can you arc-weld with coat hangers?

**snake.oiler** · 07-31-2006, 06:42 PM

can you arc-weld with coat hangers? or is it not possible without the flux coating?

i'm not looking to actually do any structural welds...i was just wondering about doing some art, using coat hangers to build up some filler metal on stuff like sculptures...as long as it'll deposit metal, it's good enough for me...i'd rather use up the coat hangers than spend money on rods.

**fyoung** · 07-31-2006, 07:01 PM

We've used coat hangers a lot..my brother more than me..i prefer a general purpose brazing rod . We've welded stuff like lawn mower mufflers, decks etc. nothing big but again i think a brazing rod works so much better. I'm not sure if the coat hangers are the same as they use to be..don't seem like they are as thick and now days a lot of them have paint on them..maybe someone else knows more about the ehangers..I've not used one in a long time. The general purpose brazing rods aren't very expensive..not around here anyway...not sure about your area.
Regards, Farris

tigman · 07-31-2006, 07:02 PM

Give it a try I think you will be UN-pleasantly suprised, with GTAW on a sculpture no problem for build up. Buy some rods they are cheap and use your coat hangers for hanging up clothes

**ARCH** · 07-31-2006, 07:20 PM

The short answer is not very well. You can do a simple test yourself. Just break the flux off a welding rod and try to weld with it...I don't think you will have much success.

Arch

**tailshaft56** · 07-31-2006, 07:48 PM

You can O/A or tig weld with a coat hanger as filler. Like was said before it will work but regular filler rod is recomended. SMAW or "stick weld" wouldn't work because of the lack of flux to shield the weld.

**whateg0** · 07-31-2006, 07:55 PM

Yep, it's been done. I remember Dad used to do exhaust work with coat hangers. Would build a bridge with it, but for O/A it does fill.

I haven't done much with it. I have made a couple of repairs with coat hangers, but those were with Dad's O/A setup. I've had MIG longer than I've had my own O/A.

Dave

**Hotfoot** · 07-31-2006, 07:56 PM

Back in the day...coat hangers were used alot for OA gas welding, but now the metalurgy is so screwy that you cannot get consistent performance, if you can find some that weld up like you want in the first place...I have never heard of anyone using them to stick weld, but go try it, whatta ya got to lose??

(Posting of results is required, you understand)

**cc/cv** · 07-31-2006, 11:52 PM

its only about 4 dollars for 70S6 mild steel a lb. ? why bother with coat hangers, unless ya in the boonies???????????? and flux is cheap to, niether costing enough to amout to anything???

**fyoung** · 08-01-2006, 01:45 AM

Originally Posted by snake.oiler

can you arc-weld with coat hangers? or is it not possible without the flux coating?

i'm not looking to actually do any structural welds...i was just wondering about doing some art, using coat hangers to build up some filler metal on stuff like sculptures...as long as it'll deposit metal, it's good enough for me...i'd rather use up the coat hangers than spend money on rods.

I guess just call me STUPID! I re-read your question and then realized I missed the part where you said: (can you arc-weld) When i read that I seen a torch in my mind and went from there *LOL* Sorry for the bad reply..I've never Arc Welded with clothes hangers or brazing rods and probably never will! *LOL*

**whateg0** · 08-01-2006, 10:19 AM

Not recommending this but...

Isn't there some sort of flux that you can mix into a paste and coat a material in? May have been for a different process, but something like that comes to mind.

Dave

**Hotfoot** · 08-01-2006, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by whateg0

Not recommending this but...

Isn't there some sort of flux that you can mix into a paste and coat a material in? May have been for a different process, but something like that comes to mind.

Dave

O/A. Again! Like a can of boraxo with bazing rod, or Aluma Paste with aluminum.

(The accepted mixing procedeure is to spit into the can, sometimes with alittle extra beer mixied in the spit!)

**Mike W** · 08-01-2006, 11:17 AM

I have a 1940's arc welding procedure book that mentions the use of bare and "lightly washed" electrodes. All of the modern coatings didn't pop up overnight.

**whateg0** · 08-01-2006, 12:24 PM

Thanks, Hotfoot. I couldn't remember. Never used it before. All the welding I had done before I bought my MIG was either O/A with wire hanger or red buzzbox with whatever Dad had in the box on top of it.

Dave

**Richs** · 08-01-2006, 01:20 PM

When I was practicing OAW, I gave a couple of coat hangers a try. Didn't even clean off the laquer coating. They really worked but, that was on exhaust tube which itself is crap steel anyway. I'd never use hangers on anything structural and I have a large supply of gas and tig rods that there's no need to use hangers... but in a pinch... and only on a gas welded cheepie exhaust... who knows.

**Roger** · 08-02-2006, 01:26 AM

I'll bet everyone that welds with arc welder using stick electrodes have tried using coat hanger or some other commonly available wire for welding electrode. It doesn't damage the welding machine and you find out it doesn't work very well. The bare wire will be hard to weld with and produce poor welds full of swiss cheese like holes but that is how arc welding started. Next thing to try if you have read about early welding electrodes is wrap wire with wet brown craft paper from paper bag to make primitive cellulose flux electrode.

Explore ESAB web site and read some interesting stories about the early days of arc welding.

I learned that coat hangers make poor weld filler metal when I was about 6 years old. A weldor gas welded the broken crank on my first bicycle using coat hanger filler metal. The crank broke again during first use after repair. He then braised it using brass filler which didn't break.