Some stainless practice

[redstopgreen]

Never tig welded before I got my 200t. Not formally trained in any welding.

Went to scrap yard and picked up some stainless to play with. Maybe 16 guage sheet. Cut out 6- 4" squares and went to town practicing outside corners.

Used 1/16 tungsten. Tried 1/16 filler. .030 stainless mig wire. And fusing.

Started out horrible. Then got waaaay better.

[Kempy]

So what dose the tank inside look like, did you use argon to purge the inside to stop the burning or just welded it?
For the first time it looks not to bad. Little more practice thing will be the way you will like it to look. Keep send your progress, nice to see new welders on the forum.
Also welcome to the forum.

[m j mauer]

Looks ok to me, and welcome to the forum redstopgreen.

[redstopgreen]

i did not purge any. the inside seams were not too bad. a little wire brushing cleaned them up...before i couldn't get inside anymore. if i get a chance ill try and figure out what my first seam was and compare it to my best of the day.

[Paul Moir]

Did you learn the trick to straightening your mig wire?

When I do stainless sheet outside corners, I leave a little overhang to fuse down and so rarely have to use filler. It's fast and produces a nice looking weld. If you want to limit the damage on the inside but not purge (if the inside doesn't matter much), you can use an aluminum angle backer to keep the air away. The thing with stainless is if you get it too hot and it's unshieilded, it burns producing a rough, porous surface.

[redstopgreen]

there is a trick? i just cut some off and kind of reverse bent it a little.

[Paul Moir]

Oh I think I learned it from geezer here. Best thing ever; I've showed a couple welders since.

Take a long length of wire, clamp one end in a vice and chuck the other in a drill. Pull wire tight with drill, spin drill, and you get straightish wire. Cut to ~3' lengths.

[Kempy]

redstopgreen
You said (I was using a cheater lens in my helmet. thinking about trying to stop using it. i strain my eyes real hard trying to see that close.)
I have been using them for 30 years in my helmets and it helps the straining looking at the weld, you just have to find the right ones to wear. I do not wear glasses and I am 65 years old just when I weld.

[Rivets]

redstopgreen
....... I do not wear glasses and I am 65 years old just when I weld.

Hi Kempy,

Just curious, how old are you when you don't weld?

Cheers,
rivets