Some 1/4" Stainless Welds

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Back in August I graduated (with honors) from Texas State Technical College with an Applied Sciences Degree in Welding Technology. With one degree under my belt, I decided to pursue another, this time in Aerospace Engineering. But first, I wanted to put my skills to use and save up some money while I work on getting accepted to engineering school.So now I'm working in a fabrication shop. A lot of people around here said that you learn more in the real world in six weeks than you do in six months of school (college). Well, they were right. But that doesn't mean I think my schooling was a waste, far from it. I may be the least experienced welder there but the other guys ask me for help reading blueprints (on the occasions that we have real prints to work off) and sometimes setting their machines or troubleshooting problems (usually bad work-lead connections). I started knowing a bunch about welding and not a lot about fabricating. Now I know quite a bit about both, and learning more every few minutes at least (this site helps too).So, yeah, I really like my job, I get to weld, build things, fix things, and I get paid more than all my friends (they laughed when I wanted to pursue a 2-year degree).Anyway, y'all came for welds, so here they are:General Parameters:Material: 304L Stainless 1/4" thickProcess: GTAW (TIG)    Amperage: 140-160  (I dropped the amps as the material warmed up)    Electrode: 1/8" 2% Thoriated    Shielding: 100% Argon ~15 CFH (used a gas lens)    Filler: 1/8" 316L (all we had available)Machine: Miller SynchrowaveClick on the pictures for a larger view.Here's the parts all prepped, cleaned and ready to be fit up:Here's the parts on one end tacked up and ready to weld:There is supposed to be another gusset at the bottom center of the picture  I thought that it would be easier to weld the inside of the other gusset without it and then add it later. This was a bad idea. Distortion from welding caused that corner of the base plate to bend up so the gusset wouldn't fit right. I had to clamp the plate flat to the table to get the last gusset in. (When I did the other side, I tacked everything at once and didn't have any problems.)I turned out on some of the welds to be easier to weld toward the inside corner than away from it. I had to bend the filler to allow it to lay in the joint:First few welds:The colors on the finished weld are what makes TIG welding stainless plate my favorite thing to weld.Here's some of the other side:The outside edge of the gusset on the right is all messed up because the dolt who used the plasma cutter before me tried to cut a bunch of 1/2" plate by dragging the tip. Of course there was not a drag tip on that machine so he ended up completely frying the tip (probably not good for the machine either).  I forgot to check the tip before I started and ended up with the backside of the cut being all crooked and blown out. The boss didn't want to waste the time and materials on on new part so I ended up cleaning it as best I could and using it.This is my favorite weld on the whole thing:I didn't have a dime on me (trying to save for college) but that hole at the bottom right is 9/16" in diameter (smaller than a dime).The zig-zag marks above and below the weld are from the gas lens. I walked-the-cup on all of the joints that I could simply because I wanted it to look as good as possible (so maybe the boss will give me more TIG/stainless jobs). The whole thing finished:The base is 12"X41" and the vertical parts are 11 1/4" tall.I have no idea what this was for, I just had fun welding it.Visit Tensaiteki.com
Reply:Very nice work there! Why did you need to bend the filler on such a "straight forward" piece? Just wondering.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:very nice looking welds ChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:You're an artist, VERY nice looking welds INDEED!
Reply:Man I would luv to weld that..... looks goodStrive For Perfection
Reply:A professional job!DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Absolutely beautiful. Nice job.mm135HTP Invertig 201 With water cooler9" Southbend LatheLots of hand tools.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterVery nice work there! Why did you need to bend the filler on such a "straight forward" piece? Just wondering.....zap!
