was told it was an optional thing to mess with in the class i am in.

is there any real world practicality to using one/ if i buy one would i ever use it?

any benefits over a standard cup/collet body?

right now we are jut messing with 6061 alum plate.
i am just swtiching back and forth everyday between green and red stripe tungsten 3/32.

 

yes you should if your gonna be doing alot of aluminum or stainless. the benefit over the collet/cup setup is way better gas coverage.

 

there only 6.95$ yes you should. it changed the way i weld

 

yes you absolutely should, they also help with gas usage, with out it the flow of argon is much more turbulent, with it how ever it flows much more evenly allowing you to use less gas and obtain correct gas coverage of the weld, and their just flat out cool, I use one at school ever day and bought one for my welder I have at home.

 

yes. using one is a no-brainer.

 

ok thanks i just got one.
came out to be like 5.88 or something.

i kept thinking they were $25-35, but that was at some overpriced hole in the wall shop.

thanks

 

Anyone who does stainless automotive work should use one. It's one way I can quickly tell if someone is "aware" of what he / she is doing. You cannot get nice clean stainless welds without one. I use them exclusively.

 

Yes, if your going to be doing any welding. At all.

 

eh you can get nice clean welds on stainless without one it's just a lot freakin harder to do The added advantages that have not been mentioned so far are that you can stick out your tungsten like an inch if you have too and you can bump your gas flow WAY up if you have to weld outside.

 

yea a gas lens is a must have item.that is all i weld with.i think i have used a regular cup twice in the last two years for a very tight spot.

 

yeah, i was about to say "invest"? theyre super cheap why not try it out? and yes, it does change the way stainless welds x100.. i use a weldcraft 3/32" with a #8 cup.. perfection.

 

 

I don't think I've ever seen a completely colorless weld done without a gas lens. Ever.

 

please forgive my noobness but im a self taught welder and havent taught my self about a gas lens yet, can someone please give a quick description on what it is and how it works differently than a gas cup? thank you

 

spreads the gas out better than just a regular cup. You need the gas lens, the right size collet for your tungsten, and a big cup to fit the gas lens.

 

its a larger collet body that has a stack of screens in it to disperse the gas in a very uniform pattern coming out of the torch.you can run less gas with better coverage.also stick the tungsten out farther.once you weld with one you will be hooked.

 

WELDCRAFT gas lens



CK gas sever



EDIT: you bastards beat while i was getting pictures... well ill just leave the pictures then.

 

hey the pictures convinced me! so for my weldcraft 17 series torch what all do i need to buy? does it all come with the lens or do i have to get all of it separately? the clear one is ****.

thanks for the input guys!

 

i ended up getting the weldcraft one pictured.

came out to $5.88

just need the gas lens and a new cup (special fat one for gas lens)

thanks i actually did notice a difference at school. for some reason my welds cameout better looking/with more penetration.

 

for the weldcraft style you just need to buy the gas lens collet body and whatever size gas lens nozzle you want.

for the CK gas saver you have to buy a expensive kit to get started and parts are not kept in stock at welding supply stores like the weldcraft style gas lens.

 

would that help with the weld apperance or not so much?

i do not pay for argon there

 

It helps greatly with weld quality and appearance....

 

The only thing I dont like about the 17 series torch is that the cups are HUGE (about 2 inches long). And they dont have a gas lense for the stubby cups.

Adriano

 

Also, I always thought that you couldnt use the gas lense for Aluminum??

Adriano

 

i use them on aluminum too.