welding 316L stainless

[1.8T]

I have been welding mild steel for over 15 years but this will be first time mig welding stainless, i have some 316L stainless tubes to weld (1.6mm wall) i want to use 0.6 316L wire but would like to know which brands of wire are recommended and secondly what shielding gas i need to use, as its a small job i would like to try and avoid having another bottle on rental if possible.. i may even tack it all together then pay someone to tig weld it all for me, i need to at least tack it though , thanks

 

[TechnicAl]

You need Argon + 2.5% CO2 shielding gas. Most stainless wire is OK just make sure you buy from a reasonable source.

 

[chunkolini]

I would also reccomend using antispatter, the spatter from stainless sticks like a very sticky thing. it is also worth using tinfoil to shield the area around the weld to keep spatter out of the way. Picked that up off here as a tip a while back.

 

[1.8T]

Been looking at wire online (local welding supplies is an hour round trip) a lot of 316L wire is actually 316L SI what are the negative effects if any of the extra silicon?

 

[Hitch]

316Lsi, the extra Si makes a smoother bead, nicer weld pool.

As for negative effects, no idea.....is there any...

 

[TechnicAl]

It mqrginally increases strength and therefore brittleness. If youre using it at -196 oC you may notice the difference

 

[ChrisJohnsSculpture]

The other thing to bear in mind is that stainless tends to move about a lot when you weld it so good fit up and plenty of quick tacks will make life a lot easier

 

[F.J.]

With the 1.6 wall, you will literally be able to see the piece move once you tack it as it cools down. I had some 1.5mm stainless box to make a frame with and it was a swine to keep square!

 

[1.8T]

Thanks for the info, had a look at the available shielding gasses for stainless and came across ARGON (98%)/OXYGEN (2%) disposables, its not the best value being small disposable bottles but it does mean i dont need to rent another bottle from boc etc etc, if i understand correctly with this gas the weld wont be as neat as with an argon/c02 mix