What welding projects are you working on? Are you proud of something you built?
How about posting some pics so other welders can get some ideas?
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exnailpounder wrote: I would say as far as brazing characteristics, there was no difference...both "welded" the same but I used ALBr on this repair because of the strength advantage. I bought some ALBr on a whim when I was at the welders candy store and was itching to try it. I have used SilBr with great results and no problems but I can definitely see the merit in using ALBr for certain things. What did you use on that lathe shipswheels again?
per your recommendation it was SilBrz
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noddybrian
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Great job on both weld & finishing hope customer was impressed - quick question - why do you guys use aluminum bronze over " normal " nickel ? - I tried finding some here just to try but so far have not found any - I've always used nickel on cast where it can't be fusion welded with great results in terms of strength & machine ability - we do have bronze of that type in the UK but have only ever seen it in round bar & flat stock form - never welding rod.
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Man, your to good for your own good !!! that looks awesome.

creek
the heck with the duty cycle on the welder, tell me about the duty cycle on that grinder !!
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noddybrian wrote:Great job on both weld & finishing hope customer was impressed - quick question - why do you guys use aluminum bronze over " normal " nickel ? - I tried finding some here just to try but so far have not found any - I've always used nickel on cast where it can't be fusion welded with great results in terms of strength & machine ability - we do have bronze of that type in the UK but have only ever seen it in round bar & flat stock form - never welding rod.
If I remember correctly, a lot of times bronze is used because it doesn't have any cracking issues like nickel does. A lot of times it is a last resort if your nickel welds have failed and cracked.
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noddybrian wrote:Great job on both weld & finishing hope customer was impressed - quick question - why do you guys use aluminum bronze over " normal " nickel ? - I tried finding some here just to try but so far have not found any - I've always used nickel on cast where it can't be fusion welded with great results in terms of strength & machine ability - we do have bronze of that type in the UK but have only ever seen it in round bar & flat stock form - never welding rod.
Thanks :D
Like normal, the customer said "that's looks great" and then really didn't look at it again.
I guess people who don't do metal work don't realize it's often difficult to do 8-)

I can't say why others use it, I did a little reading and it had good qualities while being easy to get - only about US-$15 per pound.

Nickel tig rod wasn't as easy to get so I just went with Al-Bronze-A2
Dave J.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~

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Tried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
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Granddaddy wrote:Man, your to good for your own good !!! that looks awesome.

creek
Thanks granddaddy - love your signature line :D
Dave J.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~

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It's a shame when people don't appreciate the effort & attention to detail involved in repairs such as yours - at least you get professional pride in a job well done - funny on the rods - over here nickel has been used for as long as I can remember & is easy to get & not too expensive - aluminum bronze is unheard of - last time I asked I got " that look " much like when I asked when 4943 might be available ! give it another 10 years or so people may have heard of it - we always seem a long way behind on welding related things.
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noddybrian wrote:It's a shame when people don't appreciate the effort & attention to detail involved in repairs such as yours - at least you get professional pride in a job well done - funny on the rods - over here nickel has been used for as long as I can remember & is easy to get & not too expensive - aluminum bronze is unheard of - last time I asked I got " that look " much like when I asked when 4943 might be available ! give it another 10 years or so people may have heard of it - we always seem a long way behind on welding related things.
I should be more specific - the stick welding rods, nickel 99 and 55, are easily found at the local hardware store.

They are common enough that they're sitting on the open shelf so a person can buy a handful by the pound like the other rods.

Some people have said that knocking off the flux makes them a tig rod - but I have no first-hand experience with that, so I decided against trying it for a customer project.

Alum.Bronze tig rod was listed to work so I figured that way was the safest route. :)
Dave J.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~

