Welding Stainless?

In reply to Dr. Hess:

I've driven Europas (love them), and have to admit, more stiffness would be a good thing. Especially if the Toyota mill's got enough poke to handle the extra weight.

Apologies for the hijack..I just thought Doc's project rocks!

ok so whats the deal with needing gas shielding on the backside of the weld? I have done some googleing and everything says that you absolutely need shielding on the backside.

what does GRM say?

Simplest way to think about it is this...

When you weld thin stuff, the weld puddle isn't only on the front, it's also on the back.

You need to shield the front from oxidation, so you also need to shield the back!

Oxidation doesn't seem to really bother mild steel so much. It does some funky things to stainless. I'm not going to get into the metallurgy because I will be far over my head, but there is anecdotal evidence that doing SS exhausts without backpurging doesn't really matter... while headers can be done backpurged or with Solar Flux. Only food service or medical really need to be backpurged. This is all getting far too basic. Welding is not only a science, but an art, as as such there is no way to sum it up online.

Again, if you want to weld stainless and dont have the money for a backpurge setup, research SolarFlux

ah that makes complete sense!

I have a tig and have done some stainless but was recently looking to do something that will have contact with food.

anyone know where to get a dual regulator setup? or how to build one?

Easiest way is to just rent a second bottle! HTP (USA Weld) sells nice units for cheap on ebay.

If you figure out where to get a Y to run two regulators off a single bottle, please let me know!

cwh wrote: I was always told to use SS wire and straight argon. And it worked just fine.

this is what my welders user manual says too.