Filler Rod Question

For years I have used a filler rod for OA welding that has now disappeared locally. The place I used to get it was bought out by a national chain that just carries their over priced house brands. No one from the old place is still there. The rod I am looking for is not copper coated, but has a kind of waxy rust inhibiter on it. The stuff welds the low grade stainless exhaust tubing better than anything else that I have found. It is much stronger than the normal OA filler rods and is harder as well. Someone has suggested that it may be filler for gas welding 4130 tubing in aircraft applications. (Rag wing stuff) I was also told years ago that it was some kind of TIG rod. Any help identifying the stuff and procuring a new supply would be appreciated.

ER-70S is great for 4130, but not likely for stainless. All I have bought is copper coated.

Probably need some 308

Here is one place

308 tig filler rod

John

I agree with John, 308 rod is a good filler for regular steel as well as for stainless in the 304/308 series. I was told by several people that any stainless rod was OK for steel and for equivalent or lower grade stainless of the same series.
Dave

309 is a good general stailness filler..
70-S2 is excellent for 4130 as well as crs and chromoly tubing..

...zap!

Coat hanger filler rod has been the butt of many jokes but it is a high quality semi killed steel.
Sand off the paint and try it, you may be suprised.
A metalurgist friend that worked for a welding wire manufacturer told me about this many years ago and I have often been suprised at how well it works.

I used coat hangers for years because they seemed to work as well as regular welding rod. The stuff I am looking for is VASTLY superior to either. It is both harder and stronger than welds with standard welding rod. I never had a weld fail with this stuff. When I was a kid I used to build "custom" exhaust systems out of what ever was on hand. At one time I was building hot rod glass pack exhausts for 850 FIAT Spyders out of the header portion of the stock exhaust system and 3 or 4 bends of old exhaust pipe to run forward far enough that I could generate a 180* bend out of used pipe and run a Top Auto Cherry Bomb glass pack out the back. I never had one fail even when I quit building supports for the free end of the glass pack. Built out of coat hangers or regular welding rod they lasted about 20 minutes. I found a sample of the magic rod so I am off to the welding joint in the AM to see if they can identify it. I ran down an old employee of the defunct welding supply store and he is going to see if he can identify it.

I also have to gloat a bit: I just bought a TIG welder off of the Craigs List and got quite a deal. I got a Miller DialArc HF welder on casters, torch, flow meter, argon bottle, high zuke foot control, leads, stick stinger and some consumables. The torch is gas cooled but the power supply is set up for a wet torch. The whole set-up has maybe 20 hours on it from new. No sign that a hand has ever even touched a control. $400

If you are in Wauna then try Pacific Welding supply. See if you can get Bob Plummer at the Center Street store in Tacoma.