Oxy/Acetylene welding tip selection

admin

I've been gifted with a Victor 315 torch and welding tips 1,3, and 5. I was gonna get a smaller tip 000,00, or 0 for some copper brazing. Any advice? Should I fill in the other tips (2 and 4)? Or can a guy get by with every other size?Lefty
Reply:For what it's worth, TIGing tips shut for leak test purposes per the Victor manuals is easy, so if you want to experiment you could close one of them and go up a drill size at a time to test. Shut it, file the end flat, drill it and have at it. Worst case you're out one tip. Post and let us know what works best for you. Being able to get "more tips" out of the selection bundled with Victor kits would be handy.
Reply:I like having each of the sizes from 000-4, the right tip is absolutely essential to getting a good weld.  You can make due by varying the distance from the work and playing with the pressure a bit, but you are going to find those in between cases where the right tip would make a difference.Hobart LX235Victor 250 Oxy-Acetylene Rig (welding and cutting)Bobcat 773F-350, 1999, 4x4, 16' 10K# trailerOutdoor Wood Burner - 10 cords/year
Reply:Thanks. They aren't cheap- so I figured it'd be better to ask.Lefty
Reply:I've got a 100FC, and a 315FC.  I have 00, 0 and 1 for the 100FC, and feel that the 315FC is too big and clunky for my smaller hands with the finer tips.I have a #1, 2, and 4 for the 315FC, but really don't use it much as I don't use a torch for welding, so the larger sized tips just don't get much use.I tend to braze with the 00, 0, and 1 (as the #1 can easily braze 1/4" copper rods), and would like to add a 000 to the mix.  I have a "little torch", and the 000 and 00 overlap a little with its tip sizes, but because the "little torch" is so darned little, its larger tips run too hot for my liking, which is why I prefer to use the Victor for everything I can.Yes, you can skip sizes.  These tips aren't cheap at all, and there's some useful overlap in the sizing, especially if you don't need the absolutely sharpest of flames that you get when running a tip in the middle of its "zone".