Newbie stainless welding question

admin

Hello welders! My name is Ben & I am brand new to welding. I got the itch to try it after paying a couple of guys 2k to fabricate & install a custom island stainless steel exhaust hood for my kitchen. It looked sweet & flawless. After they brought it in the house they took a final few measurements then carted it out back & proceeded to take a pair of shears and cut off the top of it as my ceiling is vaulted & it needed to be angled off where it met the ceilng. You could imagine my horror of these guys seemingly crudley shearing off the top.Well, to my utter amazement Jose (That is really his name), cut another peice to cap the top & literally 45 minutes later he is polishing off the absolutely beautiful finished peice. I asked him if it is really that easy? He just chuckled & said "yeah, if you have been welding for 35 years like me". All that is to say I want to learn. I have done research on the web, read a couple intro/ basics welding books. I am mainly interested in welding stainless sheet as I have several projects in my home, outdoor kitchen, boat, etc that I want to try. My question is, what should I invest in equipment wise? I have heard that TIG is the preferred method for stainless. Jose I think used oxy/acet, i should have paid more attn. But from what I remember he only had 1 tank. Is oxy.acet better for sheet metal welding because of the thinner metal? Any info appreciated, apologies ahead of time for dumb questions asked....Ben FesagaigaCarson CA
Reply:You would want to buy a TIG set up.... do yourself a favor and check your local technical colleges for an evening course for TIG. It's worth the small investment of a couple hunderd bucks and a little bit of your time._________________Chris
Reply:thanks for the info Chris
Reply:A local community college course is certainly a great way to get introduced to welding. That way you will learn the different metals and how they can be welded. Also with taking a class you will have all types of welders at your disposal. Since you have never welded before I would suggest maybe picking up a basic AC stick welder. So that you can practice while at home. This way you don't invest in a expensive TIG unit right off the bat.Patriot Performance AutoLincoln Power Mig 255CLincoln AC-225 StickVictor Journeyman O/AQuincy QT-5 Compressor
Reply:A TIG is an expensive unit to purchase. An O/A setup ( Oxygen/Acetylene ) can be pricey but not as pricey as TIG. An O/A setup also uses 2 bottles, one is slightly taller than the other.Don't let expense discourage you. Most times you can find someone who owns one and will let you borrow one or you can take a class to learn. Have fun!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Maybe Jose will show you how he did it.Can you see the joint where he "welded" it, since you say it looked like he had one tank, maybe this was like a MAPP gas/air torch setup and he "soft soldered" a lap joint.  A gas torch such as oxyacetylene cannot be used to weld stainless because it oxidizes severely.I have a drip tray for my beer tap that was obviously built with lap joints and some kind of soft solder.It's also possible to silver braze SS.
Reply:Well the cool thing about the weld is the outside corner is a perfect outside corner with no visible weld. It looks like it was just bent at a 90 degree angle which I was sure that's what he did the only problem with believing that is that it looks the same on all 4 edges. Really cool. Maybe the silver thing is what was done, i haven't looked on the other side as it is mounted to the ceiling now. The next time I take the filter out to clean it I will shine a flashlight up the shaft to see if I can see the inside...I've called Jose but he is really busy doing commercial restaurant work...
Reply:When you (fuse) TIG thin gauge SS, you can actually get a smooth bead going. The catch cans I make actually have a some what clean edge. Once painted, it looks like one piece.John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:it wasn't painted, but looks clean like it was bent at a 90 by a machine...i wish i video taped him doing it.