Which tig cups to get?

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I just ordered a used HW-18 water cooled torch on ebay. I also have a HW-9 air cooled torch that arrived from ebay a few days ago, just waiting for the adapters to arrive.... What kind of cups should I order to start? Someone's selling 18 size 10's for $28 on ebay. Is size #10 too big?Sorry, I am clueless. I'm going to be learning with thin material at first.ESAB Heliarc 252
Reply:I mainly use #4-6.#10 are HUGE (it's roughly 1.6" in Dia. I believe)Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:Tig cups are measured in 1/16ths. so a #8 is a 1/2" cup. A 10 is larger than what I use (#8 95% of the time but on a gas lense). I find gas lenses are useful especially when guys are learning. It will allow you to extend the tungsten farther out while maintaining the same gas coverage at the same flow rate. This will allow you to se the arc/ pudle better. The gas lens itself for a series 18 torch is rather large regardless of the cup opening.Define "thin"... Do yourself a favor and start off with 1/8" material. It's thin enough to allow you to burn thru and learn heat control, yet thick enough to allow you some time before that happens to react. I would not suggest anything less than say 1/16th ( 16ga) to start unless you want to frustrate yourself. Get the basics of heat control down 1st with 1/8" or so and then once you have a good understanding and feeling for this, start moving thinner if thats the way you want to go..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:What power source (machine) are you going to be using?  It can determine the tungsten/collet/collet body sizes, and type of tungsten you should get.What metals do you expect to be welding?  It can determine the type of collet body (standard or gas lens) and cup sizes to get.Cups are cheap, so might as well get a variety, but you will probably find only certain sizes are ones you actually use.  I would however purchase them individually (local welding supply will probably have in stock, and sell individually), rather than by the 10-pack.Larger cups (#7, #8, and larger) can be useful on gas lens type cups.  I often use #7 or #8 gas lens cups when I need to reach far (want stickout), or when I am welding stainless steel.  If you are not welding stainless steel, you might not need a gas lens.Aluminum welds nicely with smaller cups, and doesn't need gas lens.  If you're welding anything dirty (anything galvanized, and/or with uncleaned/inaccessible back sides) you'll want a standard collet body so you don't ruin your gas lens collet body screen.Size 10 non-gas lens cup is not something I would ever use, if I had access to a gas lens setup.  In fact I rarely use non-gas lens cups larger than #6.  If I ever wanted lots of stickout, I would use a gas lens with a large cup, say #7 or #8.  If I were welding dirty metals that could spit out at me (such as, welding something with inaccessible and dirty or galvanized back side, I would use a standard collet body, so as to not allow the fragile gas lens screens to become damaged.Aluminum can be welded effectively with either gas lens or standard collet body, and doesn't need large cup sizes (in fact, it may actually benefit from smaller cup sizes.)  #5 and #6 are common.I would get standard (non gas lens) #5 and #6 cups.  And gas lens #7 and #8 cups.  Although you'll probably not want to waste your money on an .040" tungsten, a 1/16" can be useful for welding delicate items.  3/32" is a common "workhorse" size tungsten for medium-thicker steel, and also for medium-thicker aluminum with a small-medium sized inverter machine.  1/8" (or larger) tungsten may be necessary if you are welding even moderate thickness aluminum on a transformer machine, or very thick aluminum with a very high output inverter machine.There is no reason to get any 1/8" tungsten sized components on your WP9 torch.And oh, ask different welding machine operators, and you'll probably get different answers on this one, reflecting not only the wide variety of TIG machine types and applications they are used for, but also individual operator preference.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWTig cups are measured in 1/16ths. so a #8 is a 1/2" cup. A 10 is larger than what I use (#8 95% of the time but on a gas lense). I find gas lenses are useful especially when guys are learning. It will allow you to extend the tungsten farther out while maintaining the same gas coverage at the same flow rate. This will allow you to se the arc/ pudle better. The gas lens itself for a series 18 torch is rather large regardless of the cup opening.Define "thin"... Do yourself a favor and start off with 1/8" material. It's thin enough to allow you to burn thru and learn heat control, yet thick enough to allow you some time before that happens to react. I would not suggest anything less than say 1/16th ( 16ga) to start unless you want to frustrate yourself. Get the basics of heat control down 1st with 1/8" or so and then once you have a good understanding and feeling for this, start moving thinner if thats the way you want to go.