Welding Rod

Making your own rods (concrete steel & calcium carbide)

We take 3/16 concrete steel covered with waste calcium carbide from acetylene generator using vinyl glue as binding agent.
It smells like burned plastics but we weld patrol blades (SAE 1070) very good.
Potassium silicate is good glue for basic flux. Is necessary to use DC welder.

Any binding agent is good also wheat flour.
Question is calcium carbonate gives CO2 in electric arc to maintain plasma and calcium with ferrum makes slag to protect chilling avoiding hydrogen fragility from air moisture.
Silica is for better slag and cleaning agent.
In your blue glasses you can look arc and slag process.

Making you own rods (mild steel & wax)

My first welding instructor told me that the original arc welding rods in the San Francisco shipyards were made on site from mild steel round stock wrapped in cotton and dipped in wax.
He said you got a rod alot like 6013/6011 and that he had seen old timers make and use such a rod.

Enlarging rods

You can mix calcium carbonate with any binding agent.
Then "painting rods" you cover it.
Potassium silicate is very good glue also sodium silicate used for cardboard.