Reply:Now there are 2 ways of acomplishing that..Never thought of it....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:As I've said before...I rarely get the opportunity to do any TIG work...with the types of jobs we bid it is rarely feasible to spend all the time required to TIG something...when there is a much more economical way of doing it, such as MIG, albeit the end result will not be of the same quality and the appearance won't be scrutinized to the same level that some pieces are.We have one TIG machine versus about 20 wire feeds in the entire shop. I have sort of adopted it and keep it close at hand. I always use it when fitting stainless...at first I got some strange looks from some of the more experienced guys...like, what the hell are you doing?? When you think about it though I am probably saving time...by the time I switch my wire over and then change the gas....with the TIG, I just have to turn it on. It's just a matter of mindset...it seems that people get in the habit of doing things a certain way and after a time they become unreceptive to new ideas or different methods. I call it the " that's the way we always did it "syndrome.Now, I use it on certain small jobs, and hopefully my skills will improve as I get paid to practice. The reason for my post...before I went off onto a tangent is the filler rod as it applies to the walking the cup technique. Is it correct that you just lay it right down in the joint, when doing a fillet weld, and simply weld along? Or do you have to manipulate it in and out? I'm curious because those certainly are some beautiful welds. If I could manage to lay down something like that , I could pretty much guarantee myself getting every stainless job that comes in.Real nice work. Thanks to all that contribute...I've learned a lot on this site in the last little while.
Reply:Tinbasher:  You can lay it in there flat and just walk right over it, no manipulation in and out.  The only time you may have to start to feed the wire is if you wash the bead out too far.  Other than that, you'll watch the wire melt down just ahead of the arc, and the molten metal will draw up into the weld pool.  This is how I do a lot of stainless, and is how I do ALL of my open root pipes.
Reply:Originally Posted by SupeTinbasher:  You can lay it in there flat and just walk right over it, no manipulation in and out.  The only time you may have to start to feed the wire is if you wash the bead out too far.  Other than that, you'll watch the wire melt down just ahead of the arc, and the molten metal will draw up into the weld pool.  This is how I do a lot of stainless, and is how I do ALL of my open root pipes.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterBut how is the penetration opposed to the standard way?...zap!
Reply:All of my open root stuff was 1/8" filler with a 3/32 root opening.  Good enough penetration to pass triple x ray.  Penetration has always been just as good, and more consistent.  I find that with this method, I can typically bump the amps up a few and run more quickly as well.  It makes for some GORGEOUS little bowtie welds.  Give it a shot :-DHere's an old picture of some scrap stainless welded together with this method.  Can't recall if it was 1/8" or 3/32, as it's a few years old.Last edited by Supe; 10-20-2007 at 11:20 PM.
Reply:That is some high quality welding there.  You should be very proud of your work.
Reply:that weld looks real good I'm going to have to try that technique one more timeChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:Originally Posted by chopper5that weld looks real good I'm going to have to try that technique one more time
Reply:laying the filler down and just fusing it rather than dipping itChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:Originally Posted by chopper5laying the filler down and just fusing it rather than dipping it
Reply:Nice work! I went to the local school in '78 because I wanted to learn Tig and Mig as I had never had the opportunity. I had already been Dad's helper for 10 years by then. The instructor, who had a phd in welding and started out as a navy welder, told me not to waste my time or money. He said he knew my dad and his work and knew that there was nothing he could teach me to go find a shop and get to work. Turns out if you can o/a weld and run sticks the others are easy, lol. And there is no substitute for OJT. I would recommend learning all you can about the metallurgy involved as there are more and more alloys being used everyday.I wish I could tig pipe, but a seriously fubarred wrist prevents that. There is a definite trick to getting the root in there.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:great work ...sounds like you got that machine tuned perfect fo the job weld it like you own it
Reply:Originally Posted by SupeCan't walk the cup unless the filler is flush in the joint!
Reply:Great job man!What a steady hand you got in there.My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:I'm REAL impressed!!!! Nice work!!Ideas Without Action are Folly
Reply:Man I seen a guy weld 1/4" stainless with a bit smaller than an 1/8" weld face on the weld w/o filler rod......then put it in a vice and took a BFH to it like a crazy man and started beatin it to death and killed the viseCould not believe it!!!!!!!!!! weld it like you own itOriginally Posted by lewrayMan I seen a guy weld 1/4" stainless with a bit smaller than an 1/8" weld face on the weld w/o filler rod......then put it in a vice and took a BFH to it like a crazy man and started beatin it to death and killed the viseCould not believe it!!!!!!!!!!