So I finally got bottles for my torch.

TheGeneral

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Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Location
Wilmington
I picked up set of oxy accetylene (spelled wrong Im sure) bottles the other day and started playing around with my torch for the first time with some .25 inch thick angle Iron. Every time I make a cut both sides get so hot that they melt back into the gap that I just created. But it seems if I run the torch any cooler I cant quite melt through the metal. It took me a really long time to get decent at welding through trial and error and I was wandering what kind of tips any of you with some experience could offer to shorten the learning curve.

And on a side note, does heating tubing to bend it weaken it at all. I have a bender that was designed to handle thin wall electrical conduit but can bend thicker pipe with a little bit of heat.
 
Bending tubing weakens it anyway... But IIRC, HREW won't be affected by heat bending like DOM would.. It has to do with the cold-working of the DOM, as i remember reading...
 
This is ganna show how little I know about fabrication but how exactly is DOM made? I know it stands for Drawn Over Mandrel (I think thats what it means at least) but whats that mean?
IIRC and HREW whats the difference in the three? Ive read everywhere that cages and frames should be make from DOM but have no clue what the other types of tubing are.
 
i wouldnt recomend welding with a torch unless you have to, its pretty hard and you end up with bad welds unless you have a lot of practice. and to keep your cuts from melting back together try moving the torch slower
 
He's trying to cut, not weld. And Justin, IIRC is AOL's new tubing, it's made from ...nevermind. It stands for "if I recall correctly."
 
Well dont I Feel/Look stupid...gatta love acronyms.

Yeah Im trying to cut with the torch, i was just using welding as an example of how freakin long it takes to learn sumthin like this by yourself....I though moving slower would help at first too...but it just makes it worse.

Are their different sized cutting tips? My kit came with an assortment of them but their not marked at all and I cant tell any difference eyeballing them.
 
You need to set Acetelyne pressure at a bout 7psi and your oxy about 25-30 depending on thickness of metal, but never go over 10 lbs acetelyne gets very unstable to the point of explosions at 15 psi . Also angle the torch at about a 45 degree angle and push the flame through the cut dont drag it behind.
 
thicker metal may require Acc. to be up to 12 psi (what I run), (no more than 15) and Oxy up to 60psi (what I run). I use less psi if I cut thinner material though.

There should be 3 knobs on the torch head, 1 for Acc and 2 for Oxy. open the bottom knob (beside the Acc. knob) all the way. This is not a regulator knob. if you need to regulate, use the regulator on the bottle to raise/lower pressure. Use the upper knob (near the trigger) to do the regulating/adjustment. Most guys that work for me that have problems cutting have this problem as well as moving too slow and/or not having enough working pressure coming form the bottles.

Check your tip, it may be clogged and not getting a good flame.

move the torch a little faster and it'll prob. help.

Rob
 
Thanks yall that made a world of difference!! :beer: I was running my oxy and acetylene both around ten psi. And angling the torch made a huge difference as well. Now I get to start making some brackets :D
 
Rich said:
Bending tubing weakens it anyway... But IIRC, HREW won't be affected by heat bending like DOM would.. It has to do with the cold-working of the DOM, as i remember reading...
Click to expand...


So it's ok to persuade HREW to conform with a little bit of heat?
 
What rob said is good. Also, I clamp a piece of small angle iron along the length of the cut, if it is a straight cut, to use as a guide for the torch head. This helps steady the hand and you can regulate the heigth of the tip above the cutting surface easier. I find by doing this alone and having the proper flame(it is just something that you have to learn, the sound of the flame and it's color, kinda hard to describe) will get you a cut that is straight and clear, almost like a plasma. Happy metalworking. ;)
 
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