Selectarc 29/9

[Jan]

Yesterday while picking up some practice material that a nice gent offered me for free he also gave me an unopened 5Kg box of 3.2mm welding sticks as above. How good are they? and what kind of use might I get from them?

Ps. Yes, I do have an arc welder - make and power? ... er ... I forget but I have to wind it down seriously low when welding thin stuff with 2mm sticks.

 

[PTvor]

Selectarc 29/9 are a stainless electrode, but they are used for welding difficult to weld steels, tool steels and so on, and dissimilar steels.

You can find the data sheet on the web. I recall some stainless electrodes are DC only or need a highish OCV, but these should be OK with a buzz-box.

Weldequip sells an equivalent.

http://www.weldequip.com/specials-electrode.htm

They're very expensive electrodes and it seems a shame to burn them up in practice.

The other thing you should be aware of is that with stainless electrodes the slag pings off in little pieces while it's still very hot, so be aware of that and don't drop your mask straight away, or wear safety goggles as well. It also hurts if it hits your skin, so be sure to be well covered up.

 

[Jan]

£10 for 8 sticks He gave me 147 Perhaps I should sell them and give him half ... Although I'll keep a few for when I have to weld up the exhaust system on my Silver Shadow. As supplied it has stainless boxes, but mild steel pipes. Why? But as a full new system costs over a grand plus delivery, fitting and finally VAT on the total it could save me a lot in the long run.
Anyhoo ...
Thanks for the info and advice. Fortunately I need a lot less practice with arc welding as I've been doing it for several years and can now work even very thin metals. Perhaps not well or pretty, but at least the penetration is good & strong. My back double gates (a modified steel bed frame) have been up for about 3 years and show no signs of giving way under the strain. As it happens I'm currently in the process of purchasing heavier clothing (mostly from charity shops) for better protection. Yesterday I got a pair of cotton rich heavy 'cavalry twill' trousers for £2. Who cares how badly they get scorched as long as the spatter doesn't find its way through to my tender skin? And they can be replaced just as cheaply when they're worn out. However I'm not happy with welding in Rigger boots since they're relatively open at the top. I'll just have to flash the cash and get a new decent pair of regular steel toe-cap boots.

 

[AndyStobbs]

Just put your boots inside your trousers

 

[PTvor]

£10 for 8 is quite reasonable for a small quantity of those, especially since you expect to pay through the nose (per item) for small quantities of anything.

They don't seem to come down much in price (per item) if you buy bigger quantities.

http://www.thewelderswarehouse.com/Welding/Arc_Welding_Electrodes.html

They're the sort of rod where most of us would find it useful to have a few on hand, but no one wants to fork out £130 and upwards, for a packet of rods we might use a few of every couple of years. If you decided to sell them you might be better off, and find them easier to sell for a sensible price, in lots of 10.

Don't forget these are 3.2mm rods and so they're a bit heavy for working on exhausts. Generally,very few people would tackle work on exhausts with arc anyway.

 

[Jan]

Don't forget these are 3.2mm rods and so they're a bit heavy for working on exhausts. Generally,very few people would tackle work on exhausts with arc anyway.

You could be right. Perhaps I'd better stick to MIG for my exhaust systems. In the meantime I have to install a stainless Lambda sensor adaptor into the front of the system so I can upgrade the LPG setup to closed- rather than open-loop.