Well, I've had my welder for more than a few months now and have some practice under my belt. I got pretty comfortable welding mild steel. I'm making progress with Aluminum and am ready to get into SS.

What I'd like to do is pick all the pros' brains to give myself the best shot possible at succeeding in SS. I ordered a few weld-els from ACE stainless to practice on. Now I would like to know what else I should be using for consumables. My Diversion 180 stock torch is currently set up with 3/32 lanthanated and a gas lens with a number 7 cup.

Is 3/32 a good size to use for SS? Also what type/size filler wire/rod should I get? I see alot of people using 309L but I really dont know what I should get. I have also been using pure Argon so far is that suitable for the SS? As for backpurging I dont plan on it for my practice, but I may try and make a log style mani in the near future and I will try it then.

Any help is greatly appreciated guys, thanks

UPDATE 10/5/12 Added Pics

 

Also, what amps do you guys usually weld SS at?

 

your whole setup should be fine, but you'll more than likely want a larger cup. with 3/32 tungsten, use 3/32 filler 309L...backpurging is a must on thicker pieces of stainless such as tubular or log style. as for amps, play with the settings and see what works. since its only practice it doesnt matter if you blow a hole in it or anything. pure argon is the only way to go when using tig, no matter what material you are welding. just turn up the dial on your pedal, and slowly press it down till you get the desired puddle, then practice practice practice...and don't forget to CLEAN the material before you start welding

 

Thanks, hopefully today I'll get some practice in and post some pics

 

Today my filler rod came in the mail, 309L 3/32. Please keep in mind this was my first time ever handling stainless steel, let alone welding it. My first thoughts is that the weld pool is relatively easy to control, and it seems like I may not struggle too much as I try to improve.

Here is The very first attempt. I had the machine set at 50AMPS



Here I turned the machine up to 60AMPS and moved the pool along slower than at first.


For the rest I had the machine at 70AMPS and just played around with my timing and torch angles


The part at the bottom appears to have gotten decent penetration and was my very last bead


Any advice is welcomed, I don't get sad with constructive criticism =]

 

Practicing on weld els is gonna cost a fortune. Get some straight stuff. I would also start with mild steel as it doesn't need to be purged.
For a first go it looks ok just practice regularly and you'll improve.

 

Some were telling me I got the amps way too high, Whats a good starting point?

 

a good rough guide
http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/tig-calculator.htm

 

Thanks