roachy Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 hey guys, i got myself a truck cab roll cage from billing today with the good intentions of migging it, however i've realised that to get a better looking weld i may aswell borrow my tig welder from work and use that. here's the problem, i have only got 316grade stainless filler rods, if i remember correctly stainless is weaker than steel therefor wont be any good protecting me from death as i plummet down a steep hill? please correct me if im wrong? does anyone know what grade rods would be best suited for this application? i have some old steel rods left over from the days of gas welding but i'm not sure of the grade and dont think i have enough of them anyway. or do you think i'm being too poncy and should just blast it with the mig? thanks in advance for any advice ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 welding stainless to mild in a potentially high stress application isnt groovy - its banned practice in nuclear welding due to carbon migration leading to fracture points A15 or A18 rods are cheap and easy to get Weldmet LINKY hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Gas rods don't like being tigged either - I don't know the technical reasons, but I tried it once and made a horrendous mess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan kemp Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I use 3.2mm mild steel rods rods for this type of work wih a 2.4 or 3mm tungsten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roachy Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 cheers guys, thats perfect, got some 2.4mm rods coming tomorrow, what sort of current am i going to be needing to get the penetration? my welder tends to blow a 13amp fuse with anything over 90-95 amps, so normally switch to 415 above that. also i haven't done alot of mild tigging, 98% of welding i do is stainless. I assume it's just the same? just needs a bit more heat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T1G UP Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I'd MIG weld if you can't TIG weld very wel. If you pulse the MIG wire in and lay it on evenly then you wil get the same results as the cage builders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roachy Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 i can tig stainless well, just asking the differences with doing mild? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 Just cut a few bits of tube up, fishmouth an end, and do some test joints. To be honest, if you really can tig weld well, you'll be able to tell everything you need from your test joints. If you can't, use mig, and don't pulse it - get some proper heat into the joint. Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roachy Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 cheers for the help guys, Al i think thats the best idea, ill take some off cuts into work and have a play, ill get some pics up when it's all done. thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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