Anyone used 4943 Tig rod?
Turbo Mini Forums

I got a half kilo of this rod as I'd heard it was the dogs Danglies for cast alloy.
After using 4043 previously on cast stuff, I can say this stuff is night and day improved and well worth the cost.

I also welded up a very, VERY low quality die-cast fan guard off my cold saw - the kind of die cast "pot metal" that turns to crap and draws all the junk into the pool when you weld it; and it was like welding 6061 with a 5356 rod.

I think this is relatively new stuff on the market (last few years) but I reccomend getting some for when doing the K-heads or any other cast-alloy projects...

Edited by TurboDave16V on 26th Feb, 2017.

Like!

thats very interesting Dave, Ive done some ally stuff but struggled a bit on crappy stuff.

Oh and I forgot to add, this rod flows fantastically, making it absolutely perfect for welding up the water jacket holes in the K heads… I'm now finding the best way is to chamfer the existing cast holes to 45° using a die grinder, then simply work your way around with the tig rod, and it fills them like a dream... I honestly struggled when I tried doing this with 4043 the first time; to the extent that I actually sent the head out and had somebody else do it. Suffice to say with these rods, that will never happen again ...

Edited by TurboDave16V on 26th Feb, 2017.

Right I'm sold!

Shall get some and have a go. First K head I did I really struggled until it got hot enough and suddenly it was done in a couple if mins. Pre heating definitely worth it!

Preheating is essential if you want to stand a chance of avoiding issues down the road.

how hot to you go with the pre heating?

100-150 deg?

Edited by Joe C on 27th Feb, 2017.

hmmm looks like the 4943 is not that easy to get hold of over here, this is about the best I could find

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOBART-4943-TIG-RO...PMAAOSwxp9W6sic

Thats the stuff - and a pretty typical price... the 3/32 is a better "all-round" size IMO

Like Joe, I couldn't find a UK supplier (I was going to give it a try as well).

After a bit of digging it seems Hobart/Maxal developed it in the USA and have patented it (or at least have a patent pending) and there seems to be only one distributor of anything "hobart" in the UK,
http://www.itw-welding.com/en/consumables.html
They seem to be trade only and a search on their website for 4943 draws a blank.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

good find,

funnily enough I saw a Hobart van this morning ad got all exited.....

http://www.hobartuk.com/

damn!

I'll have a look at getting a batch from the US and splitting it up if theres interest,

10lb and split it into 1lb lots? bu the time delevery customs ect is factored in I gues we are looking at £7.50 per LB

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOBART-4943-TIG-RO...n-/222343919962

Sounds good to me.

I would be intrested aswell.
Mark.

Yes, obviously.

Joe, I've emailed the UK company that seems to be the only authorised supplier of the "Hobart" stuff.

It's a very long shot as they are obviously a trade supplier but you never know.....

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

I would also take some if you did a group buy Joe.

I'm in for a group buy.

Phil.

WWW.TURBO-MINI.COM

cool, lets see if Rod gets a reply, if not I'll get some on order.

Trust me - you'll want a few lbs each

I'd take some if you put an order in Joe

Edited by Rod S on 8th Mar, 2017.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Bah, Wankers.

OK, so that's 7 of us so far, so pretty good, I'll look at roughly how many rods that is so people can decide if the want to up to a couple of lb,

Seems crazy that this wouldn't be available in the UK
Seems its all the ease of 4043, with strength exceeding 5356; and useful on pretty much anything.

I just weighed some 4043 2.4mm rods.
Given that ours are metric and 1m long and in 5Kg packs, the Hobart is 3/32" and 36" long and in a 10lb pack, assuming the density of the two alloys is similar, a quick bit of maths says both the metric and imperial packs will have 400 rods, the USA ones just being shorter so a bit less metal per rod.

Schrödinger's cat - so which one am I ???

Cheers Rod,

So about 40 rods per lb, sounds OK,