WELDING RODS

The best welding cannot be done without using the best grade of materials,
and the added cost of these materials over less desirable forms is so
slight when compared to the quality of work performed and the waste of
gases with inferior supplies, that it is very unprofitable to take any
chances in this respect. The makers of welding equipment carry an
assortment of supplies that have been standardized and that may be relied
upon to produce the desired result when properly used. The safest plan is
to secure this class of material from the makers.

Welding rods, or welding sticks, are used to supply the additional metal
required in the body of the weld to replace that broken or cut away and
also to add to the joint whenever possible so that the work may have the
same or greater strength than that found in the original piece. A rod of
the same material as that being welded is used when both parts of the work
are the same. When dissimilar metals are to be joined rods of a composition
suited to the work are employed.

These filling rods are required in all work except steel of less than 16
gauge. Alloy iron rods are used for cast iron. These rods have a high
silicon content, the silicon reacting with the carbon in the iron to
produce a softer and more easily machined weld than would otherwise be the
case. These rods are often made so that they melt at a slightly lower point
than cast iron. This is done for the reason that when the part being welded
has been brought to the fusing heat by the torch, the filling material can
be instantly melted in without allowing the parts to cool. The metal can be
added faster and more easily controlled.

Rods or wires of Norway iron are used for steel welding in almost all