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noddybrian wrote:It's a shame when people don't appreciate the effort & attention to detail involved in repairs such as yours - at least you get professional pride in a job well done - funny on the rods - over here nickel has been used for as long as I can remember & is easy to get & not too expensive - aluminum bronze is unheard of - last time I asked I got " that look " much like when I asked when 4943 might be available ! give it another 10 years or so people may have heard of it - we always seem a long way behind on welding related things.
I got "that look" when I asked for 4943 at a new LWS about 2 weeks ago.. The wise guy salesman said there is no such thing and kind of smiled. There was another guy standing in line next to me who told the guy he was wrong and told me about another store about 3 miles away that had it so I walked out and went to the other store and got it. 8-) Gosh that felt good.
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exnailpounder wrote:
noddybrian wrote:It's a shame when people don't appreciate the effort & attention to detail involved in repairs such as yours - at least you get professional pride in a job well done - funny on the rods - over here nickel has been used for as long as I can remember & is easy to get & not too expensive - aluminum bronze is unheard of - last time I asked I got " that look " much like when I asked when 4943 might be available ! give it another 10 years or so people may have heard of it - we always seem a long way behind on welding related things.
I got "that look" when I asked for 4943 at a new LWS about 2 weeks ago.. The wise guy salesman said there is no such thing and kind of smiled. There was another guy standing in line next to me who told the guy he was wrong and told me about another store about 3 miles away that had it so I walked out and went to the other store and got it. 8-) Gosh that felt good.
I hear you - I had to explain 4943 to the guys at my local store too.

They are pretty nice to me though and assumed I might know what I was saying :)
Dave J.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~

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electrode
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I read on here recently that Bakers Welding and Gas had great prices on tig filler (I think they were discussing 4943) so I called them about some aluminum bronze A2 (ALBA2) for a price on 10 pounds as they only have 1 lb tubes shown. He said just order 10 and we will ship it in a 10 lb box. :lol: So I asked what the price would be and he said the $21.00 per lb times 10. :roll: So I guess they are not the best place to buy ALBA2 but they beat out of AirGas at $239 for 10 pounds. :o And Fastenal has it for $275 for 10 pounds. :roll: I already have a box of 3/32 but wanted to get some 1/16 and that leads me to ask why is 1/16 always (or most always) more expensive than 3/32 or 1/8 for 10 pounds? I guess it's because you get more rods. :lol:
Thanks ;)
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electrode wrote:why is 1/16 always (or most always) more expensive than 3/32 or 1/8 for 10 pounds? I guess it's because you get more rods. :lol:
Thanks ;)
Well 10 lbs is 10lbs, the smaller diameter wire is more expensive to make, I priced .030" 316L recently it was $12.90 and .035" was $8.82 per lb
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electrode
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LtBadd wrote:
electrode wrote:why is 1/16 always (or most always) more expensive than 3/32 or 1/8 for 10 pounds? I guess it's because you get more rods. :lol:
Thanks ;)
Well 10 lbs is 10lbs, the smaller diameter wire is more expensive to make, I priced .030" 316L recently it was $12.90 and .035" was $8.82 per lb
Well I knew there must have been a reason...I guess cutting a bunch more and stamping them etc must cost a little more. Anyhow, I scored and got 10 pounds 1/16 ALBA2 for $123 cause I found a 10% coupon in my mail from October and it was still valid from Weldfabulous.
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You must have alot of brazing to do or is it for your collection?...I mean hoard :lol:
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electrode wrote:Well I knew there must have been a reason...I guess cutting a bunch more and stamping them etc must cost a little more. Anyhow, I scored and got 10 pounds 1/16 ALBA2 for $123 cause I found a 10% coupon in my mail from October and it was still valid from Weldfabulous.
I don't recall ever seeing .035" and smaller wire stamped, could be wrong about that, either they're flagged tagged or just not marked.
At an aerospace shop I worked many years ago the wire was colored coded to the customer spec.
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electrode
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exnailpounder wrote:You must have alot of brazing to do or is it for your collection?...I mean hoard :lol:
I always buy 10 pounds of everything except one time I split a box of SMW with a friend. :D It's cheaper that way in the long run and I always use it for something. But I am kind of a hoarder too. :lol:
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LtBadd wrote:
electrode wrote:Well I knew there must have been a reason...I guess cutting a bunch more and stamping them etc must cost a little more. Anyhow, I scored and got 10 pounds 1/16 ALBA2 for $123 cause I found a 10% coupon in my mail from October and it was still valid from Weldfabulous.
I don't recall ever seeing .035" and smaller wire stamped, could be wrong about that, either they're flagged tagged or just not marked.
At an aerospace shop I worked many years ago the wire was colored coded to the customer spec.
You may be correct. I think I only have filler down to .045 and maybe one tube of .035 probably in stainless but I would have to look (which I will and update later). ;)

