Base Metals

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I have probably one of the more basic questions, but I can not find an answer that has really helped me. I've searched this website as well as google, but maybe I'm asking the wrong questions.I'm new to the welding scene, obviously, and I'm clueless about metal apparently. I understand that you have to match your filler metal to the base metals you will be welding, but how do I know what the base metal is, or what grade stainless needs to be welded? Thus, without knowing what the base metal is, I don't know what filler to use.From what I have gathered, most steel is mild steel, but how do I know that for sure. Is there a chart, rule of thumb, common metal sense, that is being used by everyone else but me?
Reply:What welding process are you performing?Mild steel, structural shapes (likely A36) like angle, channel, etc, you can use ER70s2 to be safe.Depends on what you are doing. Are you practicing? Making something? What is the application?Mystery metals are just that. You can hazard a guess depending on shape, where it came from, if you know. If it is something that is gonna count, buy something specific...takes all the mystery out of it.I'm sure a search as to matching filler up to specific grades of stainless is easily performed.
Reply:http://www.esabna.com/EUWeb/AWTC/Lesson1_1.htmEd Conleyhttp://www.screamingbroccoli.com/MM252MM211 (Sold)Passport Plus & Spool gunLincoln SP135 Plus- (Gone to a good home)Klutch 120v Plasma cutterSO 2020 benderBeer in the fridge
Reply:Welcome RubaDub06!If you're the OEM you spec the material, if you're the weld hand you're told what it is, if you're into repair then you have to ask, network, learn ways to sort as best you can, etc.It takes a lifetime & then you realize you just started...Matt
Reply:There is a way to estimate the base metal by reading the sparks produced by grinding. Different metals produce different spark colors, patterns, etc. Try searching for "spark testing metals" to see if you can find more info.
Reply:The vast majority of the (weldable) carbon steels available have a yield stress below 70 ksi.  These include A36 (plate, shape, and old beams), A572-50 (plate), A516-70 (pressure vessel quality plate), A992-50 (new W beams), A53-B/A106-B (pipe)...For these materials, ER70 MIG and TIG filler are well suited.  E70XX electrodes are preferred for structural stick welding.304 stainless accounts for more than 50% of the stainless production.  ER308 is the preferred hard wire for this material (E308 for stick electrodes).These are the materials I assume when required.
Reply:Sorry for the slow response guys, but truth be told, I am training at a supply store and I want to be able to get my customers the best information. So, while I would actually like to learn to weld,I feel it is more important for me to be able to recommend the correct filler for the customer rather than me striking an arc.Currently, anytime I get a question I have to turn around and ask the guy behind me, and I would much rather be self supportive. I have read the entire Basic Filler Metal training on the Esab page, but it doesn't give me information on how to determine the base metal. Several times a week, I have a customer come in the store and ask for some rods, and of course I ask what type they need, however more times than not, they don't know what they need. So, my next question is "What are you welding?" Unless they say mild steel, or 308, or a specific grade of metal I have to ask someone else. I know that it is mainly up to the customer to know what they actually need, but I would feel much better knowing that I could help them determine what application would be best for them.So, I guess a better question would be, How can your supplier be more helpful to you? Right now there are two people in my office that have been in this industry 20+ years and I feel that in 3 months I will surpass their knowledge on welding products. I refuse to be as ignorant as I am now in 20 years.
Reply:Lincolns little book 'Metals and How to Weld Them' would be a good ten dollar investment. https://ssl.lincolnelectric.com/linc...p?PID=16&cat=8"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:Originally Posted by RubaDub06Sorry for the slow response guys, but truth be told, I am training at a supply store and I want to be able to get my customers the best information. So, while I would actually like to learn to weld,I feel it is more important for me to be able to recommend the correct filler for the customer rather than me striking an arc.....I know that it is mainly up to the customer to know what they actually need, but I would feel much better knowing that I could help them determine what application would be best for them.So, I guess a better question would be, How can your supplier be more helpful to you? Right now there are two people in my office that have been in this industry 20+ years and I feel that in 3 months I will surpass their knowledge on welding products. I refuse to be as ignorant as I am now in 20 years.
Reply:Originally Posted by RubaDub06I know that it is mainly up to the customer to know what they actually need, but I would feel much better knowing that I could help them determine what application would be best for them.
Reply:Thank you for the help and support. Hopefully, soon, I will be getting some hands on training. I'm more of a learn by doing kind of guy, so being able to put my hands on the machines will not only spark my interest even more, but my experience will make me more comfortable holding a conversation with my customers.Hopefully, I will get to a point where I can begin to learn about fabrication. I have a Jeep that I would really like to be able to build custom parts for rather than just buying off the shelf kind of stuff that everybody else has. I would also like to build a firepit at some point.Again thanks for the help.