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  #1  
Old 11-08-2019, 08:04 AM
billfunk29 billfunk29 is offline
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Default 4943 aluminum rod

I just broke down and bought some 4943 rod. Has anyone used this? TIG? Gas?
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Old 11-08-2019, 12:00 PM
Mr fixit Mr fixit is offline
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What is the application? What is the base metal? Why this rod specifically?
I've looked it up and it seems to be quite a universal rod, but the info I read does not speak to it's ability to be shaped or worked if doing metal work on the welds, is that something that you will be doing?
Here is some info but still curious about the ability to shape it after welding.

http://www.fabricatingandmetalworkin...lsion-systems/

OK lots of questions I know, but I'm not a welder by trade just a hobbyist and just someone that likes to learn and I guess ask questions.

TX
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  #3  
Old 11-10-2019, 09:18 AM
billfunk29 billfunk29 is offline
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Default Alum rod

I bought it to try on a trailer fender crack. I heard someone say they don’t use 4043 anymore because this is better. The workability issue was the main reason I posted here. Wonder if anyone has worked out a weld. It I stronger, so it may be worse than 4043. I’ll start to play with it.
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Old 11-10-2019, 03:51 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billfunk29 View Post
I bought it to try on a trailer fender crack. I heard someone say they don’t use 4043 anymore because this is better. The workability issue was the main reason I posted here. Wonder if anyone has worked out a weld. It I stronger, so it may be worse than 4043. I’ll start to play with it.

Hi Bill,
I've never been a fan of the 4043 filler, except for aluminum castings, which it was specifically designed for. Then somewhere along the long decades after 1935, it became the "go to" filler recommended for generic "aluminum" by nearly every welding supply across the USA. Hmmmmmm.......

Dang! Wrong pick as listed in many books for "aluminum filler".
I've personally recommended 5356 as a generic filler for 30 years, and surprisingly it has caught on at the sales' counters - even for "trailer fenders."

This 4943 is still a "silicon-based" rod - (Not Silicone and not Silica - SiliCON, the other "silli" choice.) The "9" in the second digit instead of "0" indicates a formulation modification to the 4043.
4043 is "hot cracking" resistant - NOT cold working crack resistant. 4043 is a brittle filler, although it has a low solidus - meaning that it solidifies at a lower temp than does surrounding metal it has just joined. You can see 4043 melt first when making weld repairs, as it "melts out" slightly before the parent metal does, just as it solidified first when making that weld.
I should think that for post-weld peening on welds on aluminum castings (a standard operation in good shops) would benefit more from the 4943 than would from the more brittle 4043.

Many other aluminum fillers are more ductile and therefore much more cold-working crack resistant, 5454, 5556, 1100, 2319 and etc.

Might as well give sheet parts a try with it as I can hear the "hustle hustle" from the vast sales force, off in the far distance.
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Last edited by crystallographic; 11-10-2019 at 09:22 PM.
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Old 11-11-2019, 09:29 AM
billfunk29 billfunk29 is offline
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Kent,


Thank you for the explanation. I always learn something from your posts.

The 4943 should be better than the 4043, so I will give it a try. Looks like I will need to add on to my rod storage.
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Old 11-14-2019, 08:14 AM
billfunk29 billfunk29 is offline
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Default 4943

I did some testing with the 4943 rod. On some 3003 ,.04"(1mm) I ran a butt weld. The 3/32" rod was pretty big for the .04" material and left a large back bead. I filed most of that away and could tell it was pretty hard. However, after planishing and doing 90 degree bends, back and forth, there was no cracking. The bending definitely wanted to be outside the recast zone as it was much stiffer. I suspect on a big panel in the sun, you could "see" the welds.



I am not disappointed in the purchase.
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Old 11-20-2019, 01:45 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by billfunk29 View Post
I did some testing with the 4943 rod. On some 3003 ,.04"(1mm) I ran a butt weld. The 3/32" rod was pretty big for the .04" material and left a large back bead. I filed most of that away and could tell it was pretty hard. However, after planishing and doing 90 degree bends, back and forth, there was no cracking. The bending definitely wanted to be outside the recast zone as it was much stiffer. I suspect on a big panel in the sun, you could "see" the welds.



I am not disappointed in the purchase.

Bill - don't use 4000 fillers on anything that will see anodizing.
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  #8  
Old 11-20-2019, 04:58 PM
eaglefordracer eaglefordracer is offline
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Default Anodizing welds...

5356 can be anodized without "showing" the weld. The 4XXX series, when anodized will nicely outline your weld beads in the anodized color of your choice.


It doesn't cause any mechanical problems, but regardless of how well you planish your welds, the anodizing will show up on the surface after anodizing.
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Old 11-20-2019, 07:27 PM
norson norson is offline
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I have a windshield frame of unknown aluminum alloy that I need to weld then polish, will this rod work for that??
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Old 11-21-2019, 10:03 AM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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I have a windshield frame of unknown aluminum alloy that I need to weld then polish, will this rod work for that??

Good chance that your frame is 6061 or 6063, depending on when the frame was produced. Early ones may be 3003 or 1100.
Using a 4000 filler will leave a dark weld fillet after polishing.
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