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Claims X-ray quality and the highest tensile of its class

Blue Demon ER70S6-030-11, ER70S-6, 0.030 in, 11 lb

The only wire on this shelf that claims X-ray quality welds and the highest as-welded tensile strength of any plain carbon steel wire — with no figure attached to either.

Blue Demon ER70S-6 MIG welding wire on an eleven-pound spool

Blue Demon ER70S6-030-11, ER70S-6, 0.030 in, 11 lb

The only wire on this shelf that claims X-ray quality welds and the highest as-welded tensile strength of any plain carbon steel wire — with no figure attached to either.

Amazon reference
B00F429W7G
EAN
0652426111251
  • Claims porosity-free, X-ray quality welds, which is a specific and testable standard of soundness
  • States that the shielding gas is required — CO2 or a CO2 mix — rather than leaving it implied
  • Claims "the highest tensile strength (as welded) of all the plain carbon steel wires" without a figure or a comparison

Best for: Work that will be inspected, or castings and forging salvage where the deposit has to be sound

≈ $40
Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Amazon reference
B00F429W7G
EAN
0652426111251

Two claims on this listing are worth more than anything else on this shelf, and neither comes with a number. The first is X-ray quality: the wire is “engineered to provide porosity-free, x-ray quality welds”, which names the standard that pressure and structural work is actually inspected to. The second is that it has “the highest tensile strength (as welded) of all the plain carbon steel wires” — a comparative superlative with no figure, no comparison group and no test.

The first claim is useful because it is specific about the right thing, which is soundness rather than strength: porosity and inclusions are what fail a weld under inspection. The second is the kind of sentence that cannot be checked, on a wire whose AWS classification already defines the mechanical properties of its deposit and is shared by six other wires on this shelf. One of those, at two thirds of the price, publishes a minimum of 490 MPa.

What the listing does well elsewhere is state the gas as a requirement rather than an option — “This product requires a shielding gas: CO2 and/or CO2 mix” — and name two uses that appear nowhere else here: steel castings and forging salvage, where a sound deposit matters more than a pretty bead. It then adds a bullet reading “Great for home projects!”, which is the price of a listing written for everybody.

Availability

Read on the day this page was built: $40 at the American Amazon shop.

Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.

Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-10-07. The live price is at the top of the page.

The questions welders ask

Does "X-ray quality" mean anything?

It is a real standard and a real claim: a weld that passes radiographic inspection has no porosity, slag inclusions or cracks large enough to show on a film, which is what pressure and structural work is tested to. Blue Demon states the wire is "engineered to provide porosity-free, x-ray quality welds", which is more specific than anything else on this shelf says about the deposit. What no listing can promise is that your weld will pass: radiographic quality depends on the gas, the technique and the joint preparation as much as the wire.

How can it have the highest tensile strength of all plain carbon wires?

The claim is not checkable as written. It reads "the highest tensile strength (as welded) of all the plain carbon steel wires" with no figure, no comparison group and no test cited — on a wire whose AWS classification, ER70S-6, is shared by six other wires on this shelf and defines the mechanical properties of the deposit. A classification sets a minimum; a maker may well exceed it; but a comparative superlative with no number behind it is a sentence rather than a specification. The one wire on this shelf that publishes a tensile minimum states 490 MPa.

More mig wire

  • PGN ER70S-6 solid MIG welding wire, 0.023 inch, on a ten-pound spool

    PGN Bearings WW-ER70S6-023-10LB, ER70S-6, 0.023 in, 10 lb

    The finest wire in this hub by a clear margin — the 0.6 mm (0.02 in) class this shelf's buying tip says car-body sheet needs, and the only one of its size here.

    Amazon reference
    B089LVH45M
    EAN
    0760655019337
    • A 0.023 in diameter — the 0.6 mm (0.02 in) class — which is what this hub’s buying tip says the thin end of the range needs
    • The only wire of this size anywhere in this hub, in either half
    • The highest price per spool on this shelf, for the least metal per meter

    Best for: Car-body panel and thin sheet, where a 0.8 mm (0.03 in) wire blows holes

    ≈ $41
    Check price on Amazon
  • PGN ER70S-6 solid MIG welding wire, 0.030 inch, on a ten-pound spool

    PGN Bearings WW-ER70S6-030-10LB, ER70S-6, 0.030 in, 10 lb

    The general-purpose diameter from the same maker and at the same price as its 0.035 in wire — which makes the choice purely about the metal you weld.

