any one know where i can get carbon arc rods

[airsmith282]

i need to know if any one knows a place in canada where i can get some carbon arc torch rods looking for the 1/4 inch size ones for the most part

[claudev]

Rods for old fashioned carbon arc rods may be hard to find (which I assume you want). However, any major welding supply should have or be able to get carbon gouging (Arc Air brand) rods for you. Not exactly the same as the old torch rods but should work OK. If you can't find anything I may?? have a few in my tool box you can have if I can figure out how to send them.

Let me know.

[radkins]

Are you talking about the old type carbon arc torch or carbon arc gouging/grooving equipment? I think the "gouging" type rods should work ok and these would be easy to find at any welding supply, they come in both DC and AC types and both Copper coated and plain.

[airsmith282]

iam talking about the old carbon arc torch rods iam mainly after the 1/4 inch rods my 70 amp lincon handels them really well,,,

[airsmith282]

i found a souce today in town for carbon arc gouging rods they guy says there the same thing as what i have now not bad either only 20 bucks for a big box of them so ill be set for rods for long time now

[radkins]

$20 is really cheap if you are talking about a box of 50! Those things come in both an AC and a DC version so if what you get does not work well you may still have an option, I have no idea which would be best for a carbon arc torch but I do know that for carbon arc gouging they must be correct.



A little bit of history on the carbon arc torch, it is not only the oldest form of electric arc welding going back over 100 years but it is also the first form of electric lighting, actually predating the electric light bulb!

[biometrics]

I believe that I recall from my youth (a long time ago), that in my curious mindsets, I took apart a standard (not alkaline) carbon D-cell battery and there was a .25 inch carbon rod inside the length of the battery... It might work for a one time experimental thing, but not as a supply for a welding operation. Just thought I would pass than on to anyone who needs one.

[gnm109]

I have a Lincoln electric dual rod arc torch that I used to use with my vintage Trindl 90 amp AC welder (small buzzbox). It worked great for brazing and had a nice heat. Lincoln still sells thm for around $75.00.

I don't use it much anymore but a few years ago, I bought some 1/4" copper coated arc rods for it from Airgas. I have tried both plain and copper coated and it only seems to work with the copper-coated electrodes.

[G.A. Ewen]

The carbon rods used for "ArcAir" gouging won't work well on the carbon arc welding torch. The ones made for the torch have less density in the center to the point where the large diameter ones almost look hollow. This is necessary for them to burn off evenly.

[Dawai]

OLD theaters used carbon rods for the lighting.. might be a source. THEy went to a high powered bulb now.. zeon? or some such stuff.

I can still remember lighting the arc, the reflection mirrored down onto a card with two pictures drawed on it.. the rods rotated as they fed inward, keeping constant arc.. with the mirror focusing the light and heat on the film, the original film was explosive, a nitrate compound.. the projection booths had a rolling door that would burn the rope loose and slam shut, trapping the projectionist in the booth.. I came along after the films had turned to acetates.. but the good pay persisted because of the previous hazards..

ahh.. I could sleep between the 20 minute reels of film, keeping a ear open for breakage and other problems.. swap out a reel on the cue marks and reload projector-carbon rods and go right back to sleep.. Ohh, I had a day job as a electrician, a night job as a bodyguard for dancers I knew, and a job running films at a drive in.. How else could a 18 year old man afford a brand new harley?

I did some arc-cutting of metal.. used a carbon rod and a air hose... it was a ugly cut..

The old war-spot lights worked the same way. Come to think of it, a carbon rod laser works the same way.. They will cut sheet metal at 10'..

[macona]

Yep, the new ones are Xenon. Pretty cool lamp. Ceramic cartridge lamp with a built in reflector. Gotta watch it though, they run at high pressure and put out a heck of a lot of UV.

Never heard of a carbon rod laser? Guessing it is using a carbon arc lamp to pump a solid state laser?

[Dawai]

That's a broadband light source I think in the laser.. Years ago someone was wanting me to put a polaroid Land camera sonar-focusing rig onto the handheld unit. I was having trouble with the floating point math on the lil cpu I was using.

It, the mirror, the power source all are expended when the rod is done up.. so.. focusing is "lost time" on the laser.. the sonar unit was supposed to adjust everything to spec before it lit off.

At one time, I installed a "static generator" onto a limosine, we talked about a hand held laser and a tesla coil powered bumper guard. The static generator was just a afro comb on a block of uhmw.. it swiveled in and built static.

The lil white fences around the front of a projection booth? a pre-teen jumped the fence, ran up to the projection window, and tried to look at the film as it ran through the machine.. it fried his eyes in a second. I sure am glad I was not there then. That's a lot of power coming off the carbon rods. even through the diffusion of the film and shutter wheel. (film stops by star wheel at each frame, runs 90 feet minute, or a foot and half a second) All that still works the same today as far as I know.. they use a platter system like a 8track thou and splice all the 20 minute reels together onto one big spool. THE I.A.T.S.E union projectionists is a thing of the past. I made as much money running movies a few hours as the ALL Day long construction job..

[eckns]

yeper, you need copper coated soft center rods for brazing, etc. The gouging rods will work very poorly, they are for gouging using the rod on the hot side and the work on the gnd. I tried it and have a bunch of gouging rods I can't use.:)

[airsmith282]

ok i tried the gouging rods and they are the 14/ inch ones and they do work but seem to suck up my poor 70 amp weler for all its worth now the ones my buddy game me with the tourch work fine but they are also very short in length so iam going to try and shorten the gouging rods hecne they are 3 times longer so take more power to run so shoten them and they should be ok, now i have some short rods he gave me that are rather large in OD and they also suck the welder for all its worth ,, will repost after trying the gouging rods in a shorter length..

[radkins]

I think the AC rods made for gouging will work somewhat better, these are a variation on the standard DC version of the carbon gouging rods that are more commonly used.

[airsmith282]

ok i cut the lenght to the same as my small ones works alot better but after 5 min i blew the breaker , found out the shop and my arc and half the basemt are on the same breaker time for some rewiring but it did work better so that proved my theroy on the lenght sucking my arc welder for to much , and yup the welder is got a nice turbo fan under it to keep the transformer cold so i can go endless or until the breaker blows in the basement lol

[Dawai]

Hmm.. guys.. I sold five or six tig rigs on ebay for $20-35 each.. most water cooled..

You can tig with a arc welder by the way.. if you have one that will not turn down "low" enough on the amps.. put a 1/8" tig rod in series with the ground clamp to the work table.. it'll glow red hot and reduce power in weld..

Must learn to scratch start the tig.. I only recently got enough money scratched together to buy my Miller synchrowave. One time, long ago... I was using the Lincoln Mig as a tig rig.. I had the door propped open, the trigger tied down and the tig tied to the mig's power wires. Polarity was backwards to the mig thou.

I was building stainless tattoo machines.. era.. 1984-92?? anyways.. my buddy Gary up in Iowa got my last neat ones..

Next to tig, I love the Henrob gas welder.. it is similar in the way you build a puddle.. THEN the oldest way I know.. Stick.. Mig is about the least enjoyable I think.. but.. still a quick way to electrically glue things together.

WORST UV burn I have ever had came from a carbon rod.. man that stuff makes some light.. I was a real red-neck.