Welding Tips and Tricks

I have some 1/8 and 3/32 filler rods that say R45 on them. I have used them for practice, but are they actually O/A filler rods? they have a copper colored coating on them like my mig wire.

It's gas welding rod. (oxy/fuel)

so I shouldn't use it as filler at all for tig then. I was using it to bridge gaps in exhaust pipe while using mig, but the quality of the weld didn't matter.

It's not the alloy to take a TIG pipe test with, but you can burn them all you want in the manner you described. I've OA welded with coat-hangers, TIGged with MIG wire. You can use cast piston rings (high-nickel) to TIG cast iron/steel. You can use house wire to TIG copper.

Only critical applications require critical alloys. That R45 will do fine for TIG on exhaust, especially as a gap-filler to MIG over.

Steve S

ok perfect. cause i don't have any es70-2 or 6 filler rods of any size, so i just use mig wire or double helix the left overs when ever i change a spool and store it for later. I was thinking of just taking it out of my rod cupboard to make space for some 309 I had ordered.

Yep, got to agree. for non critical stuff you'll be fine. Although, I had some similar oxy/fuel wire that wouldn't work for shit on tig. It was like the porosity was built right in the wire!

I try to keep as many different types of wire as I can on hand. For carbon steel ER100s-1 is some sweet running wire. Strong
as all get out too. I really like it for when you have to grind and sand any reinforcement away for cosmetic reasons.
Like crack repairs in motorcycle fenders and such.