Collection: Soudage

Welding brings together three distinct needs: the equipment that produces the arc, the filler metal that fills the joint, and operator protection. All three are chosen together, because a consumable that does not suit the machine gives a poor bead whatever the setting.

Catalogue references

• Machines: ESAB Rogue EMP 210 Pro. See our welding machines.
• Filler metal: ESAB AristoRod 12.50 and Autrod 12.51 MIG wires, OK Goldrox and OK 48.00 electrodes.
• Protection: auto-darkening helmets, welding helmets, powered air.

MIG or covered electrode

MIG deposits fast, is easier to learn and suits production and sheet metal. It needs a shielding gas, so a cylinder, and it copes badly with wind: outdoors, the gas shield is blown away and the bead becomes porous.

The covered electrode needs no gas, since the coating produces its own shield. It works outdoors, on dirty or oxidised parts, and in difficult positions. It deposits more slowly and leaves slag to remove.

Welding fumes

This is the most underestimated risk in the workshop. Fumes contain very fine metal particles and, on stainless steel, hexavalent chromium, which is carcinogenic.

A helmet protects the eyes and skin, not the airways. A powered air system sends filtered air under the helmet and keeps slight positive pressure there, which stops ambient air from entering at the edges. At a regular welding station, it is not comfort equipment.

Storing consumables

A wire or electrode that has absorbed moisture introduces hydrogen into the weld pool, causing porosity and a risk of cold cracking. A basic electrode thus loses exactly the advantage it was chosen for.

Opened spools and packs are closed again and stored dry. In an unheated workshop, a few days are enough to degrade a consumable.