of milk! lol

my CK Stubby collets are 1.208"

Now that's just bragging. Size matters