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Guy on my crew said a 3/16 rod is for hobby welders, and now I keep a spool of it in my truck
Was doing a small tube job in Gary last month and one of the old hands watched me fighting a burn through with 1/8 rod on some 16 gauge. He didnt say much, just handed me a 3/16 and said the thin stuff is for hobby welders doing bird feeders in their garage. I laughed it off but tried it on the next pass and the puddle sat down way nicer, no chasing it around the joint. Been running boilers and pressure vessels for 14 years and I honestly never thought about matching rod size to sheet that way, I just grabbed whatever was on the bench. Took a scrap piece of 12 gauge home that night and ran three beads with each size and the difference in heat control was night and day. The thin rod was whipping around and blowing edges out on everything under 3/16. I still keep 1/8 in the rig because you need it on the heavy stuff, but that 3/16 spool lives right next to my stinger now. Anybody else have a rod size they reach for first depending on thickness, or do you just grab what fits the joint?
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