How To Tig Weld Stainless Steel Sheet

Furthermore if you plan to weld stainless steel er308 er308l and er308lsi welding wire are best used.

How to tig weld stainless steel sheet. Tig can be used to weld copper titanium even two dissimilar metals and is handy for making tricky welds e g. When welding 304 stainless steel er308 er308l and er308lsi wires are compatible but for welding 316l stainless you need a 316l wire. Stainless steel grows and warps excessively from heat. S curves or welds on round things.

It is ideally preferred where the chicago welder fails because of its limitation in doing the stainless steel soldering job. Tig stands for tungsten inert gas which is a welding technique done with the help of tungsten electrode for heating different metals. But in the case of 316l stainless you will need to incorporate a 316l wire. How to tig weld stainless steel.

Kevin stone is a senior fabricator who began applying his welding and drawing skills to the creation of massive stainless steel sculptures back in 2005. With these materials use a tri mix gas 90 helium 8 argon and 2 co 2. The coloring is all from excess heat. Since then he has used the gas tungsten arc welding gtaw aka tig process to produce an impressive collection of eagles dragons dinosaurs and more.

This is basically a common and unique process for joining stainless steel. It also forms the red blue and black coloring you re familiar with on welds. Tig welding is one type of welding amongst a few choices you have mig stick oxyacetylene etc. Welding will always need heat otherwise the metals won t weld together but the heat on stainless steel is from the job heating up more than it needs to.

This process also uses shielding gas against contamination but you can weld thinner metals more efficiently. To weld sheet metal with solid wires use electrode positive ep or reverse polarity. Tig generates heat via an arc of electricity jumping from a tungsten metal electrode to the metal surfaces you intend to weld usually aluminum. For these types of materials a tri gas mixture is recommended which consists of 90 helium 8 argon and 2 co2.

If this is a consideration make sure your tig welding machine has pulse welding capability.