MIG TIG ARC and Stainless Steel?

alexrunic said:
MMA (stick) welds stainless very well down to 2mm you can use a cheap diy ac set, the ark is not as stable as a professional set but more than good enough for a diy job. you can pick up cheap inverter sets which are dc this is easier to weld with. You can also buy cheap scratch start TIG sets for these which are quite good and a cheap way to tig weld.
Click to expand...

That's what I meant by not being able to weld SS with buzzbox AC welders; it can be done but it's not recommended as the arc stability is poor and it will be tricky to get a decent weld, and most buzzboxes don't produce enough volts for SS welding rods. I have tried SS with a buzzbox and created nothing but scrap; now I use a little DC inverter thing the size of a shoebox which is great and really portable.

You should definitely check out mig-welding.co.uk, there's a lot of useful tutorials and advice available on the forum.
 
Last edited:
nigelmercier said:
I bought a relatively cheap Wolf Mig 140 welder on eBay and a spool of stainless wire. Didn't realise I should change the gas, but it seemed to have worked OK, and I'm a complete novice at welding.
Click to expand...

Depends what gas you have; pure Argon is generally used for TIG welding SS, while MIG is usually done with Argon mixed with a small quantity of O2 or CO2 of 1-2%(something to do with the weld chemistry, not sure exactly). Larger amounts of mix gas may work ok but may affect the quality and corrosion resistance of the weld.
 
If you can get your hands on a "pub gas" bottle, it is possible to find firms who will fill them with pure argon for you at very reasonable cost ;)
 
paul.norton said:
If you can get your hands on a "pub gas" bottle, it is possible to find firms who will fill them with pure argon for you at very reasonable cost ;)
Click to expand...

I find that very difficult to believe; it's hard enough getting non-lease bottles filled if they are labelled appropriately and in test, let alone a random unknown bottle for a different gas.
 
I have used rods with a 80v ac set to weld ss cleat finger back on to stanchions, very successfully, especially as they are eye height through the saloon window! amongst many other items. As others watch out for the pinging slag.

(oxford welder of 70s origin)
 
I use stainless rods with my old Oxford oil cooled arc welder-thin tube can be a problem but does work if you feed a filler rod into work-seems to stop you burning holes in it!
Perhaps I can do it because I learned to do it on my old rust bucket cars of the 70s!
 
Once s/s is welded it requires to be pickled with some type (forget which) of acid to remove the discolouration from the welding process, then buffed with blue coloured flap discs I think they are carburandom discs containing no metals.
To finnish polishing process I use mop soaps and mop wheels in a fast drill.
As for stick welding, the reod are known as disimmilar rods.
The slag usually flies off the weld as it cools.
C_W
 
I made a SS bow roller for my vega about ten years ago and it's still going stong despite lots of use.

I have a Clarke NoGas MIG welder that I usually use with cored mild steel wire, but for the stainless I used stainless wire and a small disposable bottle of Argon from Machine Mart (where I also bought the welder).
 
The 'pickle' is a combination of hydroflouric and nitric acids with some sulphuric. Wurth sell it in kg plastic tubs. (cos it can eat glass) BIG health warning, it is very nasty stuff. Buffing and flap discs can remove the weld oxide.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top