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Most flexible Tig welding gloves?

Spud

Diamond
Joined
Jan 12, 2006
Location
Brookfield, Wisconsin
Most flexible Tig welding gloves?

Stick welding gloves are too stiff. Using just regular garden gloves now but they heat up quick.

Looking for the most flexible and preferably lightest Tig welding gloves.
 
The Tillman kidskin gloves are softer, thinner than the pig skin mentioned.
24CXL , extra large (to allow for heat shrinkage), with nice cuff to stop wrist UV burns;
and they wear/last--well. I'm on my 121st--pair of them.
 
Just bare in mind most tig gloves give very little heat protection, yeah you get some, but not much, its the trade off of thin supple and flexibility.

Google TIG finger, there great for proping on hot things, not something i use all that much, but when you need one, you need one. | will oftern set up a clamp or similar as a rest too to get me up off hot things.
 
What I do is just take an old pair of gloves and cut the cuff off. That gives you a sleeve you can slip over your fingers for more heat protection.
 
Tillmans are good, and there are knockoffs these days as well that are cheaper- because a good pair of Tillmans can run you fifteen to twenty bucks, if you go for the ones with kevlar thread.
The problem is- if you are working with small stuff, and lower temps, you need very thin gloves.
But the thin gloves wear out faster, and if your fingers are too close to the weld, which, sometimes, they have to be, your gloves get baked- and they get stiff and crunchy.
So the best gloves tend to have the shortest lifespan.
I buy the really thin tillmans, but only use them when its really the right glove for the jobs, and, most of the time, use a cheaper heavier cowhide glove.

Depends on the project, how good the weld has to be, and how much of a hurry you are in.

Gloves are a consumable.
I have a pile of used gloves about 4' tall and 3' x 3' I have been saving for a while to make some kind of art out of.
hundreds of pairs- we have been in this shop for 20 years, and there are sometimes 3 of us.
We usually wear out a pair of leather drivers gloves per person per month, and then a scattering of other special purpose gloves as well.
Holes happen. Stitching vaporizes, and fingers of gloves open up like file folders. leather gets so stiff from high heat that fingers wont bend at all.
 
The Tillman kidskin gloves are softer, thinner than the pig skin mentioned.
24CXL , extra large (to allow for heat shrinkage), with nice cuff to stop wrist UV burns;
and they wear/last--well. I'm on my 121st--pair of them.

Yes, I stand corrected. I use a kidskin 24 on my torch hand and a heavier glove on my filler hand. I hear Tillman is coming out with a foreskin glove which is even thinner. :stirthepot:
 
Tillmans are good, and there are knockoffs these days as well that are cheaper- because a good pair of Tillmans can run you fifteen to twenty bucks, if you go for the ones with kevlar thread.
The problem is- if you are working with small stuff, and lower temps, you need very thin gloves.
But the thin gloves wear out faster, and if your fingers are too close to the weld, which, sometimes, they have to be, your gloves get baked- and they get stiff and crunchy.
So the best gloves tend to have the shortest lifespan.
I buy the really thin tillmans, but only use them when its really the right glove for the jobs, and, most of the time, use a cheaper heavier cowhide glove.

Depends on the project, how good the weld has to be, and how much of a hurry you are in.

Gloves are a consumable.
I have a pile of used gloves about 4' tall and 3' x 3' I have been saving for a while to make some kind of art out of.
hundreds of pairs- we have been in this shop for 20 years, and there are sometimes 3 of us.
We usually wear out a pair of leather drivers gloves per person per month, and then a scattering of other special purpose gloves as well.
Holes happen. Stitching vaporizes, and fingers of gloves open up like file folders. leather gets so stiff from high heat that fingers wont bend at all.

I don't mind a short lifespan since I won't be welding frequently. So looking for the thinnest/most flexible ones. If heat is an issue I can always use a Tig finger to cover my fingers.

Are the kevlar ones stiffer and thicker than the non-kevlar Tillman gloves?
 
I don't TIG much at all, but I was looking at golf gloves, some appear to be leather, not plastic.
 
Have a look at all kevlar safety gloves. Some of them have silicone nodules on the fingers and palm for grip and they don't seem to get as affected with heat as leather.
 
Have a look at all kevlar safety gloves. Some of them have silicone nodules on the fingers and palm for grip and they don't seem to get as affected with heat as leather.

This! Once you try kevlar gloves you'll wonder why you wasted so much money on Tillman garbage. I ust the ones without the silicon but I'll have to try those next. FWIW I'm on my second set in something like 6 years.
 
The Tillman pigskin gloves I get at the local WS place are a reasonably-priced all around glove. Not perfect for delicate work, but pretty versatile and around $10/pair. Not in the shop and don't remeber the number, but I remember it's not on their website, so it must be a special run for Airgas.

They're fairly thornproof as well.

Gloves are disposable, I buy PVC gloves for commercial fishing by the dozen.
 
This! Once you try kevlar gloves you'll wonder why you wasted so much money on Tillman garbage. I ust the ones without the silicon but I'll have to try those next. FWIW I'm on my second set in something like 6 years.

Would you please give a make/type/weblink of the style of Kevlar glove you like for TIG?
 
Would you please give a make/type/weblink of the style of Kevlar glove you like for TIG?

I'm pretty sure these are the gloves I've been using. It's been so long since I bought them that I can't remember what cut level I bought. I bought two pair at the time because I didn't know what size to get. I'm still trying to wear out the mediums to get to the better fitting larges.

McMaster-Carr PN:

6086T25
 
I'm pretty sure these are the gloves I've been using. It's been so long since I bought them that I can't remember what cut level I bought. I bought two pair at the time because I didn't know what size to get. I'm still trying to wear out the mediums to get to the better fitting larges.

McMaster-Carr PN:

6086T25

Thanks! I'll try them.

dave
 
With the gloves, gotta say the Tillman 24 are pretty good, but the 44 series feels better on my large hands. Oddly enough, them being black doesn't seem to effect heat build up, but they do look better as they hide the dirt.

One thing slightly off topic, if you are like me and only weld ever so often or do summer outdoor welding, spend a little cash and get the Nomex sleeves, I have Tillman, because that is what was in the store. They protect you from the UV burn and sparks, without adding a layer to your back, as they only cover from armpit to wrist, so you only loose a little cooling when you weld as they are easy to slide down or remove between welds or cuts. Unlike leathers, they do breathe so you do still have a little bit of cooling with them on.

Rich C.
 








 
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