"Pete C." wrote:

"John P." wrote:

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 01:03:46 -0600, Jon Elson
wrote:

I got mine on eBay from aglevtech,
who has a huge amount of TIG parts that he sells WAY cheaper than the
local dealers.

I just checked out his auctions and the prices are impressive. 2%
tungstens for $20 (including shipping) is 1/2 what I pay locally...

Again, a gas lens makes this much less of a problem. There are
a few situations that are so cramped a gas lens gets in way, but
I haven't needed to go back to my old collets yet. And, the gas
savings really starts to add up. I didn't realize when I got
into this that the Argon would be the most expensive consumable!

I guess I've never seen a gas lens in use. Could you describe a
little more how it is employed? Where does it connect to the torch,
etc?

Personally I have a Lincoln Precision TIG 185 with the standard torch.

John P.

The gas lens replaces the regular collet body, and the gas cup for it is
larger than the standard gas cup. Should be available to fit just about
any torch.

Basically the gas lens collet body is a larger diameter than a standard
one, and instead of just having some holes to emit the shielding gas, it
has a series of screens that straighten and stabilize the shielding gas
flow.

Pete C.

Forgot to mention, when I got my Syncrowave setup at my local Airgas
shop, they just set me up with the gas lens collet bodies up front.
Indicated unless I was welding stuff in areas with very little clearance
there was no reason to bother with the standard bodies. The gas lens
bodies let you reduce your argon consumption as well so they save you
money in the long run.

Pete C.