What is the welding stick used for oxy/acetylene welding as a filler rod?

Answer 1

If it is a blazing the filler could be silver/solder for copper, or brass/bronze for iron-based steels, both need special dipped flux or flux-coated sticks.

If it is a welding then any bare wire of the same material with the parts to be welded, and of a radius that fills quickly enough while melting relatively faster than the edges of the parts using a suitable nozzle and flow flame size. Flux, mostly for non-ferrous welds, needs to be of powder-type and is dipped in to pick up at the (hot) tip of the filler wire as needed. Flux-core wires would burn up and decompose in advance due to the conducted heat; and flux-coated sticks are not suitable for the relatively low temp of the flame.

The critical tricks of this trade are not the stick or its flux. Rather they are (1) adjusting the two gas relative flow rates to get a completely neutral flame (visibly a just-shrunk-to-one blue cone flame) to not oxidize the joint, and (2) orienting the flame so that it blows the filler metal toward to thicken the already-welded end of the joint line.

Answer 2

There are several.

The poor old Oxy-Acet torch is no longer considered a real player in the welding world, like it used to be. Now it seems they're used more for heating and cutting. I often get weird looks when I tell people I welded something with a gas torch. They assume I meant "brazing", which is not welding.

The gas torch actually welds in the same manner as a TIG welder does, but it uses a burning flame for its heat, instead of an electrical arc. So, you actually can use just about any filler rod that a TIG can use...and there are many.

I use my torch to weld mild steel sculptures (sheet metal), and for that purpose, I use RG45 rods in 1/16th diameter.

There are several other fillers, including tougher steel alloys, and even aluminum (yes, the gas torch will weld aluminum...but your welding supplier might not even know that).

The trick is to be aware of what filler you're using, and what parent metal you're using. Match the two, and don't just use "whatever you've got lying around" to do the job. This is true of all welding processes. Since the TIG can do all metals, you'll find a huge selection of filler rods that you can use with your torch.

These filler rods do not have flux on them. It's not needed, unless you're welding aluminum. If you plan to weld aluminum with a torch, you must use a flux made just for that purpose, and it gets brushed on to the piece and the rod.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

Yes it is a filler. It usually consists of a steel rod or aluminum if you are welding aluminum. It helps strengthen the weld.

Answer 4

Mild steel.

Answer 5

It would be called braising.