Welding Stainless

Brazing or silver brazing is not a problem, you just have to use a good flux and is probably the cheapest way to go. I've done a lot of silver brazing with stainless and an air-acetylene torch. If you don't need the strength of a weld, it's probably a good way to go. Other posters will probably have welding recommendations.

Stan

You can buy stainless steel wire for the MIG and use it with the 70/30 gas mix. The welds will have a gray oxide coating but that can be sanded off.

Stainless steel stick electrode works fine, but is difficult to use is any position other than flat.

You can oxy/acet weld stainless using a carburizing flame, but you will get massive distortion and oxide buildup.

Ernie..I just brought home a dozen or so mostly full 30lb spools of various mig wire, a number of them being E309, E307 and so forth.

Ive a 200 amp Dan-mig machine. What is the maximum size I should be able to run of regular wire and stainless? About half of it is .045 dia. I know I cant run the aluminum stuff, without a liner and all that stuff, but.....? I have a nice shiney new tip for the mig gun for .045 with the wire....

My gas will be, for now, C25

There is also a full new 12" spool of .045 E71-T-1 wire. Is this flux core? Its a very dark color. Made by Hobart. Will my machine run this? A quick check on the net shows this as gas shielded flux core....????? Do I use gas with it, even if its flux core?

I weld outdoors and during the windy season..not having to worry about the gas blowing around would be nice.

Ive cultivated a welding machine repair shop owner, and he gave me all the spools of wire he has been saving from machines that are no longer fixable and were trashed..so I got some wire...

Thanks

Gunner

"To be civilized is to restrain the ability to commit mayhem. To be incapable of committing mayhem is not the mark of the civilized, merely the domesticated." - Trefor Thomas

Industrially, this is usually done with a Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welder. This strikes an arc from a tungsten electrode to the work. Argon gas flows around the outside of the electrode and drives away oxygen from the weld, Filler wire is applied to the molten pool in a similar way to oxy/acetylene welding. There is almost no oxidation if the job is done by a skilled tradesman. Distortion is minimal, as the heat is concentrated in the weld area.Almost all of the pipe welding in the food industry is done this way. In pipe welding , argon is flooded into the pipe to prevent oxidation on the inside.

Long time ago I worked for Hobart (food equipment, not the other brother). Everything stainless that needed welding (1/4-20 studs on the backs of slicer guards come to mind) had to go out to a machine shop to be TIG welded. It was very expensive, back then anyways. That experience is probably why I didnt think I could weld stainless with what I have.

You may be able to use the DC welder if you can get a handpiece and gas supply for it. You might check with the manufacturer.