Posts: 8
Threads: 2
Joined: Mar 2015
Location: usa
Hello,
Sorry if this question is a bit moot, but I have to ask it. I've been wanting to weld some stainless sheetmetal, or perhaps even corrugated stainless sheetmetal.
I have recently moved back to the farm and have access to a lincoln electric wire feed welder, which has the argon (I think?) gas.
Can you weld stainless sheetmetal with this? I've heard two stories: one is no. The other is yes, if you get flux-cored stainless wire and use the gas (or maybe something different than argon?).
We also have a couple different stick welders (cheapo AC/DC+ stick and a self-contained lincoln electric generator / welder AC/DC+/-). Would either of these be viable options?
This is assuming I could pick the "right" grade of stainless and practice, of course, before I do anything important.
Thanks!
Posts: 4,513
Threads: 139
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Kempton Park. South Africa
I asked a similar question regarding stick welding stainless.
http://www.metalworkingfun.com/showthread.php?tid=2590
Using sheet may of cause bring new problems regarding stick welding it.
DaveH
Posts: 8
Threads: 2
Joined: Mar 2015
Location: usa
Thanks, Dave! I had ran across your thread. I guess my question was more about the wire feed welder since I have had very little success welding mild steel sheetmetal with stick.
Posts: 3,003
Threads: 51
Joined: Apr 2012
Location: Ontario
Haven't tried welding stainless with the mig. Heavier sections stick weld nice and tig works on thin material for me. Can't see why it wouldn't work, don't see why you'd need a flux core though.
Free advice is worth exactly what you payed for it.
Greg
Posts: 691
Threads: 14
Joined: Feb 2015
Location: Oakland, California
I've built a couple of car exhausts in stainless with MIG. I've never seen flux-core stainless wire (not saying it doesn't exist, however). If you're using a gas set up, you have to run pure argon. Second, unless you're "back-purging" (i.e. shielding the back of the weld with argon) you really must use SolarFlux on the back side of the welds.
http://www.solarflux.com/index.html
The MIG welds look like ass -- spatter everywhere, and badly oxidized -- but they held up. You can't really do pre- and post-flow with MIG, and even with the CFH cranked up, I couldn't get enough gas around the weld (at least with my MIG machine, which is not a pro-grade machine) so there's always going to be oxidization.
TIG is superior, but that's not the question you asked. I actually like using the stainless MIG wire as filler for TIG when I'm doing fussy stainless jobs.
Posts: 8
Threads: 2
Joined: Mar 2015
Location: usa
Thanks for the replies, gents! So the consensus is that you can do it, but it will look terrible, more or less, use pure argon and the solar flux stuff on the backside. I was wrong about the welder in question, its a Century 160.
Posts: 4,493
Threads: 187
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Missouri, USA
The following 1 user Likes Highpower's post:
EdK (04-01-2015)
(03-22-2015, 10:21 PM)Roadracer_Al Wrote: TIG is superior, but that's not the question you asked. I actually like using the stainless MIG wire as filler for TIG when I'm doing fussy stainless jobs.
That is a pretty good tip for fussy jobs in general using other materials as well, not just stainless.
One of my little stainless 'tea strainers' that I use for holding tiny parts in my ultrasonic cleaner had popped the spot weld apart holding half of the basket to the scissor frame. The arms of the frame are only about 1/32" in thickness. Pretty thin material. I decided to tig braze (Silicon Bronze) the basket back on so as not to melt away the arm with too much heat. The smallest diameter rod I have is 1/16" which is twice as thick as the arm and would have been hard to get to flow before the arm melted away.
So instead I used some .035" mig wire for filler which was a good match for the thin metal of the frame and I didn't have to deal with a huge blob of bronze coming off of the end of a 1/16" rod.
Willie
Posts: 8
Threads: 2
Joined: Mar 2015
Location: usa
That is impressive welding, for sure. I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a (relatively) cheap TIG machine since I am envisioning me doing quite a bit of stainless work. Got an AHP alphatig 200x. Hopefully, it wasn't a bad purchase. Should have it soon!
Posts: 691
Threads: 14
Joined: Feb 2015
Location: Oakland, California
Congrats on the purchase! I think you'll enjoy using it. A friend of mine bought an inexpensive ROC-made inverter TIG, and it's been very good for him. Lots of desirable features, too, such as pulsing and up-slope/downslope controls.
Posts: 4,493
Threads: 187
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Missouri, USA
(04-10-2015, 10:44 AM)joefriday Wrote: That is impressive welding, for sure. I decided to bite the bullet and purchase a (relatively) cheap TIG machine since I am envisioning me doing quite a bit of stainless work. Got an AHP alphatig 200x. Hopefully, it wasn't a bad purchase. Should have it soon!
Impressive welding? Hardly.
But that is an argument for a different thread. (Welding vs. brazing.)
Congrats on the new acquisition Joe! You may have seen this already, but here is one look at the Alphatig. Two things to note about it however.
First of all, don't let this kid's age fool you. He is a graduate of the Hobart welding school and has a
bunch of welding certifications in many different areas. He pretty much knows what he is talking about. On the other hand, he DOES get compensated for doing these reviews, so you need to take them with a grain of salt. But I don't believe he would ever out right lie about a product he has reviewed.
Willie
