Seriously thinking about purchasing one after watching one demonstrated at chryslers at Carlisle and wanted to know if anyone here has sucessfully used one on their project. I know you need to practice,practice and practice some more. The practicle thing of having a welder and cutting apperatus in one appeals to me. Also being able to weld aluminum and cast is appealing also. So let me have it, thoughts, *****es anything of use. thanks.
I have one I bought at a Goodguys. It does what he shows you it can, but a HUGE learning curve is involved. Set up is kinda tricky. I went back to him the next year and used his already set up and it worked perfectly. There is much colorful language involved in learning this thing, but it is cheaper than a plasma cutter.
I've got a couple of them and wouldn't trade for a new conventional OA setup. It takes a little while to get the hang of them but well worth the effort. If you don't already gas weld with the old style you not have to unlearn a couple of things that are different from the Cobra. Frank
I've got one, and I'm still not practiced enough yet. Gotten pretty good at unintentionally annealing s****s of metal that I'm trying to weld, though.
I have one on the "Must Have" list. I used it for quite a while at a Metalmeet and they are great. I dont have an immediate need because I have all the big money tools that the Henrob can do but I am still planning on purchasing it. Great tool!
I use a standard aircraft torch, I hold like a pen........does the pistol grip have limitations?? I imagine it would!
The pistol grip did take a bit to get used to, I found a way to hold it like a TIG torch head and it felt better. That would be the ONE change that would make it better because it is somewhat awkward to hold.
I'll go along with the crowd saying the the pistol grip takes a while to get used to. I bought one a couple of years ago and like it. I think that if you are a good gas welder, you probably will get the hang of it fast. I've been gas welding for over 40 years and wished I had bought one of these things years ago. I might not have bought some of my other welders/plasma cutters.
I love mine, I have had it for 4 years now. Add the DVD from the English man ( mine is on loan now ) and you will be a panel welder in no time.
got mine at the f-100 super nats in gatlinburg last may, still in the pratice pratice an pratice a lil bit more stage but so far i love it...
I bought one of those Henrobs about 5 years ago. used up my small tanks just figuring it out, and haven't used it since. really cuts clean when you finally figure it out.
Lots of "still practicing" posts. I think they are OK but not worth it. I put them in the gadjet catagory.
plmczy It is available from Mindover here on the HAMB. The best $$ you'll spend on a metalshaping DVD. Michael
The guy at 2012 roundup includes a DVD with purchase now. Is it better/worse than the metals bling vid or is it the same?
BIG WARNING---- You must have regulators that will do LOW pressure (3-8 pounds pressure) consistently.My Victor set will not do that.
What types of problems are you having running that pressure range? I've got a newish Victor and run between five and six without any noticeable issues. Would LOVE to try the Henrob. Right now I'm just using the standard Victor with a OO tip for sheet metal work. Poor man's tig
It does. Good point. You have to get Oxygen and Acetylene anyways. A torch outfit from Sears or some other place is fairly cheap. I'd start with that. You can always buy a smaller traditional torch, which does the same thing. There's no magic to the Henrob.
I bought my Dillon/Henrob/Cobra/Whatever about 20 years ago. Company has changed names several times over the years. I've learned a few new techniques about OxyAcetylene with it. It is fuel efficient. It is not comparable to plasma, at least from my experiences with it. Cutting is very directional so you will do no close area cutting. I'm sure it's capabilities are beyond my range. Having said that I still hook it up once or twice a year yet. I think I paid $150 for mine, what are they going for now? By the way, they are not a mig or tig either. If mine disappeared tomorrow I don't know that I would be in a hurry to replace it but it is not for sale either.
At 3-8 pounds pressure my Oxygen regulator is unstable. The flame varies and doesn't provide constant heat. I have obtained a set of the Cobra gauges (got a SWEEEEEEEET deal at the swap meet from a guy that couldn't weld) but I havn't tried them yet.
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