This is a hypothetical, an investigatory thread. I've seen how it goes for people posting on WW about homemade tools and such. So let me say as the very first thing that if you're not interested in doing things simply for the understanding, or thinking about everything around you, then this is not for you. .It seems to be real important to folks to have at least one TIG torch setup that's as short as possible. Button end caps, stubby gas lens kits, etc. And the common, versatile, 17 style torch (like i have) is shunned for this application. So i've been thinking recently. First about what other torch and parts to get, and then about how short i could really get my 17 to be.. Here are the IDEAS i have had toward that end..Both a gas lens and a standard collett body are redonkulously long. Probably for the good reason of having more copper there to soak up the heat, and more surface area to be cooled by the passing shielding gas. But in the vein of getting a really short torch, we can't have that. So what can we do?Well the gas lens that comes in the stubby kit has the right idea. We have to attach _something_ to the front of the torch head, it might as well be as short as possible as a start.Only, i don't have one. And i don't have access to them where i live (weldmonger.com doesn't ship to my country either). So i was staring at the standard collett body, with it's threads to go into the torch, it's looooong midriff, and then the gas expulsion tip.And i realised that the middle bit was kind of superfluous... So i cut it out.The useful bits together would be very short indeed. And should work. ..Shorter still in terms of torch length, since part of the ~ 1 inch piece buries into the torch head. And then if you also consider that torch head "has to" have a "heat shield" on it (i'm still not convinced about this), then you'll see that the shortened collett body contributes or 'adds' very little to the length of a torch that might use it. ..Now if only there were a way to fuse the two parts and make them into a functional shorteded collett body. .. Oh yeah, i'm a funking welder.I am not going to show you my weld. It's an 8 gram combined weight copper part that i worked on with min equipment, eg: no foot pedal and a 3/32 SiBr rod. So it's not pretty..Now we all know that a plain collett body, with simple holes to let out the gas, is the devil's work. And that we need diffusion for even gas coverage. BUT, i'm not convinced myself that a gas lens is necessary for this. It's a great way to achieve it, just not necessarily the only way. I think that if you have positive pressure behind a diffuser then you're pretty much set for an even laminar flow. What this means to me is that the gas released from theh 'standard' collett body tip and then passed through a diffuser should work out nice.What's the shortest possible arrangement for a diffuser after the new collett body? How bout one that straddles the tip? (#justthetip)..Here i've cut out a scotchbrite disc to use as an example. The real thing would have to be a fine mesh or similar.I suppose you could also have a double diffuser setup, with one layer 'on' the collett body and one at the end / opening of the cup..The nex thought is the cup. And this is the most theoretical bit of the curtate setup i'm imagining. Because i'm sitting here asking myself why a cup can't attach over the 'heat shield' itself. Every cup i've seen butts up against the teflon heat shield, but actually binds to the torch forward of that. On threads, or over an o-ring. But since my proposed setup is to short that it doesn't really have an 'forward of the heat shield' to grip on to, why not use the torch head (heat shield) itself?..Well one reason might be that the cup won't be 100% ridgid in this setup. So no leaning on it while walking the cup etc. Not sure that's necessarily an issue. And it would be a whole lot more ridgid if there were two support points - one on the heat shield and one on a stiff diffuser that could be part of the collett body rather than just slipped onto the tip..I scrounged something to represent a cup in the picture above. It wouldn't have to be see-through, wouldn't have to be that flared (in fact it could reduce toward the opening). My ideal mental image is actually a strait tube. My heat shield is 22.6 mm diameter (0.888 inch; equivalent to a 10.68 cup size), which is a great place to start i imagine. I didn't trim my cup placeholder to the shortest it could be either. With it the way it is, the whole torch is 2 inches 5/8 ths (66 mm)..So what do you think? Is she the shortest 17 you ever dun seen?It's a fab life.
Reply
ooks good to me.
Reply:Why not simply get a #9 air cooled CK torch? It's got a duty cycle that exceeds most standard 17 torches and is a lot smaller, with standard parts?.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWWhy not simply get a #9 air cooled CK torch?
Reply:Originally Posted by Reseda luteolaWell, money mostly. They don't sell in South Africa,
Reply:But then i can't say whatever i want without fear of someone (or lawyers) tracking me down and knocking on my door. I'll update my profile now. Thanks.It's a fab life.
Reply:Well there is also the OZMO/cut down torch from CK it is 1.1" from top to bottom.looks like someone beat you to it http://www.ckworldwide.com/ozmocut-down.htmlLast edited by gxbxc; 04-18-2016 at 10:32 PM.
Reply:Oh cute.It's a fab life.
Reply:I'd say whatever I feel like...those lawyers will have to get in the line of those already wanting to talk to me. Freedom of speech is supposed to be one of our things here but believe me...I know better....Ps...to any government or corporate crap...GFY...Google it
Reply:Sweet mod for tight spots thoughBlue stock- shopmaster, a/bp330, maxstar 150stl, maxstar 210, hf251, Tbolt ac/dc, mm 135Red stock-ranger 8, weldanpower 150, idealarc 250 ac/dcEsab plasma, Victor OA set, Air products ac/dc 400 ampIt's me flipped in snow..doughnut fail
Reply:Originally Posted by Reseda luteolaMy heat shield is 22.6 mm diameter (0.888 inch; equivalent to a 10.68 cup size), which is a great place to start i imagine.
Reply:Originally Posted by Mr. SmithI think you got your math wrong.
Reply:I finally finished this...I used the top part of the neck of a piece of lab glassware (which is borosilicate, ie pyrex). This was a little loose over the teflon spacer on the torch head so i filed a groove in the spacer and on the inside of the new cup and used an o-ring between them seating in those grooves...It absolutely needs a diffuser (disc of scotchbrite pad). And it absolutely needs more than 30 cfh. But it works. It's not sturdy enough to be walking the cup or anything riding on that one o-ring. But i now have a big cup, and that makes me pleased with myself. It's a fab life.
Reply:Nice how does it work. pics of welds ?Lincoln, ESAB, Thermal Dynamics, Victor, Miller, Dewalt, Makita, Kalamzoo. Hand tools, power tools, welding and cutting tools.
Reply:The flared opening is what makes it absolutely need more than 30 CFH. Loudspeakers use this principle to reduce air-speed in vented/ducted low-frequency enclosures in the name of reducing turbulence. But here it is counter productive because it likely slows the shielding gas to a near stand-still (because it is effectively like using a much larger diameter cup) unless like you said, you really "up" the gas flow. Having a lip parallel to the axis of the tungsten would have been much better. Unless of course you are willing to use the extra gas, in which case you will likely get really good coverage. 1st on WeldingWeb to have a scrolling sig! HTP Invertig 400HTP Invertig 221HTP ProPulse 300HTP ProPulse 200 x2HTP ProPulse 220MTSHTP Inverarc 200TLP HTP Microcut 875SC
Reply:Seems like scotchbrite would burn up.
Reply:Originally Posted by TimmyTIGSeems like scotchbrite would burn up.
Reply:Originally Posted by N2 WeldingNice how does it work. pics of welds ?
Reply:If you can put scotchbrite in there, why couldn't you put some metal screens?
Reply:Originally Posted by CanoecruiserGo to the hardware store and get a few screens that are used in faucet aerators.
Reply:That glass is scientific glass...borosilicate to be specific. You can use your torch and some ingenuity to neck it down for less open space. You are going to heat the glass with a neutral flame until it's soft, then roll it on a cold metal surface. Just flame anneal the glass afterward. YouTube will have plenty of glass blowing tutorial vids. Make sure you wear eye protection on the heating of the glass. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
