stainless steel tube welding

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Having trouble welding some 5 inch 16 gauge stainless steel. The problem is that there is a miter cut within 1 inch of the end of the tube which has been formed with a cup that has to stay round. So part of the weld is within 1 inch of the end and the other side is 5 inchs from the end so the heat input is different. I have tried a brass heat sink that is cooled and even placed the parts in a oven pre weld to relieve the stress in the stainless. Was wondering if anyone out there had any ideas.thanksMiller XMT 304Lincoln Buzz BoxVictor Cutting Torch OutfitHobart Generator/Welder
Reply:Your post is a little unclear and I'm having trouble visualising what you're doing..... If you're talking about distorsion, maybe spread the heat around a bit, weld the bit with the least material first, then weld the same amount on the opposite side, then weld a bit more on the first side etc.. untill they join up? If you're talking about the tube itself, then it probably doesn't help that thin walled stainless tube of that size and above isn't normally perfectly round to start with.Last edited by Baila La Pinza; 07-06-2011 at 12:44 PM.
Reply:Generally the easiest way to do those is to make the joint (im assuming a butt joint) a lap joint instead by stretching one of the pieces and sliding the other inside it.  Then I usually use the pulser to run a tiny fuse bead around the seam.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:I used to work for an outfit called Stevens Marine in Stockton. we built a lot of government training Vessels for Annapolis. When we welded stainless or monel we filled all the tubes with a steady flow of argon.  The inside of the weld looked almost Identical to the outside weld.  Mac