A15 and No
I was in my nearest BOC shop & asked for some A15 tig rods but the smallest they stocked was 2.4mm, I really wanted 1.6. What's the thinnest steel you can comfortably weld with these?
Wire manufacturers often give suggested amperage ranges like http://www.midalloy.com/html/pdf/low_alloy/Midalloy ER70S-2.pdf for example. As with suggested tungsten & cup sizes, gas flow rates etc none of them ever agree with each other...
Joint type/fit effects things some with regards to wire too... a fillet on 3mm is horrible to try and weld with 2.4mm wire, even running a bit hot the wire will stick to the weldpool and be very 'pasty'. Same deal with a closed butt even if it's veed. With a decent root gap on the other hand some 2.4mm wire is a bit more usable but it still only really starts to make sense when dealing with heavier wall stuff and personally i'd only want to use it for > 4mm wall butts with a 'loose' root gap most of the time i.e. the wire would fall through the root gap
Filler wire size suggestions are also made in this sites tutorials although it only goes upto 3mm stock and 1.6mm wire. Personally (for steels)* i'd say with 1.6mm and smaller wire a rule of thumb would be the wire can't be thicker than the stock and ideally thinner most of the time i.e. i'd rather feed more 1.0 or 1.2 wire for a fillet on 1.5mm steel or stainless than fight some 1.6mm wire. For a butt weld i'd reach for 1.6 wire and gap it to suit or if dealing with a closed butt on some stainless use 1.0 or 1.2mm, ideally the former. An open outside corner i'd rather use 1.6mm over 1.0mm wire most of the time with 1.2mm usually being the ideal compromise
* Ally is a bit different in that can use thicker wire in most situations i.e. on sub 2mm thickness most people would use wire that's equal or the next size up
Maybe not local, but can't be too bad to post to N.I.
Thanks for the reply, some excellent info there - that's why this is the best forum on the net.
So the basic rule of thumb is use a filler rod the same or preferably smaller than the thickness of the metal, much the same as mma welding. That's what I figured, just wanted to make sure. When I last tig welded we used 1.6 mm for everything but that was s/s stuff from 2 to 6mm.
I found out from the tig rods I was selling that most couriers want crazy prices to send stuff across the pond. If you send the rods in just the tube parcel farce want over £30 for one tube but if you wrap it up in a cardboard box it comes back to less than £20! Apparently round tubes are hard work for their processing machinery. Weldequip is quite keen for the rods but adding the carriage of £17.98 makes them expensive!
Hi Turbo, I just checked on the BOC website. TempoGlass in Enniskillen is listed as a welding equipment supplier. It might be worth checking out if they can order you up some rods! Failing that there are a couple of companies I use in Belfast who are excellent to deal with, and may have customers near Fermanagh meaning some sort of deal could be sorted. WeldPro & Welders Choice (both on the Sydenham Road). They're very helpful so could be worth a ring!
Eh?Is that why they came looking like giant toblerones? Also if it figures out cheaper for you happy for you to send them to me then send them to you