Got a new Flex-Head Mig Gun (Pics+Video)

[ChuckE2009]

Yeah, I never knew there was such a thing either

So, a little while back I talked in a video about an HTP Flow-Meter I had, and really liked... Shortly thereafter, Jeff, from HTP America contacted me and wanted to send out a flex-head gun for my Hobart Handler 187 and some mig wire, just to see what I thought of it...

First impressions of the Gun:

Well to be honest, I really didnt know what to expect when I was opening up it's box. I only have one thing from HTP (the flowmeter), and I know little to nothing about the company...

The stock gun on my 187 is defiantly good, but this one appears to be a little better. It's made of heavier plastic, and has a slightly firmer spring where the gun meets the cable... The cable itself is a lot less "Plasticky" than the OEM Hobart cable, and best of all, the head twists in practically any direction...

It bends easily, despite the fact it was in the single digits when I first tried it out in my shop... It flexes back and forth, and goes in pretty much any direction you need it to.

It's a cool concept and one that I'd personally never gotten to experiment with. You know how you can adjust the head on a flex-head tig torch, or bend a stick electrode to get in a tight space, well now someone came up with a way to adjust a mig gun in the same fashion... You can straighten it out for a longer reach, twist it to the side, bend it in two directions to reach around something, etc... Haha, it's pretty fun to play around with

What don't I like? Well, it uses a different nozzle than the stock Hobart gun, which is NOT brass so it picks up spatter a little easier... Oh well, thats nothing that a little trip to Tractor Supply can't fix Despite the fact that I got a RED gun for my GRAY welder, I'm still totally thrilled with it. It has a very nice fit and finish, it's well balanced and feels good when you hold it, and I look forward to using it in lots of future videos...

Aside from the gun, HTP sent out some Mig wire to try as well... Normally I run Lincoln L-56 or Hobart Mig wire, just depending if I happen to stop at TSC or Lowes... I'd thought about trying some cheaper wire, but it always seemed like a gamble to me, and I never actually did...

This HTP stuff is cheap, even cheaper than the Hobart wire I'm used too after shipping... And I really couldn't find anything about HTP mig wire online, just a couple mentions of it but no reviews or anything along those lines...

So, I wasted no time setting up a spool of .030 in the 187 and fired it up. It has a very crisp arc, somewhat reminiscent of lincoln's L56 wire, just with a little more spatter that disappeared for the most part with a few adjustments of the welder. I honestly haven't run enough of this wire to have a good feel for it yet, but I plan on doing a smackdown/break test video about it in the very near future...

Anyway, that's what I've been up to lately. I'm days away from starting my next build series... It's going to be bigger and better than anything I've ever done before and I'm super excited about it.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice week, everyone

 

[Shield Arc]

I didn't know there were flex head Mig guns on the market. Is there some stiffness to it, where if you bumped the nozzle it won't move real easy? I can see where that would be very useful for a steady diet of over head welding!

 

[ChuckE2009]

I didn't know there were flex head Mig guns on the market. Is there some stiffness to it, where if you bumped the nozzle it won't move real easy? I can see where that would be very useful for a steady diet of over head welding!

Haha, neither did I :newhere:

Well, it's very adjustable but still doesnt feel like I'd move around all on it's own. I bet if you really bumped something with it, it'd move, but its not anything to really worry about... I like it so far

 

[rankrank1]

Regarding those metric stamped weld tips that you changed out in your video; you can certainly use them:

1 inch = 25.4 mm so....

0.9 mm / 25.4 = 0.035"
0.8 mm / 25.4 = 0.031"
0.6 mm / 25.4 = 0.023"

 

[CNC Dan]

Regarding those metric stamped weld tips that you changed out in your video; you can certainly use them:

1 inch = 25.4 mm so....

0.9 mm / 25.4 = 0.035"
0.8 mm / 25.4 = 0.031"
0.6 mm / 25.4 = 0.023"

I think he was refering to the threads.
But no matter, they all seem to be metric (M6).

 

[yomax4]

For the longest time, Bernard had a Flex Neck but it was a coil that when used a lot would get hot and floppy. Tweco has one called the Knuckle Head that has knuckles instead of a coil. Never gets floppy. Problem is they are nearly $40.00. I saw them at Fab-Tech a couple years ago and they had a robot flexing the thing and were on flex # 37,959 when I was watching it. They actually had 2 sizes and 2 lengths. I saw some guys welding fittings on tanks and they had short guns hanging down from the boom and the necks were pointing straight down. They just grab the gun and weld around the fitting and push it down the assembly line., Nuts..