Welding 1.6mm thick, mild steel exhaust pipes

[youngm]

Hi all,

I'm a complete newbie and I'm about to try tack welding some 1.6mm thick, mild steel exhaust pipes together. I just want to hold the bits together so I can either get an exhaust shop to finish off the rest for me, or, if I build up enough confidence, perhaps try it myself

I'm planning to use gasless 0.8mm MIG wire as I don't want to pay for gas bottle rental and I very rarely intend to weld.

Would this kind of wire be sufficient for 1.6mm thick mild steel?

Advice GREATLY appreciated.

Cheers!

 

[zardoz]

It should work fine on 1.6mm steel , though as Malcom says

It is difficult to use while learning MIG welding as the smoke and flux make it difficult to see what's going on. Also the flux doesn't conduct electricity so you have to be careful not to weld over the same piece twice once it's cooled.

 

[greyshirtguy]

Advice GREATLY appreciated.

When I first started (not so long ago) - I knew nothing....

I found the tutorials on this site to be really helpful

If you have a few hours to spare you should be able to quickly learn enough to do a good job of those tacks...

1. Read through all the great tutorials on this site...
2. Practice on some scrap about the same thickness (if you can't find any 1.6 then thicker is better than thinner to learn on)

* You might like to re-visit the tutorials as you progress with your practice welds...
* The position of the pieces you are welding can make a fair bit of difference to how easy/hard it is... ("Flat welds" where the molten metal is less likely to "drip down away" from the joint are much more easy then "Vertical welds" or welding "from underneath")
* When you practice on scrap try to watch how the cooling welds shrink and "pull" on the joint - often causing pieces to move a fair bit from the position you welded them in...you might try and tack on opposite sides of a joint before they have cooled to balance the effect and minimise movement.
* Stop every now and then and look at your practice welds - use the info in this tutorial to check if the weld is penetrating too much or too little.
* If your having a hard time, it might help to recall that gassless is a little bit "harder" to make nice welds - and "cut yourself some slack"

 

[youngm]

Thanks for the tips, guys

What about tack welding stainless steel pipes? Same principle, just have to use a different wire, right?

 

[hotrodder]

I don't think a 'gasless' stainless wire exists, flux core stainless wire is used with shielding gas and like all stainless is a lot more expensive than mild steel.

 

[Bullyterrier]

I don't think a 'gasless' stainless wire exists, flux core stainless wire is used with shielding gas and like all stainless is a lot more expensive than mild steel.

Where has the stainless come from? The op said he wanted to tack 1.6mm thick, mild steel exhaust pipes.

 

[hotrodder]

Perhaps you should have read all the posts...

Thanks for the tips, guys

What about tack welding stainless steel pipes? Same principle, just have to use a different wire, right?

 

[Bullyterrier]

 

[runnach]

I have them moment too Bully anyways, I can only recall mig welding S/S using duel shield.............

Cheers...........

 

[Bullyterrier]

A touch of dyslexia-itus