Having Trouble with Laying Bead on SS

Thanks for your help.

I am gonna try and get the mixture.Maybe 98% argon and 2%or 3% CO2..

I just got thru with another practice session. I fnd out that at b-4 or c-4 settings I can make a good bead.

I have to be closer in on the B setting than the C setting. C is higher volts than B.

Also, I've fnd out that if i run it with very fast popping sound with abt 1/4"+ stickout i can get a decent looking bead. If i hold very close to the metal and get the fast popping I have to go much faster.

However, when i tried to weld up a plate perp to another plate, it didnt seemt o work . Lots of splatter and more globs. I think i may be trying to do it like i do woith the arc welder. Yoo know, weaving with the stick..

Shl i be able to do a smooth fillet weld wo weaving with the mig? I think the ss on the plates may be better than that on the kegs. Its scrap from Dowling-Bach and they make some real sturdy and professional gear for the oil industry..

What kind of SS are you trying to weld? Some stainless welds easily, some not so easily, some requires the sacrifice of a virgin during the full moon, and some just won't weld at all. I think it is more a problem of what you are trying to weld, as you can weld stainless using pure argon.

About 99.99999% of the people on this newsgroup are Home/Hobbyist. The advantage of the Home/Hobbyist is that his time is "free" so to speak. Industrial time is worth money. As an example, every weld I do takes a lot longer than any shop would spend doing it. I prep, clean, grind etc. then weld, grind the weld, redo welds, etc. When I get done the weld not only is perfect but looks perfect also. Many times I even grind the weld so that what I welded looks like one continuous piece of metal. You can't do that in a shop and make a living. Therefore a Home/Hobbyist doesn't need all the different mixes of gas to do what he needs.

If a Home/Hobbyist only has one gas it should be 100% argon. If he can have two the second should be 85/15, 82/18, or even plain old CO2.

If he can have three then he can get fancy, and have an argon/He for aluminum, 82/18 for steel, and 98/2 for stainless. In fact most welding shops or factories can function very well, using just these three mixes and never miss the tri-mixes which are a bunch of hype and BS anyway. Everyone needs to realize that when you go beyond argon and CO2 then you are paying more money for less welding time/gas.

DJ,

The steel is 304 ss. It is a beer keg ss.

I talked to a welding engineer, as the people at Air Liquide called the guy. Anyway, he said there wasn't much he cld help me with. He said I may get the weld to hold but they would probably leak. Right now i just want to weld close nipples and couplings to the side of beer kegs.

He said my best bet was to

1. either get a good tig welder and spend abt 20 hrs practiceing and then do abt 4 projects to get it right. OR

1. I cld fit the stuff up like i want it and take it to ss welder to do the work.

After that conversation, Im abt ready to convert the small Linclon mig I have back to mild steel mode and do one of those options.

What do ya think?

Blueraven

If its 304 then it is certainly weldable, I don't see what the problem is. SAE 30304 is a modified form of 302 that has low carbon and is used when welding is desired. If it really is 304 then it should be weldable. Make sure its clean, backpurge and then weld it.

304 stainless certianly is weldable, Now from what it sounds like I'm surprised no one has suggested nickel wire. It would lay in there really easily and would be nice for dissimilar welding if you wanted to put in say mild steel. I don't have too much experience with nickel wire on MIG but I know they make it, and we use it from time to time on some other grades of ss when we tig. The only sacrifice you'll be making is some strength in the weld and some corrosion resistance but for your purposes it doesn't seem to make a difference I have to say for versatility and compatability nickel filler metals are the way to go if strength and hardness aren't an issue

I've given up on welding the ss with the little88amp mig machine. Basically told by a welding eng at Air Liquide it wldnt work and wld rust and ot leak.

I converted it back to flux core for miled steel. Also, Im gonna try and braze the metals instead.

thanks for your help and Happy Holidays all.