HELP Tig 14g stainless

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I am butt welding stainless counters and am having problems with the stainless heaving what can I do?
Reply:Pics? By heaving you mean warping? You are too hot, or heat soaking it would be my guess. Some more details would be greatly helpful.
Reply:Originally Posted by tjfxgI am butt welding stainless counters and am having problems with the stainless warping what can I do?
Reply:It's going to be tough no matter what you do to be honest. I would bevel it a tiny bit, run .045 filler and just stuff it in(no dabs) maybe 50 amps. tip your torch back 30 deg from vertical and haul ***. And I would do this all while its clamped to the biggest flat piece of AL or copper I could find. I also wouldnt weld more than an inch at a time and I would jump around welding as far away from my last weld as I could get.I've never tried this but heard it's been done. Preheating the sheets to a couple hundred degrees in an oven. Someone else would have to explain that one.
Reply:You can also backstep the welds. Instead of welding from 1-4      4--------------1Weld (3-4) (2-3) (1-2)  . 4----3----2----1Another option is to use a heavier backer or even a chill plate to dissipate the heat faster.  There are also heat sink gels that do a good job. Make sure the joint fit is as tight as possible.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:When welding 16 ga counter tops together we usually just fuse (no filler wire added). Adding filler wire will mean that you will need to increase your heat. The added heat plus the filler wire will result in more shrinkage and distortion. If it is only a counter top then I would think that it only needs to hold together and it's not a structural component. Your counter is a bit thicker but fusing may work well for you also, I would try a test piece and see if you are happy with the results.I usually tack with a 1/2" to 1/4" space between tacks. Stagger your tacking sequence as well to move the heat around. After it's all tacked then dolly everything flat again. Use a heat sink on the opposite side if you're able to. Fuse it in short increments with the back step method as previously mentioned. I too use wet rags to cool the weld area on thin components like this when needed. Dolly the weld flat again. I use a 120 grit disc on an angle grinder to rough the weld area flush and then move on to the flap wheels on a high speed drill to put the grain back in. Then finish it with scotch brite back to a # 4 finish.Hope this helps.Er70s-2P.s. dollying the weld flat again allows you to have minimal metal removal when polishing so that you do not remove the weld entirely.Last edited by ER70s-2; 06-23-2009 at 08:25 AM.
Reply:If possible, running water across the stainless close to your weld will provide some additional relief. Have done this by using a sump pump and a plastic kid's swimming pool to keep costs and mess to a minimum. You must be careful and use this as an adjunct to the technique offered by ER70s-2 and others.