? welding/cutting anyone use Cobra/DHC/Dillon/Henrob torch?
03-18-2007, 11:35 AM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Member Since: Sep 2001
Location: Unreconstructed, South Carolina
Posts: 7,739
Received 628 Likes
on
556 Posts
? welding/cutting anyone use Cobra/DHC/Dillon/Henrob torch?
Anyone using Cobra/DHC/Dillon/Henrob 2000 welding/cutting TORCH such as this?
http://www.cut-like-plasma.com/index.htm
I saw a demo at big Myrtle Beach rod show Saturday and it was VERY, VERY impressive ... seems almost too good to be true ... well we know how that usually works out ... so does anyone have any personal experience w/ these?
http://www.cut-like-plasma.com/index.htm
I saw a demo at big Myrtle Beach rod show Saturday and it was VERY, VERY impressive ... seems almost too good to be true ... well we know how that usually works out ... so does anyone have any personal experience w/ these?
03-18-2007, 11:53 AM
#2
Race Director
I do lots of industrial shows and many of the top name welder manufacters are there. There are plenty of tricks to make it look like it works great. I have no experience with this product so I can't comment but be very wise before laying down your money. If it seems to be to good to be true it probably is. Try and find someone who has real world experience with the product.
03-18-2007, 08:05 PM
#4
Racer
Member Since: Jul 2006
Posts: 315
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Too good to be true???? No, no, no, no, no. The henrob is a fabulous tool - my favorite. Very easy to use and versatile.
I bought a dillon about 10 years ago. It is an absolutely great tool. It takes a little practice. You need: a good set of guages that get down to 4psi (be sure to accurately set pressures to 4psi), a special lens for aluminum, some experience picking the right tip (for the thickness and material).
If you've never done it before, the problem you will have is not recognizing that the material is at the correct temperature. That's the part where experience helps. The material will not be at the right temperature because the gas pressures were not set correctly or you are using too small a tip. If the material blows out - too big a tip.
I bought a pair of mufflers for $200 from mid-america motorworks for my 85 driver. They had them in stock. When I installed them, the left went on fine; the right was at a 45 degree angle. I was puzzled ... , took them both off and saw that the tube on the front of the muffler that connects to the rear Y pipe was welded on at the wrong angle. How can this be? They sell cheap junk! That's how. I called mid-america and they sent a replacement. Customer service wanted me to send them a picture. Sure! I got the new one ... I took it out the box and it was a left muffler not the right. The box was marked right so its clearly not their fault! (sarcasm). I called them back and they said "what do want me to do, rent you a car?" Very professional (sarcasm again). I spoke to customer service to see I could get a normal person on the phone and they said I would have to ship back the replacement muffler and then they could send another replacement. Well, I'm over a week into it at this point. I wanted to get my car going down the road so I had my credit card out and was ready to order a third muffler so they could ship ... and I thought to myself - I must have rocks in my head to be thinking about giving those people any more money. What were the chances of getting the right one? (Never again!) So, I didn't order it. Start counting ... one cut the pipe off with a dremel or hacksaw, two, position it on the car; 3, marked it with a pencil, 4, take it off, 5, position and clamp the pipe and muffler correctly and weld a bead with the henrob, done.
I bought an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and the adjusting screw was too tall (hit the manifold). I cut the top off the adjusting screw to shorten it and welded on a ss 3/16" nut so I could turn it easily when its on the car. - took a little more than 2 sec using the same pressure, smallest tip. SS is like steel. Aluminum requires a special lens. (ref: tinmantech.com) With the lens you look for and can see deformation in the aluminum instead of a red color ( like steel). Once you recognize that the deformation in aluminum indicates the correct temp, you can dip the rod and start the weld.
Cuts thick steel like a dream. You're using pure oxygen at high pressure!!! And, the tips are very fine. Amazing!
Anyway, the henrob is a great tool and Mid-America is terrible.
I bought a dillon about 10 years ago. It is an absolutely great tool. It takes a little practice. You need: a good set of guages that get down to 4psi (be sure to accurately set pressures to 4psi), a special lens for aluminum, some experience picking the right tip (for the thickness and material).
If you've never done it before, the problem you will have is not recognizing that the material is at the correct temperature. That's the part where experience helps. The material will not be at the right temperature because the gas pressures were not set correctly or you are using too small a tip. If the material blows out - too big a tip.
I bought a pair of mufflers for $200 from mid-america motorworks for my 85 driver. They had them in stock. When I installed them, the left went on fine; the right was at a 45 degree angle. I was puzzled ... , took them both off and saw that the tube on the front of the muffler that connects to the rear Y pipe was welded on at the wrong angle. How can this be? They sell cheap junk! That's how. I called mid-america and they sent a replacement. Customer service wanted me to send them a picture. Sure! I got the new one ... I took it out the box and it was a left muffler not the right. The box was marked right so its clearly not their fault! (sarcasm). I called them back and they said "what do want me to do, rent you a car?" Very professional (sarcasm again). I spoke to customer service to see I could get a normal person on the phone and they said I would have to ship back the replacement muffler and then they could send another replacement. Well, I'm over a week into it at this point. I wanted to get my car going down the road so I had my credit card out and was ready to order a third muffler so they could ship ... and I thought to myself - I must have rocks in my head to be thinking about giving those people any more money. What were the chances of getting the right one? (Never again!) So, I didn't order it. Start counting ... one cut the pipe off with a dremel or hacksaw, two, position it on the car; 3, marked it with a pencil, 4, take it off, 5, position and clamp the pipe and muffler correctly and weld a bead with the henrob, done.
