Welding Tips and Tricks

I keep hearing about it but have no idea what it is or what it's for.

SOmeone please help educate a Noob.

you can get it at any welding supply store. Its kinda like a chaulk, its one of the few things that write really good and visibly on steel, the differance being soapstone wipes off easily.

see my visual aid-http://airgas.com/browse/productDetail. ... ct=NISSSFL

I have seen it at the local suppliers just didn't know if it was worth it or what it was for.

Does it need to be cleaned off prior to welding or can you use it as a guide and and weld over it.

Can you see the line made with soap stone through a darkened hood?

Soapstone is very useful (and dirt cheap) on carbon steel for laying out cut lines. Sharpen it with a grinder or the side of a chop-saw blade. The torch will not make it disappear. When welding, it's usually used to mark start/stop points, and does not need to be removed. Yes, you can see it under the hood. For stainless steel, a Sharpie, or a #2 pencil, will be much more visible.

If you need higher precision, get a "silver streak", which will lay out a line about 1/64" wide. The leads are also available in red, for marking Al and SS.

Steve

Thanks,

I'll pick one up next time I get to the store.

Personally, I like paint markers better than soap stone for most uses. If your workin on somethin that is gonna get covered up, like structural steel or pipe, the paint marker is better because it lasts longer and wont fade. The soap stone marks dont tend to last very long on a job site.

kermdawg is right about the longevity of soapstone marks. This is another place the silver streak shines. Like paint, the marks last a long time. It is also designed for welding layout, so, like soapstone, won't contaminate your weld (except in high-purity applications, I suppose). I think I said the silver streak makes a 1/64" line, it's actually about 1/32". For start/stop reference, the paint marker can't be beat for visibility with your hood down.

Steve

I have to admit that I've never heard of silver streak before.

Then again I'm only a hobbyist type welder so why would I?

I'll definitely look into it. Is it something that is usually available at a local welding shop or best ordered on line?

Part of a Google search:

Markal 96006 Silver-Streak Fineline Metal Markers Silver Streak Round
$5 - 22 stores
Markal 96006G Layout Marker Silver Streak
$6 - 3 stores
Markal 434-96018 Silver-Streak Fineline Metal Marker Refills Flat
$6 - 19 stores

Think I'll try it too, although I've been told:
"For the ultimate in accuracy, measure it with a yardstick, mark it with chalk and cut it with a torch."

If you need an ultra-fine mark that absolutely will not contaminate your weld, you need a scribe, which is basically a really sharp needle. They are part of a tri-square, not sure if yuo could buy em seperate. It just scores the steel, no ink or anything. Not very visible, but the ultimate in accuracy

The McMaster-Carr catalog has scribes of all kinds, steel, carbide, and diamond, for not much money, but if I actually need to scribe something in steel or anything softer, a sharpened 1/8" tungsten (2% any-ated, not pure) kicks ass for a little bit of nothing, but, as kermdawg said, it takes a pretty deep scribe to be seen clearly with your hood down. In a situation that critical, you might not want to create a sharp gouge in your material.

Unless you're building satellites for JPL, it's probably not that critical. My rule is to use the easiest method that meets my goal. If you need a really tight line, a silver streak shows up while torching or tacking, and it's reflective enough to show up while welding. For a rough line, soapstone is just fine on carbon, but harder to spot on stainless. I've even used artists' colored pencils in a pinch.

Wow. I really rambled on that post.

Steve

3 things I always have for layout-carpenters pencil, sharpie, and a chaulk box. All three can be used to mark anything if so inclined, but the sharpie is almost impossible to see on steel. Carpenters pencil aint all that, but it does work.

Guess it wouldnt work if you had black chaulk in the chaulk box. Use red, and ignore the carpenters yellin at ya

From Wikipedia: "Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a metamorphic rock, a talc-schist. It is largely composed of the mineral talc and is thus rich in magnesium. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occurs in the areas where tectonic plates are subducted, changing rocks by heat and pressure, with influx of fluids, but without melting. It has been a medium for carving for thousands of years."

Getting past all that scientific mumbo-jumbo, soapstone is a very soft rock used for a number of things, among which is marking on metal. The commercially available soapstone products found in most hardware and welding stores works very well for marking dark steel when sharpened. It comes in several shapes and holds up under heat (for welding or torch cutting), but is useless on oily, greasy or bright metal (aluminum, stainless, chrome, etc.).

Paint pens and grease pencils are okay but usually make a very wide mark. I have found the Markal Silver-Streak pen works great for most work and can be sharpened to a fine point.

For real fine work you will need a scribe. Be aware though, scribes work by scratching a line in the material. This is usually not good for sheet metal or marking work that will leave the layout revealed in the finish product.

--Bill the metal creator

Things I have used to mark metal:
Soapstone- sharpened like a wedge
Silver artist pencil- have to sharpen often
Black sharpie- SS and Al
Silver sharpie- carbon steel
Silver streak- just started using it but I am liking it
Scribe- scratch awl. sharpened tungsten and carbide scribe
Scribe with center punch marks so it doesn't disappear while welding or cutting

In my welding jacket sleeve slots right now, silver streak in one and black sharpie in the other.

Markal makes a "lead" for the silver-streak pencil (I've only seen it in the "flat" format, not the 3/32 round "pencil lead" style.) called Red Ryter that marks Al and SS beautifully, and shows up with your hood down.

Steve S

Interestingly, it was a spam post that brought this topic back to the top.

Someone advising on fixing and maintaining soapstone countertops...

Steve S

i been using soapstone to layout punch/cutting lines forever and carry a large file in my tool bucket to sharpen it. watching jody's video clips gave me the sharpie idea.

Thanks for this thread because I never knew about the Silver pencils and this helped out alot ..

I LIKE TO USE A COMBINATION OF BOTH SOAPSTONE & A CARBIDE TIPPED SCRIBE.
I USE THE SOAPSTONE TO MAKE TWO OR MORE DISTANCE LOCATIONS & THEN USE MY SCRIBE TO CONNECT THESE POINTS. THIS IS VERY ACCURATE AND FAST.
THE SOAPSTONE MAKES IT EASY TO SEE YOUR LOCATION MARKS AND THEN USE A STRAIGHTEDGE TO SCRIBE MARK TO MARK
BY USING THIS METHOD YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP SHARPENING YOUR SOAPSTONE AS YOU DRAW LONG STRAIGHT LINES,AND YOU CAN SEE YOUR SCRIBED LINES FAIRLY EASY.

I use the silverstreak markers for a lot of years,but I can't buy the red color (for aluminum) any more from my local suppliers.Can Anyone help?

Soap stone marks are temporary and wipe off easily, as others have stated. Its advantage is that is does not disappear when hot. Its most common usage is doing layout lines for cutting with oxygen/acetylene. It is invaluable and very inexpensive.

For years I've been using silver pencils from an art supply store...at about 25 cents each