Tig Welding stainless steel video Review

Tig Welding stainless steel sailboat parts - a video review

this aint his first rodeo.

He pays close attention to getting a good fitup with no gaps and he makes sure his parts are aligned properly before he welds it.

Pay special attention to how he tacks with no filler rod. He does it really quick. That is what works on stainless. If the pieces you are tacking are fit up correctly tight with no gap, you can use a quick blast of amperage of about 1 amp for every one thousands of thickness you are welding. For example, for .063 thick metal, 63 amps will work. So for tacking something like this, set the machine to 63 amps max amperage and then Position the torch right where you want the tack and with the tip of the electrode pretty close, like less than 1/8" and give it full pedal all at once and let off quickly. This works a lot better for tacking stainless steel than lighting up and gradually increasing the amperage.

Another thing to notice is that he pulses the amperage using the foot pedal. For stainless steel, this keeps the heat from building up. It is kind of an advanced technique and is not for rank beginners.

Because he spent the time to get a good fit with no gaps, he does not even need filler rod. He is able to pulse the foot pedal and fuse the metal together in a series of overlapping puddles without needing extra filler metal.

A lot of food service equipment is welded this way. I dont see any purge gas being fed to the back side of this weld. That could be a corrosion problem years down the road with all the salt air and moisture this part will see.

The weld looks really good. A bit out of focus in the camera, but you can tell its a good stainless steel tig weld anyway.

This guy has skills.