Have been given a couple of 5kg boxes of 312 -17 rods, as I understand they are a stainless rod for welding stainless and carbon steel but can I use them to simply weld mild steel? Would mostly be heavy gauge box section etc.
Thanks for your reply, have tried a couple and they seemed to make a decent looking weld on mild steel, would there be any strength issues etc? Everything I weld is for my own use and mostly big agricultural stuff, don't want to waste them but don't want to waste my time using them if they aren't right for the job.
They are probably ok, but if you are welding stuff that is important i'd use the right rods. If you are in any doubt as to whether they are suitable then don't use them. You would be better off using E7018 or even E6013 rods which are the right consumable for the job.
7018's generally need a higher OCV that 6013's and need to be dry (They are a low hydrogen rod - stronger).
I might be wrong but my personal thought is disimilar rods on ms are more liable to crack under extreme load.
Yes you can use them for MS but its sledgehammer to crack a nut. The strength will be at least double that of the mild steel
They are intended for "difficult to weld" steels.