I keep fighting access on 1/8 in 4130 gussets welded inside 2x2x.120 frames with a chunky 17 torch; the cup angle kills gas coverage and I end up overcooking edges trying to maintain fillet throat. Has anyone switched to a CK Flex-Loc or a 9 with a gas lens (Furick 12 or #8) for this, and did it tighten puddle control around tight radii at about 95–110 A DCEN with 3/32 in 2% lanthanated without compromising structural integrity?
I switched to a CK 9 with a stubby 2‑series gas lens and a #6 cup and it finally didn’t feel like TIGing inside a mailbox; 1/16 2% La, 0.045 filler, and a short arc around 100 A tightened the puddle in those 2x2x.120 corners. I’m with @jacob2476 on smaller cups — Furick 12 works but in boxed frames I get cleaner coverage with a #6–#8 at about 16 cfh and a 1–2 Hz pulse around 30% on/35% background. If you want to keep the 17, a stubby kit plus a wedge collet gets you most of the way there without going Flex‑Loc.
Bending the Flex-Loc head about 45° let me keep the cup square while the handle stayed out of the rail; a wedge collet and short backcap kept stickout tiny so the toes stopped cooking. I run a #7 gas saver and a ‘short arc, long taper’ on the tungsten, and if you don’t want the Flex-Loc, a 20‑series micro torch is even nicer in there — just needs a cooler, like trying to weld inside a shoebox without one.