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Technical Stainless MIG welding?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by tubman, Jan 25, 2023.

  1. tubman
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 6,913

    tubman
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    I was watching FantomWorks the other day and they were restoring a '57 Corvette from a pile of parts. Someone had drilled holes in the cove moldings and attached them with screws. To fix this, Ol' Dan hisself carefully dinged the dents out, getting the trim piece in as good a shape as possible. Then he welded the holes up with what appeared to be a standard MIG welder, and then ground and polished the piece until it looked like new..

    Is this possible? The pictures showed what obviously was a MIG gun. He wasn't using any filler rod and I couldn't see a Spool Gun. Were they just using stock footage, or can this actually be done?
     
    Just Gary likes this.
  2. I use s/s mig wire. For exhaust and thick things, never used it on thin metal like trim. Polishes out well if necessary.
     
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  3. tubman
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 6,913

    tubman
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Do you use 75/25 gas?
     
  4. THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Joined: Jun 6, 2007
    Posts: 5,367

    THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Member
    from FRENCHTOWN

    It could work with a skilled hand and a light touch, but I would choose to TIG it if possible.
     
    metlmunchr and deathrowdave like this.

  5. Yes, same as regular MIG.
     
  6. SEAAIRE354
    Joined: Sep 7, 2015
    Posts: 537

    SEAAIRE354
    Member

    Generally with solid SS mig wire you use tri mix. For something like that they may have used straight argon. And if it was polishing out nice 316 would have been the alloy. I’ve done a ton of polishing on SS but with TIG.
     
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  7. Atwater Mike
    Joined: May 31, 2002
    Posts: 11,625

    Atwater Mike
    Member

    Solid SS wire, I HAD to try it! At the time, I had Argon. 75/25 was out of the question!
    But @X38's posts, 75/25 works. Must try that again.
    Thanks to my HAMB brothers.
     
  8. Last edited: Jan 25, 2023
  9. SEAAIRE354
    Joined: Sep 7, 2015
    Posts: 537

    SEAAIRE354
    Member

    I just looked it up and the tri mix is argon/co2 and they throw in a little Helium. An 75/25 would work as X38 said.
     
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  10. FrozenMerc
    Joined: Sep 4, 2009
    Posts: 3,092

    FrozenMerc
    Member

    I use my MIG all the time for welding stainless, mostly exhaust, but works well on other stuff too. Tri-Mix gas does produce a cleaner weld with less spatter. I keep both tanks on my cart and just switch the regulator any time I switch between wire.
     
  11. AccurateMike
    Joined: Sep 14, 2020
    Posts: 631

    AccurateMike
    Member

    I have welded a bunch of stainless tube elbows together with my wire and gas for mild steel. You can weld 304 to mild steel tube no problem. Just like they are the same.

    IMG_20210909_164122859.jpg
    (Stainless elbows and muffler, mild steel tube & flanges)

    Only thing, the welds aren't stainless. Pipes on my OT toys will get a little rusty at the welds. The dude on TV probably was going to paint it or chrome it or, he just didn't know (or care). If you aren't worried about the stainless-ness of your welds, have at it. Mike
     
    NoelC likes this.
  12. tubman
    Joined: May 16, 2007
    Posts: 6,913

    tubman
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    It looked great to me, and his shop has a reputation for top-shelf restorations.

    Thanks for the information guys. This opens up a whole new area for me.
     
    Just Gary likes this.
  13. 19Eddy30
    Joined: Mar 27, 2011
    Posts: 2,314

    19Eddy30
    Member
    from VA

    In a mig forSS tri mix Helium is recommend , it will be a cleaner weld , Tri Mix is more expensive, & can be used to weld mild steel, some say tri mix is a wast to use for mid steel , to me seem to weld cleaner .. So I just use tri mix , incase I do mig SS.
    Op asked / said did not see filler in mig , I have see a few use mig gun with no wire in gun but use filler rod & feed by hand @ electro tip, I have not tried this on mig , I just use the tig.
     
  14. Or he used stainless steel wire!
     
  15. NoelC
    Joined: Mar 21, 2018
    Posts: 668

    NoelC
    Member

    Just cause you can, doesn't mean you should, but a lot of times you can get by doing so.

    What he said.

    I think what's missing is the answer to the question, what is the purpose of the shielding gas. It's not can you weld it. Cause you can.

    It's the results of doing so.
     
    19Eddy30 likes this.
  16. No, that is not the question. The OP observed what appeared to be a MIG gun being used and asked if welding s/s with a MIG was possible.
    And as far as rust goes, Acccurate Mike has thrown a red herring in here by bringing up the subject of regular wire. The whole point is to use stainless steel wire.
     
