buying .023 stainless wire, How low can i go

admin

I was on amazon and was going to tag on some .023 stainless wedling wire as im going to be playing with some stainless around the same thickness. Some thing poped in my head wouldnt it be better to have thinner wire and thicker material? This leads to how small do they make stainless wire ?? Secondly can you go a little thinner than your tips rating the smallest i have is .023?Finally before any one jumps on it I know I know you would use tig I dont have tig cant currently afford tig making due with what i have. This is only for proto  typing any way so only i will be using it & if you do happen to mention that you would use tig it means you didnt read the whole post and your a knob washer *** tool.  No need to say i didnt get the wire on amazon .023 wasnt good for the super saver shipping any way so i decided to delay. Is there a better place to buy expendibles online.
Reply:I have never seen anything lighter than .023" and I imagine it would be very difficult to run it were available. Besides birdsnesting, you would need a welder that could be dialed in very accurately, and run  extremely smooth. A one ore two volt variation would have a huge effect on the weld characteristics. I am sure burn back would be a huge issue. I won't tell you to switch to TIG, but I don't think that smaller drive rolls, etc. are available for any of the hobby welders should you be able to source some specialty wire.
Reply:What thickness material are you trying to weld?  Regardless of wire diameter, it might be damn near impossible with MIG.  Thin stainless MIG requires a good bit of skill.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:Trying to push wire smaller than .023 with a mig welder is like trying to shove a wet noodle up a tiger's butt.Have you ever mig welded SS?Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:SS handles heat pretty well from mig welding, but expect to see some shrinkage and warping on the welded areas. FWIW, the best thing to do with a cheaper, smaller unit is to bust the bank on the best gas possible. Use a tri-mix gas specifically for SS mig welding. The results are far superior to straight argon, 80/20 gas, or helium alone. Stitch welding will be the most likely way to get a half decent result. Don't linger on a spot; move quick, or stop and restart. Better you grind down rather than try to burn the weld in.A .018 wire would be nice, but the mig gun and cord would need to be arrow straight to keep it from kinking. .023 is the smallest I have ever seen for mig work.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:the gauge of the material is probably going to be preatty high like 22 lower than the machine is rated for. Perhap a spool gun would be an option but i would still have to source the low gauge wire. I guess I will probably be the first to try doing some thing like this so ill post some pictures as soon as i have them.No I havent tried to do ss mig but I wont let that stop me. : )Really just got some material to practice on from a local iron works they gave me some scrap so but im getting to that point to achiev the goals i want with welding i need to start thinking about how im going to achieve them.
Reply:It's called tig with a high pulse frequency.Syncro 250 DX Dynasty 200 DXMM 251 w/30A SG XMT 304 w/714 Feeder & Optima PulserHH187Dialarc 250 AC/DCHypertherm PM 1250Smith, Harris, Victor O/ASmith and Thermco Gas MixersAccess to a full fab shop with CNC Plasma, Water Jet, etc.
Reply:Originally Posted by SundownIIIIt's called tig with a high pulse frequency.
Reply:Originally Posted by SundownIIITrying to push wire smaller than .023 with a mig welder is like trying to shove a wet noodle up a tiger's butt.Have you ever mig welded SS?
Reply:Originally Posted by Teljkonthe gauge of the material is probably going to be preatty high like 22 lower than the machine is rated for. Perhap a spool gun would be an option but i would still have to source the low gauge wire. I guess I will probably be the first to try doing some thing like this so ill post some pictures as soon as i have them.No I havent tried to do ss mig but I wont let that stop me. : )Really just got some material to practice on from a local iron works they gave me some scrap so but im getting to that point to achiev the goals i want with welding i need to start thinking about how im going to achieve them.
Reply:Never have seen anything smaller than .023 wire.  I've used it to weld stainless panels (.060 thick) to 1/8" thick angle.  It can be run rather hot for the sheet steel, to get an adequate wet out onto the angle.  But, with thinner metal it needs to be watched pretty close to prevent burn through.Make sure you get the "Tri-mix" for MIG welding the stainless.  It will leave a bit of black soot, but it wipes off with a rag or wire brushes off easy.  I've used up 1 4# spool so far, have 2 more spools to finish the project.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build