welding stainless ring (jewery) problem............

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a buddy, co worker asked if I could tig weld theses stainless rinds for him.    what it is ,  a ring and a flat plate of a design needing welded together.ring fits to plate weld together,   simple enough. but I didn't thing about the rock hard sugar buggers I got on the other side of plate.    also I was using 3/32 tungsten.    I did not have a 1/16 one, not sure if they even make one.   anyways I cant back gas a open plate, so how would I stop the sugar affect on other side???I never have tried welding something so small
Reply:use a backer, copper or aluminum would work fine.Yes, they make 1/16 tungsten.
Reply:so clamp the plate to a piece of aluminum, set ring on top, weld..............  and no buggers on the backside that's againt the aluminum???
Reply:ok backed it up to some flat stock aluminum and MUCH better, still a lil bugger but much better.   trying not to ruin this ring.   might have already,  it is a test piece to see if I get the job, hes got 100s of them to do.        but im thinking I need a 1/16 tungsten set up to do it rite.any other advise guys?     thanks alot
Reply:one more thing,   im a pipe welder,   looking and trying new stuff to turn a dollar.     so I got a lot to learn!
Reply:Originally Posted by mason702so clamp the plate to a piece of aluminum, set ring on top, weld..............  and no buggers on the backside that's againt the aluminum???
Reply:not sure, its thin,   prolly  half a thick as a dime,  and the ring is decent thickness,    that's why I was thinking smaller tungsten
Reply:I tried heat really low around 35 amps and it would not melt the 316  1/16 filler rod very well.     so I slowly adjusted up to 45.  but with a 1/16 tungsten I think I can keep the heat lower and still melt the rod good??
Reply:That's pretty thin. You should be able to puddle it up with that heat. Can you use a smaller filler rod? Focus your heat on the thicker material and drag the filler into the thinner.
Reply:ok cool,   thanks.      do you think im good with a 3/32 tungsten??   and need more practice............
Reply:Any time, glad I could be of assistance.Try both size tunks with a different size filler and see how you feel. Play a little with the heat to.Practice makes perfect man. Where are you located?
Reply:Originally Posted by mason702ok cool,   thanks.      do you think im good with a 3/32 tungsten??   and need more practice............
Reply:Thanks a lot guys,    I am in vegas
Reply:Any timeNice, never been to Vegas hah.
Reply:Originally Posted by mason702a buddy, co worker asked if I could tig weld theses stainless rinds for him.    what it is ,  a ring and a flat plate of a design needing welded together.ring fits to plate weld together,   simple enough. but I didn't thing about the rock hard sugar buggers I got on the other side of plate.    also I was using 3/32 tungsten.    I did not have a 1/16 one, not sure if they even make one.   anyways I cant back gas a open plate, so how would I stop the sugar affect on other side???I never have tried welding something so small
Reply:mason702, to add to the many suggestions already listed: you can actually get .040 tungsten if needed(although a point on most diameters of tungsten is generally workable) and as to the 1/16" filler. If need be find some .035 or .045 stainless mig wire and cut off pieces and straighten them out and use for filler. When you add the filler, attempt to add on the leading edge of the puddle, this will encourage forward progression of the weld and help to limit the burn-through to a certain extent.  Just a couple more suggestions: if you are "sight challenged" at all, try using a magnifier in your hood or some full magnifier safety glasses(not the bi-focals), these help tremendously when you are trying to be controlled and precise while working on thin, intricate stuff, or to run small beads. Lastly, is the fit good enough that you could make this weld without filler(autogeniously)? If so and as others have mentioned, concentrate the heat onto the thicker of the two and heat until you see them melt together and then move along steadily paying close attention to having them both fuse as you progress. Be sure that you can locate the point of your tungsten as close to the parts that you are welding(without touching them) as possible, closer is better in this scenario. Closer, in conjunction with maximum travel speeds without outrunning the fusion of the two parts also means better control of the weld bead and less chance of excessive melt-through. Good luck and best regards, Allanaevald
Reply:Thanks very much for all the advise,  ill post up some pics if I get the job
Reply:This caught my eye because of the misspelled jewelry. Not common to see racist words much anymore. My favorite misspelling of all time was an ad that I saw in the paper advertising a house with a huge "DICK" for entertaining guests!Another option for backside shielding on stainless is solar flux. A pain to get off and expensive, but useful on occasion and if you don't have devices to provide backside shielding.Thermal Arc 211iThermal Arc 201iThermal Arc 95SEverlast 200DXEverlast Powerplasma 50Victor OAVictor portatorch
Reply:Originally Posted by mason702I cant back gas a open plate, so how would I stop the sugar affect on other side???