  17. 19Eddy30
    Joined: Mar 27, 2011
    Posts: 2,314

    19Eddy30
    Member
    from VA

    I posted a answer for what the Op question /asked,
    I have seen some weld with a mig with out filler wire in gun,
    They used filler rod / wire,, fed by hand
    @ electro tip, like tigging . I have not tried this Method myself with migging
     
  18. alanp561
    Joined: Oct 1, 2017
    Posts: 4,609

    alanp561
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    If you're welding carbon steel to stainless and using stainless wire, it won't make any difference, the weld is going to rust anyway because you're contaminating the stainless with carbon. Hit a clean piece of stainless with a carbon steel hammer and where the hammer struck, the stainless will rust. Same thing with grinding wheels, if you use a grinding wheel that's been used on carbon steel on stainless, the stainless will rust.

    Just a suggestion on your welds. Make smaller passes. Don't try to pile all that metal up on top of itself. You'll get much nicer results. I know the example is square tube but trust me, it all welds the same.
    [​IMG]
     
  19. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,600

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

    I’m lost as well but this best answers thing’s but… So is there some retro fit tip for a mig welder?
     
  20. 19Eddy30
    Joined: Mar 27, 2011
    Posts: 2,314

    19Eddy30
    Member
    from VA

    No on retro tip ,,,,they feed rod/ wire by hand in between tip & work instead of feeding wire threw gun & out of tip
     
  21. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,600

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

    Then one would have to run wire against the tip, correct?
     
    2OLD2FAST likes this.
  22. AccurateMike
    Joined: Sep 14, 2020
    Posts: 631

    AccurateMike
    Member

    I'm not saying it's right. I'm saying you can weld it. I don't do it for anything that matters. I have done 304 exhaust on lawn rides, they do stay stuck together. If you don't have SS wire, you can still stick stuff together. I guess I may also just figure Fantom Works was capable of such hackery, I'm not a fan. Maybe he keeps a MIG machine loaded up for SS for just such occasions.
    I didn't want to put that picture up, it was just the easiest to find. I hacked that together in a few minutes. Right after I found the big hole in the original. I needed something to start up an engine sitting since '92. It ran for an hour on that, now it is destined for the "Tree of Shame". The muffler came with the 1" flex tube (Diesel cabin heater). Gotta' admit, it is funky.

    RE convert MIG to TIG






    You put a tungsten in the tip to make a scratch start DC TIG. If you have a MIG welder, $20 and you have some TIG capability. Or, use a air cooled TIG gun to do the same thing, smaller and a few more bucks. Pretty cool. I want to try it. Mike
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2023
  23. finn
    Joined: Jan 25, 2006
    Posts: 1,280

    finn
    Member

    With so many fairly good quality imported TIG welders available for around $1000 or less, I think TIG would be a better alternative.

    I picked up a Primeweld TIG225x for $764 on Black Friday and couldn’t be more pleased with its performance.

    Actually, there are probably a half dozen other brands out there and I haven’t read anything bad about any of the current budget machines, other tales of yore, from experiences fifteen or twenty years ago.
     
  24. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,263

    gimpyshotrods
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    I know a whole lot of seasoned welders that only ever use blue or red welders at work, who have a Primeweld 225X in their home shop.

    All report excellent results. None have had any issues.
     
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  25. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,286

    Bandit Billy
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    I built these tail pipes last year out of Stainless. I used my MIG with SS wire and a tri mix gas. I found it doesn't melt like regular MIG wire, takes some practice. They turned out nice but required a lot of grinding and polishing. No replacement for TIG welding but a handy ability to have in the garage since I don't TIG...yet.
    upload_2023-1-25_11-29-24.png
     
  26. I was required to weld up thin gage SS with MIG (all position) when I qualified.....I didn't know any different, and my welds were highly praised by the instructor. Always use MIG in my shop.
     
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  27. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,263

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    While I have a nice TIG welder, I do, on occasion MIG weld stainless.

    When I do, it is when I am making stainless headers for weird things, in tight spaces, and I am having trouble clamping/holding/hanging upside-down.

    I run the Argon flow gauge and bottle from the TIG on the MIG, and tack weld with it.

    Once a few tacks are on, I will pull the header out, back purge, and TIG weld it.
     
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  28. tim troutman
    Joined: Aug 6, 2012
    Posts: 844

    tim troutman
    Member

    Bandit Billy that sure looks nice. I have mig welded stainless with a mig on refer trailers .and some stuff on buses. never had any luck with thin stuff
     
    Bandit Billy likes this.
  29. Bandit Billy
    Joined: Sep 16, 2014
    Posts: 12,286

    Bandit Billy
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    It is a weird animal, the wire is stiff and wants to bounce when it strikes the pipe. You turn down the wire speed and it wants to burn through. You can use regular wire on stainless but the weld will rust unless you paint it.

    I did threw the SS wire and gas back on the MIG to fix a buddies turkey fryer last thanksgiving after the burner had come loose, worked fine for that but I wasn't polishing those welds.
     
    Just Gary likes this.
  30. Those are beautiful!
    Did you pressurize the tubes? Or just weld them with gas blowing on the weld like regular carbon steel MIG welding?
     
    Bandit Billy likes this.

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