BRODTuning
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Hi all, im 16 and basically an unofficial apprentice (been working for this company for three weeks now)...we make bespoke stainless products 99% of which are catering related , canopies, serverys, hot cuboards, sinks and shelves etc. Even though i havent been working there long, im welding such things as 1.2mm 30x30 box frames, panels onto frames, cappers, the end on topwork etc. near enough everything that we do day in day out to a decent standard, obviously a long way to go to get to the level id like! but im making good progress .....However, today i spoke to two of the fabricators that work there about how they weld topwork on hot cuboards and units etc. together on site. This basically involves preparing the joint and welding the two work surfaces together with as little distortion as possible. The one guy said his method was to weld roughly 50mm then cool it with the air off a grinder or an airline if theres one available on site. The other (whos the one that ends up with the job of welding the joint 90% of the time) said he places lots of small tacks right alone the joint then welds it all in one go then cools afterwards. I would have thought that would give massive distorion since you would be putting large amounts of heat into typically 1.5mm 304 stainless sheet (we often use 1.2mm and 2.0mm also) BUT this guys work has been said to have had the best results. He basically described it as the sheet all being heated (expanded) then cooled (contracted) in roughly the same sequence where as he described the other guys method as heating then cooling then heating then cooling which obviously expands and contracts the metal a larger amount of times as he only welds roughly 50/70mm each time. He said something like, the first time it expands and lifts, the second it sinks or becomes brittle then the third it looses alot of its properties or something like that (dont quote me, these long hours get to you! ) It did make sense in the way he said it but id like to know your opinions! If this was your job and your name on the line, how would you go about doing it? dont forget that this joint is then ground back and polished to a dull finish so that will also put in a hell of alot of heat too! if someone would talk through how you would do the job, that would be great!
Thanks for reading
Brad.
Thanks for reading
Brad.