I bought an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and the adjusting screw was too tall (hit the manifold). I cut the top off the adjusting screw to shorten it and welded on a ss 3/16" nut so I could turn it easily when its on the car. - took a little more than 2 sec using the same pressure, smallest tip. SS is like steel. Aluminum requires a special lens. (ref: tinmantech.com) With the lens you look for and can see deformation in the aluminum instead of a red color ( like steel). Once you recognize that the deformation in aluminum indicates the correct temp, you can dip the rod and start the weld.
Cuts thick steel like a dream. You're using pure oxygen at high pressure!!! And, the tips are very fine. Amazing!
Anyway, the henrob is a great tool and Mid-America is terrible.
Last edited by Tim_Ko; 03-18-2007 at 08:08 PM.
03-18-2007, 10:19 PM
#5
Intermediate
I've had it for a few years, nothing but good things to say. I've seen some advertisements that proclaim, "Cuts like plasma, welds like TIG." They're not far off. Get one, it's one of those tools you'll never get rid of.
03-18-2007, 10:34 PM
#6
Race Director
03-18-2007, 11:16 PM
#7
Drifting
Australian made
G'day,
Like the brakes on your (post '83) Corvette, the Dillon was invented and made in Australia by an Australian, but the market was too small here and they sold out to Henrob in the USA. I've seen it work, but an experienced welder told me that you can get the same effect from most other welding torches as long as you can set the gas pressure low enough. And for that you need very accurate gauges that read that low.
About 4 psi for both gases is the target I believe, and if you can only justify, or afford, one type of welding equipment, then this is the one to buy. I have a TIG welder that has a stick welding function, but rarely use the latter. For cutting, I use a hacksaw or cut-off wheel on a 4.5" angle grinder, but then I don't do much cutting. I'm saving for a plasma cutter, but not till I get the Vette on the road.
Regards from Down Under
aussiejohn
Like the brakes on your (post '83) Corvette, the Dillon was invented and made in Australia by an Australian, but the market was too small here and they sold out to Henrob in the USA. I've seen it work, but an experienced welder told me that you can get the same effect from most other welding torches as long as you can set the gas pressure low enough. And for that you need very accurate gauges that read that low.
About 4 psi for both gases is the target I believe, and if you can only justify, or afford, one type of welding equipment, then this is the one to buy. I have a TIG welder that has a stick welding function, but rarely use the latter. For cutting, I use a hacksaw or cut-off wheel on a 4.5" angle grinder, but then I don't do much cutting. I'm saving for a plasma cutter, but not till I get the Vette on the road.
Regards from Down Under
aussiejohn
04-15-2007, 04:20 PM
#10
Racer
Member Since: Jul 2006
Posts: 315
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Any other comments?
Yes, if you want to gas weld, it is a great tool. It will cost you several hundred bucks for the torch, the tanks and the regulators but, it will last a lifetime. And, it is so much cheaper (lighter, more convenient, easier to master) than a square wave tig. The tig will cost 5x as much.
The only other suggestion is that you check out www.tinmantech.com .
If you want to gas weld, the tinman has it all on his site. He sells the meco midget which is smaller (meco - size of a business card vs henrob - size of a 22 caliber ruger pistol), lighter (by a lot) and just as versatile. It uses oxy/acet; welds steel, ss, aluminum, moly ... The tinman (Ken) has a lot of educational materials and how-to articles on his site.
The herob sites also have how to's and some great videos - so, it's your personal choice. I have both henrob & meco, a mig and a square wave tig. I use the henrob the most. It's very comfortable. Weight is not a factor for me - I only use it for a half hour - small things. Ken is welding a completed airframes in 2 days where fatigue can be a problem
Good luck - you'll like it.
Yes, if you want to gas weld, it is a great tool. It will cost you several hundred bucks for the torch, the tanks and the regulators but, it will last a lifetime. And, it is so much cheaper (lighter, more convenient, easier to master) than a square wave tig. The tig will cost 5x as much.
The only other suggestion is that you check out www.tinmantech.com .
If you want to gas weld, the tinman has it all on his site. He sells the meco midget which is smaller (meco - size of a business card vs henrob - size of a 22 caliber ruger pistol), lighter (by a lot) and just as versatile. It uses oxy/acet; welds steel, ss, aluminum, moly ... The tinman (Ken) has a lot of educational materials and how-to articles on his site.
The herob sites also have how to's and some great videos - so, it's your personal choice. I have both henrob & meco, a mig and a square wave tig. I use the henrob the most. It's very comfortable. Weight is not a factor for me - I only use it for a half hour - small things. Ken is welding a completed airframes in 2 days where fatigue can be a problem
Good luck - you'll like it.
