What MIG wire for Hardfacing ?

[TWD]

More of an I want than an I need to do this at this point... but I'd like to get some wire for it.

I'd like to add hardfacing to my backhoe buckets as well as for my auger bits.
No crazy patterns or 50lbs of weld... more of edge repair and strengthen.

What MIG wire is everyone using for hardfacing to protect against rocks\abrasive when digging and drilling.

Not too worried about my FEL bucket as that's used 90% in clay, but the backhoe buckets come out when I need to get through rock, and the auger inevtibly grinds against rock too.

 

[Roadworthy]

I've never done any but you could inquire at your local welding equipment supplier.

 

[5030]

Is there such an animal? never seen any. I use Lincoln Electric SMAW hard facing rod and it ain't cheap either. 10 pounds is around 150 bucks at the LWS.

 

[5030]

I stand corrected, there is (looked) but it ain't cheap. Lincoln has some. I may get a spool from my local Air Gas and give it a try. I'll have to save up the jack first, it's over a grand a spool. 75-25 shielding gas, reverse polarity and high wire speed.

For now, I'll use up my SMAW rod at over a hundred a box of 10 pounds.

 

[yomax4]

There are gas and gasless options is hard facing wires. Both work well. I sold Stoody for a lot of years and it never disappoints but as stated above it's pricey. There are a lot of different alloy contents so price will also show how much alloy is in the mix. You are also limited to a couple passes only and if it's been done before it will help to know what was used so your not putting standard hard facing over manganese based. Good luck !

 

[etpm]

More of an I want than an I need to do this at this point... but I'd like to get some wire for it.

I'd like to add hardfacing to my backhoe buckets as well as for my auger bits.
No crazy patterns or 50lbs of weld... more of edge repair and strengthen.

What MIG wire is everyone using for hardfacing to protect against rocks\abrasive when digging and drilling.

Not too worried about my FEL bucket as that's used 90% in clay, but the backhoe buckets come out when I need to get through rock, and the auger inevtibly grinds against rock too.

You really need to look at the websites of welding alloy suppliers to find out which alloy is correct for your particular situation. There are many choices unless your welder is a 120 volt machine. A few years ago I looked for hard facing wire for my 120 volt Lincoln welder and could only find one alloy. And only one maker. So I bought it, on sale for 14 bucks a pound, 10 pound minimum. It did the job, it happened to be the right kind of alloy for the stuff I had to build up. It was very liquid and hard to control. Only flat welding could be done. If I had a higher amperage machine I could have used a different alloy that would have worked as well and would have been easier to weld with.
Eric

 

[cqaigy2]

Yikes! $1000 a roll.

 

[Rebeldad1]

Since you arnt using this daily why not use say a 7018 stick and build up some "patterns". Those fancy patterns are used to trap material to keep the metal from wearing.

 

[yomax4]

Since you arnt using this daily why not use say a 7018 stick and build up some "patterns". Those fancy patterns are used to trap material to keep the metal from wearing.

Good point. Many folks buy old crappy rods at garage sales etc. to build up and re-surface. Most mild steel rods are pretty soft for wear but better than nothing for sure. The nice thing about all of this is you don't need to be too neat on the weld beads.

 

[TWD]

Thanks everyone! Based on some searching and the price it does seem like using normal wire + scrap steel will do what I need.
The replacement cost for some of my buckets don't even exceed $400 I can't see paying $300+ for a 33lb spool.

I may end up just grabbing some hard facing rod to use on my stig\tig machine for the auger that's the only thing i'll likely ever NEED to do it for.

 

[BukitCase]

If you can find it locally, you could get some AR plate (I used AR400) you could do what I did for my old 580B's 2' bucket - I used 1/4" AR plate, cut into 3" wide strips (to replace worn out mild steel ones on the back and bottom of bucket) - to follow the bucket curve, stitch weld one end, preheat and beat down with about a 3 lb hammer, stitch, heat, beat, repeat -

At the time I had neither plasma or MIG so it was cut with O/A torch and welded with 7018 (DC reverse) - I also scarfed off all the old tooth shanks (rounded off from mis-use) and put new shanks and teeth on.

20 years later there's no appreciable wear on the bucket bottom, and essentially NONE on those AR wear strips.

Depending on the type of cutting edge on your augers it might be possible to use that approach on them too - but don't expect to grind much of an edge on AR plate, NOR will you be able to DRILL it for mounting -

These days I would cut the edge of a tooth at a steep angle, and for mounting I'd pierce where the bolt holes were needed (my Hypertherm PM45 will do up to 1", so a pretty steep angle on (say) 3/8" AR tooth wouldn't be a problem.)

AR plate is recommended by most to be welded with Low Hydrogen rod, but technically ER70s MIG wire IS low hydrogen. AR DOES like a preheat tho, even a propane torch would help if that's all you have.

At today's prices, NOT buying a bunch of hardface rod/wire would ALMOST pay for a plasma ... Steve

 

[5030]

I could by a lot of hard rod or wire for what my Hypertherm cost me. I have a shade over 5 grand in the machine.

 

[BukitCase]

Yeah, my PM45's just a baby compared to the ones big enough for a serious table. It was just over $1700 back in 2012. If I'm still doing enough of this stuff when/if I finally get a second (NON woodworking) shop, might go for a 4x8 table and more power - not 'cause I'd need more for thickness, just for increased cut speed in the 1/4" to 1/2" range... Steve