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Welding supplies handbooks

Best welding guides: how to become a more skilled welder and how to select the top welding equipment. 2% thoriated tungsten electrodes are mildly radioactive: Word on the street is that 2% thoriated tungsten electrodes are mildly radioactive. They say deer meat is too. No one gets out alive. Good news though…and it’s not just that I saved a bundle on my car insurance by switching to GEICO.. I have learned through testing a bunch of arc starts and by welding on all different metals that 2% lanthanated electrodes are about as good as the 2% thoriated. I even like the lanthanated a little better for some applications. So if you are scared of thoriated tungsten but you are even more scared of crappy electrodes that don’t work as well, use 2% lanthanated…they are colored blue. One word to the wise here. The blue ones are not brittle like 2% thoriated electrodes. And they splinter if you try to break them or snip with dykes. You have to cut or score with a grinder in order to cut to size or cut off a bib blob of metal you don’t want to sand off.

Get filler metal charts to let you choose correct rods for whatever materials you are welding: Alcotecs Aluminum filler metal chart . Go online to alcotec.com for an aluminum filler wire chart. You probably won’t find a filler metal chart that covers welding dissimilar metals so here is your filler metal chart right here: are you ready? Here it is… if it you don’t know what metal you are welding, but it sparks when you grind it, and it is not titanium, try using hastelloy W. or 312 stainless. Hastelloy W TIG welding rod has become extremely expensive. 312 stainless is also a very good rod choice for welding steel of unknown composition. For a critical weld, you should not just rely on 312 without knowing the metal type..you should determine the metal type for any critical weld.

Do a practice run. This may sound silly, but you’ll find that many professional welders do this before every pass. Get in the most comfortable position you can, with support blocks in place if helpful, and run your hands along the path they will traverse as you make the weld. You will often find that a slight adjustment of your position will allow you to make a longer pass, or to move your hands with less stress. Any strain in your position will have a negative impact on the weld. Also, you build valuable muscle memory when making your practice run, which will help keep everything on track when you make the ‘real’ pass. Clean a contaminated electrode immediately! Every welder will contaminate their electrode at some point, but it’s essential that you replace a contaminated electrode immediately. I usually keep a group of pre-sharpened electrodes right on my welding bench, so I can swap them out without having to walk to my grinder.

Looking for the best Welding Equipment? We recommend Welding Supplies Direct & Associate company TWS Direct Ltd is an online distributor of a wide range of welding supplies, welding equipment and welding machines. We supply Plasma Cutters, MIG, TIG, ARC Welding Machines and support consumables to the UK, Ireland and Europe.

Always know what gas your wire requires — whether it’s 100 percent CO2 or argon, or a mix of the two. \While CO2 is considerably cheaper than argon and good for penetrating welds on steel, it also tends to run cooler, making it usable for thinner materials. Use a 75 percent argon/25 percent CO2 gas mix for even greater penetration and a cleaner weld, since it generates less spatter than straight CO2. Here are some suggestions for shielding gases for common types of wire: Solid Carbon Steel Wire: Solid carbon steel wire must be used with CO2 shielding gas or a 75 percent CO2/25 percent argon mix, which is best used indoors with no wind for auto body, manufacturing and fabrication applications. Aluminum Wire: Argon shielding gas must be used with aluminum wire, which is ideal for stronger welds and easier feeding. Stainless Steel Wire: Stainless steel wire works well with a tri-mix of helium, argon and CO2.