Homebuilders.

[william]

Wow! If I want to be a welder, just ask here. So much info.
I would think, like Von, that a welding course would give you a great in depth resource of information and "hands on" practical learning. Visual learning has to be the best for practical applications and if you have specific needs you should have information on hand. Also safety needs to be addressed too. All too easy to listen to a salesman saying buy this, buy this, its the most popular. Then switch it on in your trusty old man cave and poof! Where did my switchboard go?
I've had a lot of trial and error experiences and luckily most just cost money, ah well! Back to the drawing board I say.
Reading above though is excellent advice for the novice and with practice comes perfection... Doesn't it?

[papa]

G'day papa,
Seem to recall meeting you on another forum. If I remember right you were using an ex medical oxygen generator. If I'm correct, would you mind giving a few details about it and how you find it. I have my sights on one but don't know much about their use.

John Lewis

Hi, John, My current setup consists of:

* Devilbiss 505DS Oxygen Concentrator (local second hand store purchase)

* Victor VTS710 fuel regulator (nearly any acetylene reg will suffice, but dual stage regs are noticeably better - also, if the reg has a CGA 580 fitting, as many do, it will directly attach to the BBQ bottle)

* 25ft.of 3/16", "T" rated alt fuel hose (acetylene hose is "R" rated)

* Victor model J-28 torch w/UN-J mixer and "TEN" series tips.

* 20 pound (5 gallon) standard barbeque bottle

This 505DS Concentrator produces about 97-98% pure oxygen at an adjustable 0-5 LPM, at about 8 PSI. I've since popped the cover on the unit and readjusted the output pressure to a more suitable 5 psi. The machine (like most others) has a tapered nipple for the output hose, so simply cut-off the brass fitting from oxygen (green) hose and just push it on the nipple - no need for even a clamp. I typically set the volume to 2-3 LPM.

You can use standard oxy-acetylene tips with propane, but lighting and adjusting the torch is a bit more difficult and breezy conditions aggravate the situation. The alt fuel tips differ from the O/A tips by having a slightly recessed orifice. O/P has a flame temperature of about 5000f, which is only about 300-400f lower than O/A - sufficiently high enough to easily braze most anything (as evident by the photos). However, because propane has a greater stoichiometric oxygen requirement than acetylene, (i.e. the ratio of the volume of oxygen to fuel gas are 1.2 to 1 for acetylene and 4.3 to 1 for propane), it's a bit easier to induce premature oxidation if the operator gets careless with mixture adjustments.

If you have any specific questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

[Poiter]

Anybody want to buy a small DC TIG welder setup?
Just add Argon gas and you are away.
Done several bents and bikes with this one but it's sitting idle since I upgraded to a bells and whistles job that does aluminium as well.
If anyone is interested I can provide more details as well as full technical guides to get started.
Pete

[John Lewis]

Papa, Thanks for that information it will help me a lot. I've made a copy for later reference. I'll have to go look at this concentrater and see what the specs are. With the cost of bottle rental here it seems the way to go for my purpose.

[papa]

John,
Here's a couple of snapshots I took showing the business end of my Victor J28 fed with oxy-propane. One under artificial light, and one while dark.

[John Lewis]

That sure looks hot enough for the job papa.
Hopefully I can use my existing torch without too much trouble. Might chase down a new propane regulator though. Actually I think the gas available here is butane rather than propane. Must check that out.

John Lewis