bigandy
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 04:44 PM |
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Welding Stainless Steel - tips?
Afternoon all,
I have decided that it is about time I bought myself a welder, instead of blagging mates to weld little pieces for me, and getting annoyed when they
take ages to do it. With that in mind, I would like to be able to weld stainless steel, as well as mild steel. I'm not that fussed about
welding aluminium really. I can't see me ever welding anything on a big scale, or anything really thick, just your averag 3mm steel plate being
about the thickest stuff I'll ever work with. I'll mainly be working with 14 gauge (or less) thickness steel and stainless tubing.
So, would a MIG welder suffice for my needs, or should I really be looking at a TIG set? I've never attempted to weld stainless steel before,
so does anyone have any tips?
Cheers
Andy
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Peteff
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 04:52 PM |
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A mig will do what you want. You can weld stainless with mild wire and ar/co2 gas if you just want it to hold together but to weld it properly you
need stainless wire and stainshield gas
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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matt_gsxr
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 04:58 PM |
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I know bugger all about welding, and am a total newbie to it, but stainless welding with MIG seems to work. You can get the disposable bottles (Argon
mix) and stainless MIG wire from halfords (probably loads of better places).
I managed to make a poor job of building and exhaust and turbo manifold, but it wasn't the fault of the equipment.
Matt
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RazMan
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 05:00 PM |
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A MIG is what I use to do the same sort of stuff. Stainless is not a problem as long as you use the correct gas / wire for the job. You can get the
disposable gas in Halfrauds nowadays but it can work out expensive if you do any larger jobs.
I would love to change my MIG for a TIG and learn to weld aluminium properly but the cost is just not justifiable 
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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bigandy
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 05:09 PM |
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I've just been looking at a few welding stuff suppliers. Would a DC TIG set be worthwhile considering? From what I can tell, a TIG set would
offer me a finer control over the weld, which would be quite useful for the sort of work I am doing, where it would be beneficial to have a neat
looking weld (especially if I ever want to sell any of my contraptions!). I get the impression that MIG welding might do the job, but would look a
bit more crude when it comes to stainless.
I'd like to think that one day I could afford an AC set that is capable of welding aluminium, but for now, I can't stretch that far. The
sort of welding I am going to be doing in the short term needs to be functional more than pretty. And by functional, the stainless steel fabrications
are going to be used in some pretty mucky environments (down on the beach for example)....
Cheers
Andy
Dammit! Too many decisions....
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matt_gsxr
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 05:12 PM |
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I think with TIG that you get through more gas than with MIG. So disposable bottles end up being impractical with TIG as you get through them quickly
(so its expensive).
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bigandy
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 05:13 PM |
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The gas costs don't really put me off, I know a few suppliers through work that might be able to "help me out" as it were... Ahem.
Plus, I won't really be doing huge amounts of welding. Just a bit occasionally....
Cheers
Andy
Dammit! Too many decisions....
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tegwin
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 05:15 PM |
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With MIG you can weld quite crappy un-prepped metal reasonably well...
With MIG you really really need neat, well mating clean pieces to get a good weld...
I tried some stainless MIG welding with a clarke hobby mig welder and it did not work well...
Because stainless wire is so much harder than mild steel it tore the rollers appart in no time......
If you are doing a lot of small tubing and stainless especially I would go for TIG....
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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macc man
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 05:16 PM |
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If you are looking for a tig welder I am thinking of upgrading mine. It is a scratch tig 150a from Clarke as new with tig torch and
accesories. U2U me if interested.Thanks Henry.
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Peteff
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 05:27 PM |
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Mig is more of a process for beginners though, if you have never tig welded have a go as it is not point and squirt like beginners mig. You need a lot
more patience and skill to produce a reasonable weld on stainless with a tig and a lot more preparation and accuracy as well with gas purges to keep
the inside of tubes clean and tungsten touchdowns fouling your piece and messing your arc up. If you have all the time in the world to learn,
don't get disheartened easily and have set your heart on a tig then get one.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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v8kid
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 06:14 PM |
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I welded my SS exhaust using mild steel wire 2 years ago and so far not a trace of rust on the welds so it seems to me this method is OK for locost
use.
I tries SS wire but the drive system was not up to it. Upgraded the drive rollers and added a separate power supply to drive them but can'y be
arsed trying it out with SS wire.
Note to self - Get out into the garage quick man too much time working in front of a PC
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 17/2/11 at 07:02 PM |
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I personally find TIG about 4x easier than MIG. I just cant afford the gas.
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bigandy
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| posted on 18/2/11 at 09:33 AM |
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Hi Folks,
I've been doing a bit of searching, and found a couple of units on Ebay that are within my budget (Just!). What are peoples opinions on
these:
AC DC TIG WELDER ALI S/TEEL UK SELLER last few £349 on eBay (end time 18-Feb-11 21:26:14 GMT)
AC DC TIG WELDER MMA WELDS ALI S/TEEL UK SELLER on eBay (end time 20-Feb-11 21:03:40 GMT)
They seem to be very well priced, but I'm a bit wary that they are chinese rubbish. A quick search on the net has revealed that they
occasionally suffer reliability issues, but there are just as many good reports. Bearing in mind this is for hobby use, not industrial use (and no I
can't stretch to any more cash for a 2nd hand industrial unit!).
Or, am I better off spending a similar amount on a DC only machine that is slightly better specced or a better brand?
Cheers
Andy
Dammit! Too many decisions....
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v8kid
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| posted on 18/2/11 at 09:46 AM |
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My bro in law bought one of these to keep on his boat and he only uses it to dc stick weld! Swears by it and he has a very expensive American one back
in the workshop so I guess that says summat.
You'd be surprised how quickly the sales people at B&Q try and assist you after ignoring you for the past 15 minutes when you try and start a
chainsaw
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