Just buy the mig wire it's what I do when I need thin wireDoes anyone know if you can get 309l tig filler rod in 1mm diameter? All i can find is 1.6mm or bigger. I can get 309l mig wire in 1mm but not filler rods.
When welding thin wall pipe for exhaust and intercooler pipe I've been struggling to get good results using 1.6mm wire. On the thin stuff it's like the filler is too big for the size of the puddle and when I dab in it's pulling too much heat out of the puddle and it makes it hard to make a nice consistent weld bead. The dabs of filler tend to be too big which makes the bead a bit ugly. I tried it using some 1mm mig wire and found I could move at a more consistent travel speed and got better results. A lot of this is probably down to my skill level as i know lots of guys are using 1.6mm for stuff like that with no problem but I just can't seem to get as good a weld as I can with the thinner wire.I can order it especially but it isn’t cheap.
What requires 309 in 1.0mm diameter?
It's the thin stuff I want it for. I can get mig wire cheaply as I got a bit to try out and see if a thinner wire helped improve my welds and it was a huge improvement over the 1.6mm I had been using. I'll get some more mig wire so, I wasn't sure if I should spend the money on proper 1mm tig wire or just stick with the mig wire. 1mm mig wire is a lot easier for me to get in small amounts at a reasonable cost.The mig wire is fine.
It probably contains a little more Si but it’s not something I’ve ever noticed to be a problem under a tig arc personally. I keep 316 in solid mig wire 1mm as tig filler and it’s been great for those thin gaged stainless jobs.
Should I be using something else? I'd read that 309 was the best for exhausts where you don't know what grade it is. I'm not a professional welder I'm a mechanic by trade. This is a hobby for me to do onthe side modifying cars bikes etc. Be glad of any adivce and suggestions if you think I should try a different grade.But why the 309 for the exhaust pipe?
What would you advise as a good filler wire for working on exhausts where you're being brought random parts with no idea of source or grade.It’s a good question
Why 309. Are you joining steel to stainless?
Thanks I've been doing as much research on it as i can by going off the guides the filler wire manufacturers have on they're site and had picked 309 as what I needed. They tend to be a bit confusing and self contradicting in they're guides. I'll go with 308 or 316 for general stuff like this. If you read the company's recommendations you'd end up thinking you need to stock dozens of different rods in different sizes to cover you.I would guess your exhaust would be either 304 or possibly 409. A magnet will tell the difference for you.
It’s an exhaust mate. It’s not going to fall apart. Just weld it with what ever stainless filler you can get it the right size. I wouldn’t be using expensive dissimilar consumables on it. 308/316 will be fine for it.