A ck17 tig torch With a Super Flex Cable is one of my favorites

Have you tried a CK17 TIG torch yet?

I know not everyone has had the opportunity to try out all different brand and types of tig torches like miller, esab, lincoln, weldtec, and CK.

I have.

So you can believe me when I tell you that a CK17 TIG torch with a super flex cable is a really nice tig torch...especially for a 200 amp and under tig welder.

I am sure thats why  brands like HTP and Primeweld include a genuine ck17 tig torch with their TIG machines instead of some generic import torch.

They know the CK17 torch makes a much better first impression when the owner strikes the first arc.

One of the main complaints with many imported tig welders is that the tig torch included with the tig welder is not always that great.

In fact, the last Esab Rebel I used for a tig video had a fairly decent feeling 17 style air cooled esab torch... but the torch cable was so stiff, it felt like a garden hose in the wintertime... and it was fighting against my every movement.

My hand was tired after only an hour of welding.

Of course, the ck mt200 tig welder comes with a ck17 tig torch, super flex cable,  along with a nice foot pedal.

When you hold the torch for the first time, it feels great and the cable is so flexible that you dont even know its there.

...and I think HTP and Primeweld are smart for including a

ck17 tig torch with super flex cables with their tig welding machines.

Imagine if you just bought a new "up and coming" brand of sports car that had plenty of power, handled great too, but the steering wheel just felt cheap and clunky and smelled like Harbor Freight.

You would be thinking to yourself, Dang...this car is pretty awesome, 

...but I just cant get past the clunky steering wheel.

That car company would be foolish to have  the  steering wheel, the main touch point of their awesome sports car ... to feel cheap and clunky.

They would be so much better off  paying extra attention to the steering wheel...even if it costs a few bucks more... so it wouldn't detract from the overall experience.

When I worked as a pipe welder, I had to pretty much be ok with whatever tig torch they provided.Mostly it was 17 and 26 style air cooled torches with a valve because they we used mostly scratch start tig rigs.

I got used to them.

But when I transitioned into aerospace repair welding, almost every tig torch  was a small water cooled 20 style torch.

And then I got used to those.

I still prefer a small torch for the most part, but I learned that ck17 tig torch with super flex cable feels great too.

But only after I swap out the standard torch hardware to a furick or ck stubby gas lens setup.

My every day "go to" setup is a CK17 Tig Torch with super flex cable and a clear #8 cup with furick adapter hardware

Its a great all around cup for AC and DC and it lights things up for me and helps me better.

I like to use the same CK17 setup with a pink ceramic #5 or #6 cup for aluminum

And for stainless steels, and 4130 chromoly, I like to use a ceramic jazzy #10...or a Furick ceramic 12 cup.

transitioning from pipe welding to aerospace welding

In pipe welding, tungsten electrode size was usually 1/8"...( sometimes 3/32")

In aerospace welding, tungsten size was usually 1/16" (but we sometimes used up to 5/32" for heavy aluminum and magnesium castings)

Everything was smaller in the aerospace welding world including filler metal.

I never even used a small .030" filler before getting into aerospace repair welding...but it is very common in aerospace welding.