Henrob torch....where you been all my life!

I just spent an hour welding with my new Henrob. Man, what a nice tool. So far I've just messed around with 18 & 20 ga steel, can't wait to try some other metals. This thing rocks! By my third bead, I was making nice welds, and hammering them to near perfection. If you don't have this tool, get one!

 

Got to second what Tinbender said about the Henrob torch. You can do some amazing things with it. IMO it is just plain easier to control the flame with the pistol grip than the old style gas torches. It takes a little getting used to, but if you follow the directions you turn out some beautiful welds.

Frank

 

How much was it..??

I've heard good things about the Henrob...
(as opposed to the Henway...Ha ha..!!)

 

400 for the kit with welding & cutting tips. Well worth it.

 

Do either of you happen to gas weld aluminum with a regular torch or with the henrob? I want to start welding aluminum with a regular torch soon, and have been considering getting a henrob eventually. Wondering how different the procedure is with the henrob on aluminum.

 

I think I might try one of those out.....looks like it's worth the price...

 

A couple of us here have been singing the Henrob praises for a few years. I have 2 of them, one in the shop and one at home. Do cutting, hammer welding and even repairs on cast aluminum. Takes practice with aluminum as it doesnt give you any warnings but now I can fix broken castings and make look as new.

I havent done much with sheet aluminum but as we speak Im fabing up a blower intake for a flathead. Time will tell how it looks.

Oh, also used it to fix cast iron exhaust manifolds.

A Mig can do the same thing but it is a PIA to switch around between materials and damn expensive too. Cant justify a TIG. Rods for the Henrob are dirt cheap and boy is it ever stingy on fuel.

 

noob question: what do you guys find yourselves using more on stuff like chassis fab, (eg. crossmembers, boxing plates, rearends etc... )... torch, MIG, or TIG? i have been reading up on MIG TIG and torch, all seem to have pros/cons... is there a certain voltage/amperage to look for when doing this type of work?

have any recommendations for something in the 600-700 dollar range?

 

I'm another to sing the praises of Henrob. Wait until you try cutting some heavy steel with the cutting attachment. When they advertise that it cuts like plasma, they are not too far off the mark.

When I first got mine I had a lot of 3/8" steel to cut. I used the training wheels that came with the kit but found I actually ended up with a better cut when I took them off. The wheels help keep a proper standoff distance but if you don't hold and consistant pressure downward on the wheels when moveing the torch, my movements got a little jerky.(Couldn't have be the wine) When cutting, be sure to use the shield as a lot of heat is reflected.

Sure is a lot cheaper then plasma and sure like mine.

 

man, I saw those, got a brochure at Auto Fair...they good huh?

 

for heavy guage stuff, MIG is good. TIG's not worth getting into for the amateur in most cases. It's a very skilled form of welding. For welding crossmembers and everything MIG is certainly the most user friendly, and with very little practice you can be welding away...

I'm still welding body panels with a MIG at this point, but I've been preparing myself for the spend on the Henrob torch, because MIG welds are very hard, and usually (for me anyway) post-welding hammer-work results in cracks. MIG isn't ideal for working with panels (and it took me some practice to learn how NOT to blast holes in the panels!) but it certainly can be done, but you'll always need to follow with body-filler because you have to grind the weld back.

I'm looking forward to doing some panel work with a Henrob, and in particular, stealing Cole Foster's idea from my "fabricating a bra for my girlfriend" thread, and making an aluminium cowboy hat!

It's good to hear more good things about the Henrob, I'm feeling pretty confident about the spend now...

 

http://www.cut-like-plasma.com/

Go there...they have downloadable demos.

Just got mine, went to get a new regulator and hose setup today for the bottles. Will try out this weekend.

FYI: DO NOT BUY one of those cheap $75.00 torch outfits as found as a "complete set" on places like Harbor Freight or E-Bay...they have regular pipe threaded fittings, unlike the ones used for most "professional" torch setups, and if you try to put a Henrob on your hoses, it may not thread on. I found out the hard way and had to shell out $175 bones today at the welding shop for a GOOD Lincoln complete torch setup...

 

does your regs. read to the low psi henrob requires?

 

Yessir, I'll be able to set it low enough. It's actually a Harris setup, I think Lincoln bought them out or something, their name is one the box as well...but good point...Henrobs only need 4 psi on both the Oxy and the Acetelyne side...way low compared to the regular style torch...

 

im yet another who loves the Henrob...
and im in the industry (may stray once in a while, though).

I use my MIG, stick and TIG more often, but the Henrob is my favorite oxy/ace welding and cutting outfit. In fact, i dont even have a plasma cutter anymore...
and my favorite for any welding with body work...

My Henrob (actually it was an older Dillon) was stolen a little while back... need to get another ASAP.

 

ive got a henrob and cant wait to use it, but our rig at work starts reading at 15 psi, and the guy i got the kit from said it pretty much had to be exact.

 

Henrob's great for precision gas welding and doing hammer welding of sheetmetal.

