How do you estimate the amount of welding electrode/wire for a job? 1

[DrDarrell]

Is there a rule of thumb for estimating the amount of welding wire or welding electrode that is needed for any specific job?

For example: If I have a 1/2" fillet weld 20" long, how much welding electrode do I need to buy to complete the job?

I would like a rule of thumb for both shielded arc and tig.

Is there a difference in the estimate for different materials?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Darrell

 

[Rich2001]

Basically it is the volume of the weld multipled by the density of the material.

for SMAW, stick welding multiple this value by 1.3 to 1.4 to account for stub losses.

for GTAW (TIG) welding use a factor of 1.1 (10% extra)

1/2" fillet 20" long

((1/2inch*0.707)^2)*20inch*1.3 *490lb/ft3*1ft3/1728 in3=
-------------------
2

= 0.35 lbs (SMAW 1/2" fillet @ 20&quot


Hope this helps, Rich

 

[Rich2001]

At the last AWS Welding show I looked at a software package called C-SPEC that has a good estimating section

here is a link:

http://www.cspec.com/twi-wes.htm

Rich