Stainless, what to expect..

By - Date 10-19-2001 22:05

Generally shielding gas would be different. Your gas supplier will give you advice on the gas, but as a general rule, you can use Ar with approx 2% O2. You will not want the high CO2 content normally used with C/Steel because it leads to C pickup in the weld. (Bad news!)

Generally you will need lower amps for the S/Steel because the heat is not conducted away as quickly as with C/Steel.

General technique should be approx. the same.

Remember to ensure adequate shielding on the back of the weld, or you will tend to get "cauliflower" forming. (Another word for big time oxidation.) Back purging should be done with Ar.

There seems to be something wrong with your wire thickness as stated? (7/8")

Hope this helps

Regards
Niekie Jooste

By Beezer Date 10-20-2001 10:42

Thank you Neikie. Actually the "Rod" is the material to be welded. 7/8" SS rod joined with 1/4" SS plate. Luckily I've got a good surplus of material to work with until I get it down. Unfortunatly I've only got two gasses though. 25-75 co2/ar and 100% ar. If this don't work well with MIG I'll purchase some SS sticks and do it that way. Thanks again for the reply.

By - Date 10-21-2001 18:18

The 25% CO2 sounds a bit high to me for using on S/Steel, especially if you are worried about the corrosion resistance of the material after welding. (If you were not interested in the corrosion resistance, then you would not have used S/Steel right?)

The 100% Ar is useable, but the weld pool will not be as fluid as it should be. If you can not get a dedicated S/Steel gas, try using this.

Sorry about the misunderstanding wrt. the solid rod!

Regards
Niekie