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Whats the best way to weld stacked plates without using a fillet weld... see the picture below. The plates are 1/4" 304 stainless.I want to keep the crisp lines of the offset plate but have them act together to help support the bracket, which will have a couple shelves suspended from the threaded rod.will holes drilled through the plate then welded through to fill the holes work? Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by MetalArchitectWhats the best way to weld stacked plates without using a fillet weld... see the picture below. The plates are 1/4" 304 stainless.I want to keep the crisp lines of the offset plate but have them act together to help support the bracket, which will have a couple shelves suspended from the threaded rod.will holes drilled through the plate then welded through to fill the holes work?
Reply:Yeah for the center section (1/2" and 3/4") i planned on groove weld and grind. This is for an individuals home and the shelving below will be for books and such so no engineer sign-off needed, just me  ! lolHe wants it natural so the bluing of the SS will have to be dealt with.This is something that will be brought to me to be cut and welded the client wants to supply the material, though i already priced it out just in case because we all know how that goes.With the plug technique whats the best way to keep the plates from warping or cupping ?I was thinking about a small tack weld or two along the lap that can be carefully ground down later, or a lot of clamps around the edge.
Reply:Okay, I get it now, you're a custom fabricator that wants to know how to design andfab parts that are deemed to be of an artsy nature.If the customer is intent on being wholly fussy about undefined appearances, thenbe prepared with extra material to make up some test samples for his and your education.People that really want 'a certain look', need to be prepared to pay multiples for theeffort involved. I call that  'commision art', and charge accordingly, since the time factor-alonebecomes multiples of the quick and dirty.The pre and post finishing will do much more for customer satisfaction than the injected issueof visible welds. A decent ss TIG weld looks pretty good, which the customer may not even realize.I'd really consider just grinding small bevels (1/16") ,  spaced sequentially along the lengths of the long edges then tiggin those bevels, not grinding them. (People get so a*al about 'the look', when the reality is that nobody notices or cares) 1-SS flat will not be dead flat, true, etc.2-Big plug welds from one side will warp and bow the assembly, pre-stressing thisassembly is not that feasible due to it's short length, may result in some visible bowing3-To compress the flats and add integrity to the assembly; I'd suggest first doing some small long edge, sequenced, bevel welds (which could be ground/sanded), clamped up, then drill, tap and countersink for flat head ss screws to hold the assembly together, leaving the end of the screw, below the outside (show side) maybe .090, which is plug welded, then sanded.Below is a sketchhttp://weldingweb.com/attachment.php...1&d=1254207646 Attached ImagesBlackbird