TIG Welding with 7018...........

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In class.... I find barely used filler of both 5P+ and 7018......... students who stick it.... or drop the filler on the ground and the flux falls off..... and they toss it in the bucket..... After all.... in class.... consumables are endless.... A Utupia for the bargain price of $400 a class.........I occasionally "acquire" a handful or two of 5P+ and 7018 for home practice use.... This week I grabbed a rod of 7018 that some other student must have dropped because most of the flux was gone.... but it was nearly a full rod.....I beat it off..... the flux I mean.....I cleaned it real good.....And then TIG welded with it..... I figured it must work since TIG is fluxless anyway......For the thickness metal i was welding.... 1/8" 7018 was way too much filler.... I had trouble wetting it in actually..... but it worked!After an inch or so I realized I need all the amps available.... and then I needed to lay the filler instead of dipping..... I was planning to use 1/16" filler..... this experiment tossed a fun curveball......Specs: 1/16" Thoriated.... 100 amps on the machine (it was just where the dial landed when I turned it on.... I didn't bother changing it)..... 1/8" 7018 as filler.... just for fun.....PICS........Precision TIG 185 and MP 210Bobcat 225NTCutmaster 42O/A tanks.... 2 Argon tanks...... 2 C25 TanksFacebook...... F2 Metal WorksETSY....... https://www.etsy.com/shop/F2MetalWorksF2MetalWorks.com....... http://www.f2metalworks.com/
Reply:That is too cool!  At the least an emergency-gotta-fix-something-right-now make do!
Reply:Probably better than the old coat hanger with the oxt/acetylene people used to do Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:Originally Posted by MinnesotaDaveProbably better than the old coat hanger with the oxt/acetylene people used to do
Reply:Originally Posted by pin2hotBaling wire was popular in my neck of the woods.  I used it a few times.   When it's all you have and you're miles from nowhere, you make do.  We weren't in the middle of nowhere, but you could see it from the back step.
Reply:I dont meen to be a name dropper but;  Zap_did a show with -7018.. When he machined it, he said it broke a lathe bit. The -7018 is good for it I guess.I think he said that only the flux was low hydrogen.  Makes sense to me.BTW, I tried it, works good for filler to me
Reply:I've done it with high nickel stick rods for tigging cast iron on occasion. We needed a cast iron burner patched up for one of the culinary classes at the school and the day school instructor asked if I could take a few minutes and tig it up at night for him. All he had for nickel filler was some stick rods, so we knocked off the flux and hit them with some sandpaper and they worked well for an emergency repair so they could keep the unit in service. You do have to get ALL the flux off. One of the kids helping me was a bit careless on cleaning the rods and you know it instantly when you hit some of the flux that was still left..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan