Oxweld W-15 Torch Question

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Good Evening,This is my first post here as I am a newbie gas welder.My father passed away a few years ago and one of the things that I inherited from him is his old, Oxweld W-15 oxyacetylene rig. It's in beautiful condition, complete with all the different tips, and a professional welder friend of mine has stripped it and looked it all over and reassembled it. He's also banned me from using it until I learn to weld properly under his tutelage, his argument being that it's too good a torch to risk in the hands of an amateur, and I'm inclined to agree. What we're wondering though, is just exactly how old it is? His best guess is late 1920's, but I'm wondering if anyone here could tell me some more about it, or point me in a direction. As a history buff and an antique airplane guy (apparently it got swiped from an aircraft factory back east sometime in the forties by it's operator) I'd really like to know all about [email protected]
Reply:Welcome. Does it look like this? Ad a foto, it's the best way to pick peoples brains around here. Don't forget the spark arrestors! ESAB market their O/A torches under the Oxweld name, you shold be able to find parts at Linde stores, Google is pretty good at finding the specific info that you're looking for, maybe the Linde WS can help, too. Often the local torch and regulator rebuilders can be a good resource, they get a huge variety of gear through their shops, new and old, check a few of them in your area, they're usually helpful, they helped me out with my Dad's ancient gear that I have from the 40's. A short history lesson mind you, but I now know more than I did before. Good luck, let us know what you find out and remember, we like pics around here.  Attached ImagesWhen a welder tells you to "stick it", what do they really mean?"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell
Reply:Nope, doesn't really look like that one, but I'll be home in a couple of days and will shoot and post some pics.  Thanks!
Reply:It isn't in a 1926 catalog.  I have it in a later catalog but I can't find a date on that catalog.  There was a w-14 in 1926.  A complete set of tips would be seven.The other one in post #2 io a model 45 which if you work at in the esab site in the archive section you can get a manual for.  Not sure if they have the manual for the w-15 on line as I have had no need to look for it.Fran
Reply:I found this snippet on Google Books from a 1929 Industrial Engineering publication:The Oxweld Type W-15 aircraft welding blowpipe has been placed on the market by the Oxweld Acetylene Company, 30 East 42nd Street, New York, NY This device was designed especially for aircraft fuselage welding, ...Oh, back then, it was referred to as a blowpipe, not a torch. I'd love to have one of those small aircraft torches.  Another 1929 publication says it weight 9 ounces with the largest tip.
Reply:The nice rig in Bearston's pic is a W-45 with a selection of tips and attachments. I've seen 1950s ads for those but nothing in older books like the Oxwelders Handbook from 1939.Put up some PICS because the way Oxweld/Purox/relatives rolled there was quite a bit of interchange.If your outfit is spectacularly nice, you might get (for example) a few expendable tips off Ebay to begin with.You aren't gonna hurt the torch itself unless you use it for a hammer.fran...k. :Any chance of scanning that 1926 catalog sometime?
Reply:Thanks fellas - you guys rock!  I'll be home tomorrow night and will get some pictures of it up asap.  The old man that my dad bought it off of in the early 1960's (paid $5 for it) said he took it home when the war ended and he was a steel tubing aircraft fuselage welder in Quebec.Dan
Reply:It looks quite similar to the w29 but the mixer or injector is set up so all welding heads operate at 20 psi oxygen.Sorry I just have a digital camera at this time.  I guess it is possible to use a scanner and make pdf files but.........non compressed picture link belowhttp://www.frannyk.addr.com/weldingweb/oxweld.w.15.jpg Attached Images
Reply:Good pic. Thanks.
Reply:That is really cool!  What book is that in?Dan
Reply:A couple of pics of the rig.  What I'm really looking for is a set of tips for it, particularly a #3 and #4.  One of my tips (it was the #5) has had another tip brazed onto it at some time.  Can anybody suggest a modern/available set of tips that will fit it.  It'll mostly be doing thin wall steel tubing.
Reply:So now you can try and figure out whether the two bands of knurling were the earlier or later.  I will venture a guess the type of handle you have is a later one than the picture from an undated catalog I posted earlier.you have four of the seven possible welding heads assuming they are all different.  Brazing or welding on replacement ends to the tips from ones with fresh passages is probably what you will have to do.  The passages in the brass colored part are tuned to the size of the hole in the tip.  Like I stated earlier it looks similar to another extinct model the w-29 but their numbering system is cubic feet per hour not one through seven and the recomended pressures vary depending on welding head.  I might suspect that that w-15 is for low pressure acetylene like in certain types of generators instead of the modern dissoloved cylinders which of course you can set the regulator low.You havn't tried it out yet.  Those knobs may have quite vague response on the flame and some sort of refurbishing of the threads and seats in it may be in order if you expect to use it without getting frustrated or having to make your adjustments at the regualtor which doesn't work too well for small sized tips.Last edited by fran...k.; 06-08-2012 at 08:33 AM.
Reply:Actually a professional welder buddy of mine stripped it a few months ago and we were running it yesterday - it works perfectly.  A book showed up yesterday for it (a 1934 revision of the Oxweld welding/cutting manual) that had the tip tables in it.  I'll mostly need the #3 and 4 it looks like.  Naturally I'm missing the #4...  He told me I'd never find tips for it and we'd likely have to adapt one of these, but I'm hopeful that somewhere out there is a set of originals in need of a new home.  I've been accused of having a museum more than a shop sometimes.  :-)
Reply:Keep an eye on ebay.  There was a torch and tips on there awhile back.  Sooner or later something will come up.There are some welding tips where the very end screws on and is easily replaced.  Perhaps adapting that scheme to one tip would give you a little versatility.
Reply:Oldendum nailed it. There is no rule against machining a fitting to take available screw-on torch tips then cutting one of your tips and threading it for that, or making a "coupling" and installing that so you can use common heating tips such as those for Victor -J torches with one mixer.If all it has are smaller sizes, you may want to use those and just grab another torch with tips off Ebay for larger work. It's easy to end up with many Oxweld/Purox/Union Carbide/Linde/L-tec/Prest-O-Weld torches and accessories. I buy small lots and sell off most of the Victor and Smith pieces at a modest profit.
Reply:Thanks guys, I sure appreciate the ideas.  It is a nice little torch, it's old (I'm an antiquer at heart), this was made specifically for aircraft work - which is what I do, and it was my dad's, so I'd really like to be able to run the little fellah.  I'll start looking into an adapter, and I'm watching ebay constantly.  If anybody spots anything or comes across a box of "the right kind of junk" I'd sure appreciate hearing about it.  My email is warbirds(at)shaw.ca and the shop phone is 403-782-0976.Thanks a bunch.Dan Jones