Welding Tips and Tricks

I was having a hard time finding 4943 locally and on the net specifically in 3/32 @ 10 lbs. I admittedly didn't look everywhere but still I looked. Well I finally found some and I had to go to weldfabulous.com. Still, it's ordered and shipped! I recall others having some issues a few months ago so I figured I'd share

entity-unknown wrote:I was having a hard time finding 4943 locally and on the net specifically in 3/32 @ 10 lbs. I admittedly didn't look everywhere but still I looked. Well I finally found some and I had to go to weldfabulous.com. Still, it's ordered and shipped! I recall others having some issues a few months ago so I figured I'd share

Cool, can't get it from Hobart online?

I buy mine from Hobart through my LWS.

I went to Lewis Welding Supply and asked them but they never heard of it. They called their other store and same story so they were going to talk to their Hobart distributor and get back to me. They never did and hadn't found it when I called for a follow up. I love that store and they're good people so I don't fault em for not getting back to me just for the record
Still maybe I'm just not a good shopper, just always busy...

You over-paid. Baker's Gas & Welding can get it for you if you call them directly or email them (it's not on their website).

Must've been a supply issue because that was the first place I checked a few months ago. I didn't check them this time though... Yep, not a savvy shopper but then again I've had good experience with weldfabulous and bought a few things from them so it's also trying to narrow how far my credit card info goes

entity-unknown wrote:Must've been a supply issue because that was the first place I checked a few months ago. I didn't check them this time though... Yep, not a savvy shopper but then again I've had good experience with weldfabulous and bought a few things from them so it's also trying to narrow how far my credit card info goes

So you called/emailed them and they said they couldn't get it for you?

Gee,

I guess I could have paid less via Baker Gas too. It's pretty silly of them to not advertise that they carry the stuff and how competitive their prices are for it. The 4943 does seem to have few sellers and I have been wanting to try it on project coming up.
No biggie though, I like Weldfabulous well enough, and paid $76.49 for 10 lbs, with free shipping, and no State extortion/tax paid. And that's about $20 higher than the Amazon price, delivered to me, for a similar amount of 5356, as I just figured that Maxal places a premium price on the stuff since nobody else has produced that alloy yet. I mean, I don't think there can be a patent-monopoly on the composition itself. Even if there were, a "4344" alloy could undoubtedly be made just as easily by a competitor.

Anyway, the 10 lbs will last me a long time, along with some 4043 and 5356 I still have. But maybe next time I'll call Baker.

C. Livingstone wrote:I mean, I don't think there can be a patent-monopoly on the composition itself. Even if there were, a "4344" alloy could undoubtedly be made just as easily by a competitor.

Incorrect. See below PDF, which was released prior to patent being granted:

http://www.maxal.com/MAXAL_4943.pdf

Then, since 2015, Illinois Tool Works, parent company of Hobart/Maxal was granted the patent. So it looks like its Hobart/Maxal until no sooner than the year 2040. I, personally, am not gonna wait to get it "cheaper" then, lol.

https://www.google.com/patents/US201503 ... ifications

No,

Obviously I'm not waiting, either.

But, yeah, it's not surprising that a monopoly, for a period of years, can be gotten from the State organization for a simple mixture of existing elements.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the idea of so-called intellectual property (IP), i.e., ownership of an idea. That monopoly concept was invented by Mercantilists and Monarchs of Europe, then imported North America via the US Federal Constitution, which is enforced with threats and coercion by a global hoard of extortion-paid FBI agent/lawyers, at the expense US Taxpayers. Although, maybe you're a State, Country, or City employee too, Oscar. Ha, ha, ha...

Anyway, since you've had the stuff for a while, Oscar, have you used any of your 4943?

How do you like it?

I'm going to use it on a diamond plate gas tank project.

Oscar wrote:

C. Livingstone wrote:I mean, I don't think there can be a patent-monopoly on the composition itself. Even if there were, a "4344" alloy could undoubtedly be made just as easily by a competitor.

Incorrect. See below PDF, which was released prior to patent being granted:

http://www.maxal.com/MAXAL_4943.pdf

Then, since 2015, Illinois Tool Works, parent company of Hobart/Maxal was granted the patent. So it looks like its Hobart/Maxal until no sooner than the year 2040. I, personally, am not gonna wait to get it "cheaper" then, lol.

https://www.google.com/patents/US201503 ... ifications