    Amazon reference
    B082P65XL3
    EAN
    0760655018903
    • 0.030 in is the general-purpose diameter, per this shelf's buying tip
    • The same price as the maker’s 0.035 in wire on this shelf, so diameter is a free choice rather than a cost
    • No tensile figure, no named shielding gas and no copper coating statement

    Best for: The one spool to own if you weld mostly 2 to 5 mm (0.08 to 0.20 in) steel

    ≈ $33
    Check price on Amazon
  • PGN ER70S-6 solid MIG welding wire, 0.035 inch, on a ten-pound spool

    PGN Bearings ZY-GHM-0902-06, ER70S-6, 0.035 in, 10 lb

    The coarsest of three PGN wires on this shelf, on a listing whose fourth bullet exists purely to state the diameter and the weight clearly.

    Amazon reference
    B07XFFZX3V
    EAN
    0760655001301
    • One of three diameters of the same wire on this shelf — .023, .030 and .035 in — so the range covers sheet to section
    • A bullet devoted to stating the diameter and spool weight plainly, "making the key specifications easy to verify before ordering"
    • Carries a different reference format from the maker’s own .023 in and .030 in wires — ZY-GHM-0902-06 against WW-ER70S6-nnn-10LB

    Best for: Heavier fabrication, bought from a maker that offers the same wire in three diameters

    ≈ $33
    Check price on Amazon

Elsewhere in the workroom

  • Sägeband-Manufaktur M42 1638 × 13 × 0.9, 10/14 TPI, 3-pack, product photograph

    Sägeband-Manufaktur M42 1638 × 13 × 0.9, 10/14 TPI, 3-pack

    A 10/14 pitch: the one to fit when the work is tube and thin wall rather than solid bar.

    Type
    Premium M42 HSS bi-metal
    Dimensions
    1638 × 13 × 0.9 mm (64.5 × 0.51 × 0.04 in)
    Pitch
    10/14 TPI, variable
    Quantity
    3 blades
    Amazon reference
    B07N89PKT8
    EAN
    4251413656469
    • 10/14 keeps three teeth in a thin wall, where a 6–10 blade strips
    • German blade maker specializing in bands rather than a general accessories brand
    • Fine pitch cuts more slowly in solid bar

    Best for: Cutting tube, box section and thin-walled stock accurately

    Search Amazon for this model
  • Sägeband-Manufaktur M42 1440 × 13 × 0.65, 14/18 TPI, 5-pack, product photograph

    Sägeband-Manufaktur M42 1440 × 13 × 0.65, 14/18 TPI, 5-pack

    Fourteen to eighteen teeth per inch — for thin-wall tube and sheet, where anything coarser tears.

    Type
    Premium M42 HSS bi-metal
    Dimensions
    1440 × 13 × 0.65 mm (56.7 × 0.51 × 0.03 in)
    Pitch
    14/18 TPI, variable
    Quantity
    5 blades
    Amazon reference
    B07VMRV9GQ
    EAN
    4251413656964
    • 14/18 is the pitch for thin-wall tube and sheet stacks
    • A thinner 0.65 mm (0.03 in) backing flexes more easily around small wheels
    • Very slow in solid material — the gullets fill and the blade rubs

    Best for: Thin-wall tube, conduit and light section on a small saw

    Search Amazon for this model
  • SIXTOL Welding Mask 1, product photograph

    SIXTOL Welding Mask 1

    Twenty-three euros for an auto-darkening helmet — the cheapest thing on the European half of this site that protects something irreplaceable.

    Type
    Solar-powered auto-darkening
    Modes
    Welding and grinding
    Amazon reference
    B0CL8HN5GM
    EAN
    8595697702129
    • Auto-darkening at €23 — there is no excuse left for a hand shield
    • A grinding mode, so the lens stays clear while you dress the weld
    • No optical class, switching time or viewing area published

    Best for: A first helmet, or a spare so a visitor never welds without one

    Search Amazon for this model

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