s/steel rods?

[johnakay]

which of these s/steel rods best for tack welds?(and possibly for continuous weld about 40mm)
once the brackets are welded they will be tig welded but not by me.
weld 2mm brackets on to 19mm x 1.5 s/steel tubing.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_o...teel+arc+welding+rods&ghostText=&_sacat=10063

 

[mr migwire]

I would imagine 316 should do the job as its stainless to stainless but why not tack them with the tig?

 

[johnakay]

I would imagine 316 should do the job as its stainless to stainless but why not tack them with the tig?

thats the thing I dont have a tig. a business friend is having one of his workers doing it.

 

[Jim Davey]

Just make sure your tacks are nice and hot and don't trap any slag or you won't make yourself popular with the TIG welder when the slag pops and spits at him

 

[zx9]

Just make sure your tacks are nice and hot and don't trap any slag or you won't make yourself popular with the TIG welder when the slag pops and spits at him

Would a small roll of Stainless wire in the mig be easier?

 

[Kent]

Just be careful of the welding fume

 

[johnakay]

not being clever but I have been welding for over 40 years but the last 30 years I've mostly used mig welding.
I can still weld with rods etc. but because its been so long since I've done s/steel welding,I've forgotten what type of rod is best grade wise that is.
I've still got some s/steel rods but I doubt they'll be any good now after all these years .
flux will probably fall off once I start to strike it.
rod that I'll want to use is no thicker than 2mm.
some cheaper rods will give to much spatter and liable to stick on striking.
buying expensive ones doesn't necessarily means its the best.
I am considering in buying a thermal arc tig welder but 1st I need to know if my grab rails(classic motorbikes)
in s/s will be worth it compared to chromed. not every one want to pay top dollar even if its better.
as for mig no as I will need to buy argon gas!
as for fumes I've got a built in extractor on my bench,thanks for the warning anyway.

 

[Jim Davey]

You don't use argon gas for MIG welding, and if you buy a TIG you will need argon anyway.

 

[Kent]

You don't use argon gas for MIG welding, and if you buy a TIG you will need argon anyway.

Yup!

 

[johnakay]

s/steel mig welding I've got argon/co2 mix,not sure what amount percentage.
air product green cap bottle.
I've only ever welded mild steel on the mig welder.
if I can weld stainless with out getting other gas then thats great.
I wont need my friend to do it for me.
my understanding from what I've read in the past s/steel welding isn't as good as mild steel.

 

[Jim Davey]

Argon Helium mix is the best for dip transfer mig on stainless but I expect most likely you'll end up using argoshield light 5% argon/CO2 mix as its a lot cheaper and available in rent free or disposable cylinders.

 

[hotrodder]

Just a thought based on...

I am considering in buying a thermal arc tig welder but 1st I need to know if my grab rails(classic motorbikes)
in s/s will be worth it compared to chromed. not every one want to pay top dollar even if its better.

As the public generally believes that TIG is eleventy times better than MIG and the switch to stainless is to make them better* what about knocking up some fixtures to save tacking them up for the guy that's welding 'em? You can virtually always tell when somethings been tacked with MIG or MMA and then TIG welded, even when the origional tacks were removed. If they sell well and you decide to buy a TIG and weld them in house you'll get the jigs back so they won't be wasted


*personally i'd have thought stainless would be cheaper than chroming for something like this but that obviously depends on what the plating costs versus the cost of polishing the stainless examples. There's several things i make in stainless that would cost more in powder coated mild steel, laser cut blanks are say ~£1 ea more in stainless but powder coating (common satin black, batches of over 100 parts that are easily hung) is in the ball park of £1.50 - £2 ea. Obviously the numbers change but a similar difference if talking min quantity prices from both the laser cutter and powder coater

 

[johnakay]

theres not a lot of difference between the two in cost.
as for tig welding I'd have to learn 1st.
the one I'm considering is THERMAL ARC 175 SE STICK / MMA / ARC /LIFT TIG WELDER 240V INVERTER @£215.

 

[hotrodder]

That's a stick welder not a TIG [/pedantic] Pretty much any DC stick welder can be used for TIG but they're a PITA compared to a real TIG for delicate work... no gas solenoid (you'll get through more argon as a result), no slope controls to smoothly ramp the current down and shut off the arc* and (less of a deal) no HF start. The 175TE fixes all those things but obviously costs more

* with lift or scratch TIG the torch is permantly live and you have to 'snap' it away to break the arc before manually shutting off the gas with a valve on the torch handle

 

[zx9]

Argon Helium mix is the best for dip transfer mig on stainless but I expect most likely you'll end up using argoshield light 5% argon/CO2 mix as its a lot cheaper and available in rent free or disposable cylinders.

Argon / CO2 is what I used with the Mig & Stainless steel wire before I got the Tig, I just wanted someone more qualified to comment, thanks Jim.

 

[daleyd]

I'm certainly no expert tig welder, but I have a lift tig machine and it's perfectly usable for learning and the occasional job that I do - however if I were doing it regularly for a living I'd want hf start as a minimum.

 

[Richard.]

2.2-2.5% CO2 is the optimum mix for stainless mig but as Jim says most people will buy 5% so it can be used for steel also.

 

[Jim Davey]

Optimum, the helium mixes give the best surface finish with the least oxidation but if the welds are to be ground or blended then polished etc the there is no point in paying for a gas that gives a nicer "off the gun" finish. If the mig welds have to be left untouched and you want them to look as good as they can, bright, oxide free and good wetting in of the sidewalls then helium mixes are the way to go.
Quite a few options depending on if it's a standard or pulse MIG and if you are in dip or spray, we carry about 4 different arg/helium/O2 mixes for various processes.
You can't beat TIG with a big gas lens for super bright shiny welds that need little or no post finishing.

 

[Kent]

You know years back I did a lot of on site MMA stainless ( was actually we were doubling the size of a large slaughterhouse / meat packing plant) , its ok and you can certainly get a nice bead but you get a lot of bad colouration. On this job all the pre-fabricated "in shop" work was done MIG for speed over TIG, all the fancy or very thin stuff TIG. Stick welding stainless you spend a lot of time cleaning so if it has to look nice give it someone with the right kit

 

[Kent]

Just a thought based on...

As the public generally believes that TIG is eleventy times better than MIG and the switch to stainless is to make them better* what about knocking up some fixtures to save tacking them up for the guy that's welding 'em? You can virtually always tell when somethings been tacked with MIG or MMA and then TIG welded, even when the origional tacks were removed. If they sell well and you decide to buy a TIG and weld them in house you'll get the jigs back so they won't be wasted


*personally i'd have thought stainless would be cheaper than chroming for something like this but that obviously depends on what the plating costs versus the cost of polishing the stainless examples. There's several things i make in stainless that would cost more in powder coated mild steel, laser cut blanks are say ~£1 ea more in stainless but powder coating (common satin black, batches of over 100 parts that are easily hung) is in the ball park of £1.50 - £2 ea. Obviously the numbers change but a similar difference if talking min quantity prices from both the laser cutter and powder coater

You have a very good point there about costs and coatings