Is there a rod that will weld bronze?

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I might need to weld bronze to steel out in the field. I have a miller constant current ac/dc welder generator. Is there welding rod that can accomplish this?


Stephen Fitz-Gerald's picture

bronze stick rods

Stephen Fitz-Gerald
There certainly used to be.
Here's a link to one of my father's monolithic sculptures that I worked on stick welding bronze in 1970.I think they were 1/8th inch rods.The sheet bronze buckled a tremendous amount from the heat. We had to "stress release" every seam after welding by hammering...

http://people.tribe.net/stephenfitz-gerald/photos/aca3bb2f-d2ed-40e9-83d6-ce188b6f213f

If you find bronze stick rods ,I'd like to know where you find them too.


visitor's picture

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HILCO-B

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HILCO-BRONSIL-3-2MM-2-0KG-NON-FERR-SIF_W0QQitemZ130326796532QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_3?hash=item1e581518f4

expensive though


Rich Waugh's picture

"Expensive" doesn't even

"Expensive" doesn't even begin to describe that stuff! For the price of ten pounds at those rates, you could buy a MIG welder and the wire for it!

Rich


Ries's picture

Its really a lot better to

Its really a lot better to tig weld this.
To tig weld, in the field, with a cc welder generator is really pretty easy, and not that expensive.
You need a tank of argon, a scratch start air cooled tig torch, and some silicon bronze filler rod.
The torch runs about $150, and has a valve right on the handle to control the argon flow.
You can usually rent an argon tank by the day, week, or month to do this- I have often rented tanks for a day or two on jobsites in faraway cities, cheaply and easily.
I have my own argon flowmeters and torch, but many welding supply stores will rent these as well.
You set the machine for DC, and you turn on the gas flow, scratch start the torch, and weld.
Just remember to shut off the gas flow when the welding is done- argon is expensive.
For bronze to steel, silicon bronze filler rod, sometimes called "everdur", is the bomb. It works well, looks good, and is quite strong.
I have done this quite a bit in the field, in all kinds of conditions, even swinging in manlifts 90 feet up the side of a building.

Its clean, neat, and requires no grinding or cleanup, no sparks flying or danger of setting anything on fire, and is really the best way to go for this type of work, shop or site.


Rich Waugh's picture

Yeah, what Ries said! If

Yeah, what Ries said! If Ries says it, you can take it to the bank.

Having the TIG capability for your CC welder is a good thing, anyway. Nothing beats TIG for clean, accurate work. Especially if you have to work near finished floors, walls, glass, etc, where sputterballs and smoke aren't an allowable option.

Rich