Weld 0.083 tube to 0.375 plate

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What would be the ideal way to weld a 0.083" tube to a 3/8" plate. All plain steel. The 3" round 0.083" wall round tube is going to butt up against the 3/8" plate. I have acces to MIG, TIG, and stick, however, probably not enough amps, but I'll get to that when I figure what I need. So the second part of my question would be, what kind of power (generally speaking) would it take to do this and what would be the proper preperation for a weld like this, besides just cleaning the joint.This is for a home project BTW, but it needs to be able to take a serious beating.
Reply:I'd TIG it, put a bit of preheat on the base material if need be.  You don't need to get crazy here, as your fillet only needs to be the size of your wall thickness.
Reply:you probably have too many amps.you need good square fitup, i wouldnt bevel the tube or youll burn it away..concentrate heat on the plate, get some puddle, and move the puddle to the the tube.stick might be hard to see..tig or oa would be best.
Reply:ok, I'll give it a shot with the tig then with some preheat. The tube is just about perfectly cut (= I didn't cut it, LOL) with a cold saw so the fitup is great.
Reply:Originally Posted by kman0066This is for a home project BTW, but it needs to be able to take a serious beating.
Reply:I used to have a job welding 3 inch tubing to a flange to make coolant piping for diesel trucks.  We just stood the tube vertically on the flange and welded it up with .045 hard wire.  The puddle was rather large so all I had to do was wash the edge of the puddle against the tube to get more than enough penetration and size of weld.A joint like that would be much easier to do with .035 wire.  Doing it with TIG is slow but sure.
Reply:broccoli i was thinking the same--sounds like one of my designs based on whats free not whats right
Reply:I really couldn't tell you why those particular sizes...it's based off a set of plans. The 3/8" is overkill in my opinion but it works for other people so I'm sticking to the plans.
Reply:Originally Posted by kman0066I really couldn't tell you why those particular sizes...it's based off a set of plans. The 3/8" is overkill in my opinion but it works for other people so I'm sticking to the plans.
Reply:It's one of the pieces for a de-dion rear axle It's the only part that requires such a thick piece. I'll share pics when I'm done.