I'm going to be fabbing up a turbo manifold soon. <U>I just want to tack</U> everything together and give the manifold to someone who knows there way with TIG. I am going to buy a MIG welder and can easily get 220v to my garage if necessary. I've wanted a welder for a really long time and now i have an excuse to buy one..

- What do i need to know about MIG welding stainless?
- What kind of welder/features should i look for? Any different for stainless? Or should i just buy any mig that is being recommended in other threads.
- Some info on GAS.

I've done a fair amount of stick and a bit of mig on mild steel and can handle myself, but I am totally clueless when it comes to stainless..

TIA

 

I would not ruin a stainless piece by taking it anywhere near a MIG

Use simple hose clamps to hold it together

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eLusive ek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would not ruin a stainless piece by taking it anywhere near a MIG

Use simple hose clamps to hold it together</TD></TR></TABLE>

what do you mean by "ruin"... i'm not looking to build a masterpeice.. please explain.

 

The problem I see with the hose clamps is there is no way to remove them while maintaining the positioning in order to tack them. If you don't have a Tig available to tack then I see no problem with two spots on there with the mig. Make them at about 4 o'clock and 8 o'clock on the pipes so you cant see where they were once it's all finished.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eLusive ek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would not ruin a stainless piece by taking it anywhere near a MIG

Use simple hose clamps to hold it together</TD></TR></TABLE>

Tack welds are nothing at all, your going to be running a bead over them anyways. Holding stuff together is no big deal. If your building something that you are making for a customer and eye candy is high on the list, then yes just use TIG. MIG's fine for protos and some production work (chasis work is great with a MIG).

Rich

 

if your going to use mig it should look fine just make sure you use stainless wire and the right gas when you tack them.. and tack away.

i weld on stainless all the time with mig at work, it's not as nice as tig due to how nice tig looks for more apperence things but mig should be fine just to tack somthing together.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone!!

Here are some questions:

1. What do i ask for when it comes to gas?

2. What size wire should i use for tacking the ever popular 304L Sch. 40 stainless els?

3. Are there any other features when choosing a gas/mig welder that i should look for that will be more 'stainless friendly'? Or do i just get the best one i can afford?

... so glad they added this forum!

 

gas ... well helium works for us at the shop just ask your nearest welder suply shop... who ever sells the gasses ... like we have BOC GAS or Prax Air in canada.

and wire size depends on the application, i can't remeber off hand on which size to use on that size of stainless.

 

In reagrds to the hose clamp idea not working use a witness mark for extra insurance and then remove the clamps.

Aplogies should have been more clear about the "ruin" i just don't like mig at all for anyhting really

 

I've got a Miller MM130 and use an Argon/CO2 (75/25) for most mild steel welding (it's powered with 110).

I ended up having to do a small amount of Stainless welding and all I had to do was buy a spool of Stainless wire.

I asked at the welding supply shop about the gas and they said that I should be OK if doing small gauge stuff.

It worked out fine and as such, I'd say that you will OK doing tacks! In the worst case, have the finish welder grind off the tack welds prior to going full circle.

Wes Vann

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by eLusive ek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Aplogies should have been more clear about the "ruin" i just don't like mig at all for anyhting really</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for clearning that up..

 

i think a mig with stainless wire would be fine just make shure you use some spatter sheild cus that stuff looks nasty

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wes V &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've got a Miller MM130 and use an Argon/CO2 (75/25) for most mild steel welding (it's powered with 110).

I ended up having to do a small amount of Stainless welding and all I had to do was buy a spool of Stainless wire.

I asked at the welding supply shop about the gas and they said that I should be OK if doing small gauge stuff.

It worked out fine and as such, I'd say that you will OK doing tacks! In the worst case, have the finish welder grind off the tack welds prior to going full circle.

Wes Vann</TD></TR></TABLE>

Great, that answers all my questions! And i get a free tip! (grind them down)

Honda-Tech!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Wes V &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I've got a Miller MM130 and use an Argon/CO2 (75/25) for most mild steel welding (it's powered with 110).

I ended up having to do a small amount of Stainless welding and all I had to do was buy a spool of Stainless wire.

I asked at the welding supply shop about the gas and they said that I should be OK if doing small gauge stuff.

It worked out fine and as such, I'd say that you will OK doing tacks! In the worst case, have the finish welder grind off the tack welds prior to going full circle.

Wes Vann</TD></TR></TABLE>

BUMP!

Anyone else have any input on using 75/25 mix for stainless? I have the stainless wire now.. but is it worth spending 40-50 in gas just to tack a few els together? what will happen to the weld if i dont use pure argon?

Thanks..

 

75/25 is all i've ever used migging, it works great on steel. I did mess around with some stainless once and it worked fine with it, didnt look pretty but it got-r-dun
edit: btw 75% argon and 25% helium

 

I use steel mig wire on T304 stainless pipe often.....walked away from a downpipe im making now to do a search for something here.
I use a 75/25 blend of co2/argon. Welds look about as nice as possible with mig, if you can lay a nice bead then your ok---**** if you use some .024" wire and are really good you can almost get it to look TIG'ish. Sometimes when doing charge piping I will spray clear coat on the pipes and they keep the beads from getting rusted.

 

What are some of the problems of not using the 'right' gas for MIGing stainless?

 

the guy at the welding shop was talking like it was the end of the world when i asked if i could use 75/25..

 

haha, well i'm willing to weld in those conditions if it will be ok for a manifold. It surprising how little some people at places like that know. where's engloid? maybe he knows

 

im interested in this topic myself, seeing as how i havnt tryed mig'n stainless, just mild steel. Ill be doing charge pipes and a dual exhaust set up soon. so hopefully someone like engloid will post a definative answer to this question.

 

BUMP because i want to weld this weekend ```

 

This thread seems to be somewhat rambling without good focus..but I'll try and answer some stuff.

You can use Argon or Ar/CO2. For that matter, you can use just about any of the more common gasses. I don't know that I'd use helium though. It's more expensive, will burn a lot hotter, and the arc will wander uncontrollably at times.

I prefer pure argon for stainless. Either way, DO NOT tack or weld stainless with carbon steel wire. Although you can feasably weld carbon steel with carbon steel wire, you don't want to go the other way around.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I prefer pure argon for stainless. Either way, DO NOT tack or weld stainless with carbon steel wire. Although you can feasably weld carbon steel with carbon steel wire, you don't want to go the other way around.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll buy you a beer if i ever meet you.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2point2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'll buy you a beer if i ever meet you. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I think paypal accepts payments from your Beer Card.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Engloid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I think paypal accepts payments from your Beer Card. </TD></TR></TABLE>

lol..