I'll have to try that. Gas works good, but I've always been nervous working
with it. And if you work with it much, it causes your skin to dry out so
much it cracks. Now I just have to find a place that sells kerosene.

Steve

"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
SteveB wrote:

wrote in message
...

Hi all

I have 200+ feet 2" by 2" iron rod that is covered with thick and
sticky protecting agent. It feels more like syrup than grease. Last
time I cleaned the bars with a degresing agent and high pressure water
and after that I used an angle grinder. And I may do just the same
this time. But it got me interested: how do (large) machine shops
clean their iron before welding? My method seems a bit impractical

As it is difficult or impossible to clean the inside of the pipe I
have considered heating the pipe endings near the weld before the
actual welding. The idea is to burn any possible oils remaining inside
the pipe away. Is that a practical solution? I use GTAW/TIG I I
believe that using a low current would allow me to heat the pipes
sufficiently to burn any oily residue but not melt the pipe? Any
comments?

IW


I call the coating fish oil, although I don't know what it actually is.

I have cleaned several miles of this stuff. You cut it, deburr it, and
lay it on a flat table surface touching each other on the sides. You
take a rag with A LITTLE BIT OF gasoline on it. You wipe one side. You
roll the tube 1/4 turn and wipe the next side, and so on until you get
all four sides. Now you take another gas rag with less gas and feed them
through your hand to get all four sides. At the end, take a clean rag to
clean off everything else that's left.

I've been doing it that way for more than twenty years. Yes, gas is
hazardous, so work outside. Put your gas can away from everything where
you're working. Pay strict attention if you do any grinding. Watch out
for the rags later when welding. The gas will take all oil out of your
skin. So will the hand cleaners you use, and if you use Dawn, you can
expect cracked skin down to the meat. Feels real good the next time you
get gas in there.

Whatever way you choose to clean your metal, it is one of the most vital
steps in fabrication that will save you time later and give you a nicer
finished product.

Steve


I set up the 20' sticks on two sawhorses, and walk along with a spray
bottle
of kerosene and a rag, spraying the stock while holding the rag underneath
to catch the overspray (I do this inside). Then I wipe down until rags
come
away clean. I also use the kerosene as a cutting fluid for aluminum.

GWE

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