Selecting the Right Cutting Tip

Over decades, there have been many advances in the welding industry.

Yet it’s easy to forget how simple and helpful oxy-acetylene cutting is:

1. It is very portable and can easily be brought into the field.
2. You can simply and quickly change the cutting direction during operations.
3. When cutting, you don’t need to move the steel – just the torch.
4. Equipment cost is much less than machine tools (e.g. plasma).

We often get asked about what tip to use in the torch. Sometimes, we have torches coming in for repair; only to find out that the wrong torch tips have been installed. 3 questions need to be answered to get the correct tip for manual cutting:

1. What’s the make/model of your torch?
2. What type of gas is used?
3. What’s the thickness of the metal being cut?

 

1. Who manufactured your torch? What model is it?

From time to time we receive torches which have incorrect tips put in the head. Below is a picture of three different cutting tips but they have similar looking seats -hence, the confusion. If you don’t know the answer to the latter question, it can be difficult to answer. In that case, it’s best to call us for help around that issue.Sometimes, we can tell just by looking at the torch or the last tip it used.

2. What type of fuel & gas are you using?

There are several gas fuels used in oxygen-fuel welding, with Acetylene as the most common. Each gas fuel needs the proper torch tip
in order to be used properly and efficiently. For example, there are torch tips available for Propylene to compensate for its longer pre-heat time. For pre-heating efficiency, there are heavier torch tips for Propane cutting.

3. What’s the thickness of the metal being cut?

Below are 2 charts on choosing the correct tip.Because not all manufacturers use the same numbering system, the first tip chart shows the hole size you need for the metal thickness you want to cut.