edit: Update. I have a couple 0.45 and .035 fillers and there is nor markings that I could see at least not without a microscope. :P
Last edited by electrode on Thu Mar 23, 2017 2:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
exnailpounder
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electrode wrote:
exnailpounder wrote:You must have alot of brazing to do or is it for your collection?...I mean hoard :lol:
I always buy 10 pounds of everything except one time I split a box of SMW with a friend. :D It's cheaper that way in the long run and I always use it for something. But I am kind of a hoarder too. :lol:
:lol: I have slowly become a hoarder. There are a couple really awesome LWS north of me and when I go there and walk around, I get the "I wants" really bad. Who needs 5 different pairs of tig gloves? I guess I do now. Who needs 5 different kinds of tungsten, in 3 different sizes and the gas lens' and collets to go with 'em? I needed Inconel filler rod like I needed a hole in the head but I have it now. Never know when the refinery will call and ask me to come out and weld some pipe in the Alky. God we're sick :lol:
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exnailpounder wrote:
electrode wrote:
exnailpounder wrote:You must have alot of brazing to do or is it for your collection?...I mean hoard :lol:
I always buy 10 pounds of everything except one time I split a box of SMW with a friend. :D It's cheaper that way in the long run and I always use it for something. But I am kind of a hoarder too. :lol:
:lol: I have slowly become a hoarder. There are a couple really awesome LWS north of me and when I go there and walk around, I get the "I wants" really bad. Who needs 5 different pairs of tig gloves? I guess I do now. Who needs 5 different kinds of tungsten, in 3 different sizes and the gas lens' and collets to go with 'em? I needed Inconel filler rod like I needed a hole in the head but I have it now. Never know when the refinery will call and ask me to come out and weld some pipe in the Alky. God we're sick :lol:
I don't have any Inconel...yet! I have different tungsten but mainly 2% Lanthanated but in many sizes. Only one kind of glove but 5 pairs. :D Lots of collets and gas lenses and cups. But I was one of nine kids and we watched our Dad bring home the groceries we learned what hoarding was. Except he did it every week and we ate it all so he had to do it over and over again. :D
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Inconel is supposed to be awesome for welding cast. I wouldn't know because I usually use SilBr and normally I turn down cast repairs because everyone wants a guaranty and I won't on cast. I guess I need to go break something made from cast and see what all the fuss is about :lol:
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You will have less explaining to do when you meet with Saint Peter. You are a good guy.

I haven't yet tried aluminum bronze.

I proudly show off my first cast iron repair C. 1970 with a BIG welding tip on a cheap oxy/acetylene set. I bought some cast iron filler. Mom had a very ornate wood stove she bought in an antique store for $35.00. Father was beside himself that she wasted her money on a broken stove. I knew nothing of cleaning, TIG cathodic etching, or anything of the sort. I did have a very good grasp of the value of pre heating, slow cooling, and mechanical cleaning. The breaks were extensive, probably 2 feet overall. Nearly 50 years later they are holding! It was used as primary heat for ten years, until the efficiency police voiced their condemnation. These days it's an ornament.

Tomorrow, I'll ask some unpleasant questions of you about selling out, and using a square wave welder.

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Thanks Willie :)

You must be referring to the little guy on the left...the 2 of them glare at each other and argue about who gets to stay :D
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Dave J.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~

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MinnesotaDave wrote:Thanks Willie :)

You must be referring to the little guy on the left...the 2 of them glare at each other and argue about who gets to stay :D
image.jpeg
Well I would be glad to take the 350 off of your hands! Just give me a little time to find the 100 amp breaker I need just to start the damn thing. Those have to be two of the toughest machines ever. What kind of pedal do you use with the 350-still the original? Water cooled torch?
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Farmwelding wrote:
MinnesotaDave wrote:Thanks Willie :)

You must be referring to the little guy on the left...the 2 of them glare at each other and argue about who gets to stay :D
image.jpeg
Well I would be glad to take the 350 off of your hands! Just give me a little time to find the 100 amp breaker I need just to start the damn thing. Those have to be two of the toughest machines ever. What kind of pedal do you use with the 350-still the original? Water cooled torch?
Standard Miller pedal of proper type for each - after I switched to water cooled it's all I use except when using one of my small machines :)
Dave J.

Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~

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I'd adopt either. Both are historically significant, both legends. I can duplicate the performance of the Syncrowave with one of those modern electronic things. The sheer tonnage of the yellow thing can't be topped! So what if it can't weld, Its weight exceeds all the others. It'd leave a dent in a concrete floor. I'll find a way to power it!

.

Willie
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