[TheForge] Welding advice

[Ralph Sproul]

Hi Ron, The Air Arc torches are surprisingly less money than you think.  I
believe I paid $138 for the one I have now.

BUT......in answer to your question, you probably could hold an air nozzle
just below a carbon rod to get molten metal to fly........why hell, give a
farmer a welder and it is just amazing what they'll come up with.

Now the simple definition of a farmer:  is a man outstanding in his
field........so you fill in the blanks.     :-)

I would not attempt to have a wet or damp hand holding the air nozzle if you
were to touch the carbon rod by mistake.....at 250+ amps you'd probably wake
up much later.......if at all.

    I think this is followed by the usual disclaimer of "don't try this at
home kids......it's for professionals only"........... (or however that
saying goes).

Ralph

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Childers" <munlaw2 at hcsmail.com>
To: "'Sponsored by ABANA'" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2005 7:19 AM
Subject: RE: [TheForge] Welding advice


Ralph, would it be possible/ practical to rig an air jet on or in
conjunction with an electrode holder to cut with a carbon arc? A
made-for-the-purpose set-up is pretty expensive for a one time episode...I
have turned the heat up and cut (melted) steel with old wet electrodes-
seems like the carbon arc wouldn't care as long as it gets the air it needs.


Ron C

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Ralph Sproul
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2005 11:59 PM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Welding advice needed pronto

Andy,  The air arc process could be compared to a weld eraser.

It is a carbon graphite rod which is used as a non-transferable heating rod
element that uses compressed air from under the rod holder in the torch head
to remove the molten metal the arc from that rod is creating.  It is a
noisey, nasty process that requires proper safety gear be worn so you don't
get badly burned.

It is also very effective in removing welds with less heat transfer to the
base metal than a cutting torch.  The spatter and debris shoot 5-30 feet
away - so being aware of fire hazards is a good thing to be on top of as
well when doing this process.

It takes DC reverse polarity (electrode positive) with at least 200 amps for
a smaller sized electrode, but the most common size is 1/4, 5/16 for use
with the 400 amp torches.  Common current settings are 350-500 amps for
carbon arc gouging.  So, you need a good sized welder with a good duty cycle
to do this process.

There are also flat rods compared to the common round rods.  I've used them
to "sculpt" a block of metal like a carving chisel before.

Ralph


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