What in the heck?

**Bluesman** · 03-09-2010, 08:29 AM

I know I'm somewhat a newbie to this whole metalworking thing when it comes to anything other than wire or stick welding so I thought I had pretty much seen or heard of it all...

Well, this kid comes in today and with a handfull of gimped up rods... These suckers look like someone tried to melt a brazing rod on some coral reef pieces... They tell me that these rods were given to them by another teacher (a history teacher that used to be in the oil field that was once a prisoner of Gadafi... Not making this up, I swear)... Anyway, coach tells her that they are some kinda word she can't say that starts with a "t" and then the word carbonate... She wants to burn one but I have no idea WHAT THE HELL THEY ARE!

Does anyone have any idea? I mean, if these things are ok, then I don't have a problem with it, but I don't need no hazmat team down here with it being a school and all. If you know what they are, how to burn them, and what kind of metal to burn them on... Then please help a brother out.

**Bluesman** · 03-09-2010, 08:35 AM

By the way, these things are very irregular in shape... They also have visible "chunks" of what appears to be carbon in them and are coated in a bronze colored film... If any of that helps.

**Freddytk421** · 03-09-2010, 11:24 AM

I would need to see a picture. They may be some old school flux core brazing rods. But I for sure don't know. I usually don't use unfamiliar rods unless I am doing something new that I have never done before and it requires them. Maybe they were given to some noob tool-pusher as a joke way back in the day?

**Bluesman** · 03-09-2010, 12:25 PM

I just messenged the other teacher. He said it is a tungsten carbide rod. He said it was used to repair oil drilling bits for greater than 15 thous. feet. If repair wasn't made soon enough and bit got too wore out then you could kiss about 50 grand good bye...

I asked what to weld it with and he said it was a dc rod... I asked dc+ or dc- and he didn't remember... I ask him if it was a tig filler rod or smaw rod and he said that they sent a welder to him when they sent the bits so he didn't get to use any of the rig welders with them. This was several years ago when he was workin in the Middle East so technology may have changed since then because I can't find any pics of this rod so far on the web.

---------- Post added 03-09-2010 at 12:26 PM ----------

I'm guessing those chunks I am seeing is tungsten chunks.

**bhardy501** · 03-09-2010, 01:04 PM

I couldnt find any pictures of a Tungsten Carbide rod, but did read some info on them. They are used as a hard surfacing rod. So I could see the use on a drill head to keep down wear while using it in the feild. I would be interested to see them. Do they have any numbers on them or manufacturer name?

**Bluesman** · 03-09-2010, 03:53 PM

No, nothing on them... They don't even look like a welding rod at all. They look like a stick of metal that was severly corroded and then coated with brazing bronze with little square chunks distributed throughout them. I am going to try to take a pic to show ya'll what I'm talking about. It is hard to grasp what they look like from my descriptions I'm sure, but I swear when you see them, you are going to see that my descriptions have been dead on.

**BearNPum** · 03-09-2010, 04:13 PM

Like these?

They burn these on with Oxy it appears - http://www.hardmetalindustries.com.a..._Wear_Pads.pdf .

They make rods with sharp carbide pieces, and round carbide pieces. Sharp for cutting, round for wear applications. Search for "tungsten carbide composite welding rod".

**Bluesman** · 03-09-2010, 07:13 PM

I believe that may just be it! I can't tell real well from the photo you posted to be 100% sure, but from all indications I think the mystery may have been solved.

So, if it really is an oxy rod then my observation of it looking like someone melted brazing bronze/brass all over a metal stick with some square chunks mixed into it was accurate.