When welding aluminum, there are still things that can be done in conjunction with a Henrob that will help, like the special lenses and flux that the tinman (not the HAMB tinman, but kent what's his name in CA) sells. Also I have heard of using a different gas in one of the tanks. I forget which, but it is a clean burning gas to make the aluminum weld nicely without the contaminants. Hydrogen I think. Oxy-hydrogen welding. Check it.

 

I've been wondering about the stingy on fuel part too, after reading their claims. I really like that idea because I'm a cheap bastard, and I'm sick of having to carry the cylinders from my portable rig on my bike to refill them. Thought about leasing some big cylinders but I'm too cheap for that. I could penny up for a one time investment for a really stingy torch that can do more though. On the cast aluminum do you have to do anything special to prep or just ss-wire-brush the oxide layer off like raw alum? I'd love to be able to work on castings.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Also I have heard of using a different gas in one of the tanks. I forget which, but it is a clean burning gas to make the aluminum weld nicely without the contaminants. Hydrogen I think. Oxy-hydrogen welding. Check it.

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On the tinman's site it mentions that but says it was only used during the war because acetylene was more expensive. I've also heard some aircraft resto people insist on it just because it's what was originally used and some people can tell a slight difference in the look of the weld, but so far I haven't found any info that says it actually makes a better weld.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Henrobs only need 4 psi on both the Oxy and the Acetelyne side...way low compared to the regular style torch...

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I only use 5 psi per side on my regular torch.

 

I don't know about the new ones but mine came with instructions on how to set the regulators without even using the gauge readings on the regulators. At that low pressure most regulator gauges aren't accurate anyway. Here are the instructions as best I remember:
1. Attach torch to hoses
2. Back off regulator adjuster so you have no gas flow on both oxy & ac.
3. install largest tip on torch.
4.Open both oxy & Ac. valves on torch to full open.
5.Turn in ac. adjusting knob until you get gas flow at tip.
6.Ignite torch.
7.slowly increase ac. pressure until the black smoke stops on end of flame.
8. slowly turn in ox. regulator until you get neutral flame at tip.
9. Shut off torch, the regulators are adjusted for welding.
10. Install proper tip for gauge metal to be welded.
11. Ignite torch and adjust to neutral flame, your ready to weld.
Maybe someone can correct me if I missed anything, but I think this covers the basics.

Frank

 

I'm reading this with great interest.

so....if a guy could afford only one setup, MIG, TIG, stick, a conventional oxyacetylene setup, or a Henrob, is the Henrob closest to a do-it-all tool, excepting really thick material such as frame rails, etc.?

from my point of view, it's definitely sounding that way- what do you think?

 

I use my Henrob for welding stainless, with a flux from Tinman.

 

40oz.tofreedom,sounds like you should get those regulators checked out.you could blow yourself up with a rig like that.

 

Hey Picasso, I do work in a shop with all the goodies.........The Henrob would be my first buy...NICE...We got ours this fall, I dont know gas welding...I can do it now......

 

really? oooo. I've already got a set of Pop's old regulators and a new set of hoses. hmmmm.

a local fab'r uses one for chromoly and aluminum on his LSR car, and recommended it to a pro-welder fellow across the street who's building a helicopter from chromoly and was having trouble getting clean welds with a TIG.

I just couldn't believe the quality of the welds he got on both metals. incredible.
I'm no welder, but it sure seems like that's the way to learn.

 

Another satisfied customer! Another great feature is being able to weld up old cast-iron mainifolds with old piston rings. It WORKS!
When you get good with it, you can run a gas weld on sheet metal so FAST, it doesn't have a chance to warp! LOL!
Maybe a bit of exaggeration, but you really can run a puddle so fast, it's amazing! And the heat affected zone is MUCh smaller than a TIG, and just as workable, if not more.

 

<font color="green"> Another link...

http://www.eastwoodco.com/email/default.asp?T1=19200&amp;SRCCODE=1CJBAN8

More than the one from MercMan, but it comes with two more tips.

This thing looks like a great tool.

Maybe Santa will bring me one? </font>

 

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does your regs. read to the low psi henrob requires?

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Henrob makes a big deal about getting both the oxygen and the acetylene at 4 psi (for welding). I don't think that it matters a lot: the important thing is to get a completely neutral flame, which you dial in at the torch itself. At those low pressures, it's simply easier to get the flame just right at the torch. Following Fab32'd instructions works, too.

I also noticed that when I was at Wyotech recently that all of the oxy-acetylene outfits (maybe 25) were fitted with Henrobs, or maybe they were the identical old Dillons.

The cutting through steel really is awesome.

--Matt

 

[ QUOTE ]
so....if a guy could afford only one setup, MIG, TIG, stick, a conventional oxyacetylene setup, or a Henrob, is the Henrob closest to a do-it-all tool?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'd recommend either a conventional oxyacetylene setup or a Henrob. A MIG or a TIG can't really cut metal. Either torch comes in handy for getting stuff hot, which means you can loosen stuck stuff, shrink metal, and bend or straighten stuff.

To use a Henrob, you need oxygen, acetelyne, regulators, and hose--which IS a conventional oxyacetylene setup, minus the relatively inexpensive torch. Get that first and add the Henrob when money allows.