Which Torch - Oxyacetylene

[JohnS]

I just wanted to add my thoughts on a good torch choice and why.

I've been practicing TIG and gas welding countless clusters. It dawned on me that, at least for me GAS is the better choice. I find it more forgiving and easier to recover from mistakes - burnthroughs. There is no clear choice on which is better anyway. But it became clear to me that better is not just what would win given perfect conditions and execution, but what I can do better. On a side note this same idea came up with adhesives. I wanted so badly to settle on resorcinol for my ribs and spars. I like the long history and generally what its capable of. But I couldn't get it to outperform epoxy in my tests. The more forgiving nature of epoxy makes it a better choice. I don't know if it was temp or assembly, but epoxy did well every time with test blocks.

Anyway, I cant help but spend money on tools. So I bought a new Meco Midget, a Smith Airline, a Uniweld 71, an OLD Victor J27, and a J28 clone. The last three are essentially the same thing. All take the same tips. My vote goes to looking for a J28 or clone on Ebay and buying new GOSS tips. I bought the NOS J28 clone for $65 on Ebay. Its a really nice size and seems very well made. Its a turbotorch SKH7A I believe. I accumulated tips from Victor, Uniweld, Goss and some Chinese "stuff" off amazon from torchtips.com. GOSS makes short and regular size tips for the J28 etc. and they have a nice flame and look to be a nice quality. Theyre about $43 each and they would be my choice. You can hunt down Victors on Ebay for cheap too. There's a million different choices for this torch body. So lets say you got 00, 0 and #1 tips and $65 for the body youd be into a torch for about $200. On top of that Id get a Smith gasaver and Tinman light hoses. The Gasaver and the light hoses is a beautiful setup.

My reasoning is the flame is very nice and the tip selection is broad and not likely to go away. You'll notice that the Oxyecetylene market is shrinking. A lot of the old favorites aren't made anymore so if you want tips for say an Aviator Jet your on a hunt. Smith has even shrunk its tip selection for the airline. We for airframes might benefit from an AW202 which is no more. The Victor product is everywhere. I might even be able to get tips at the local welding supply in stock. Never happen with the Smith or Meco. Not that its important in that way. But my point is Victor and clones will be available for a long time and I think there's little risk of them ever discontinuing like so many have.

The Meco is nice enough and certainly compact but I just couldn't like it better. The flame seems strange to me.

So, maybe this will help someone else in their search for a process and/or a torch.

[Bob H]

I used to do adhesive bonding for Boeing. What tests did you conduct for adhesive evaluation? Are bonds on wood or metal or composites?
What surface prep was used? It all makes a difference.
Bob H