Welding hole in stainless countertop?

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Hi,I have a job that coming. I'm asked to weld punched hole in a industrial stainless countertop. I often weld stainless, but i find that one tricky to weld in the middle of a sheet an being able to polish it. I have bought heat paste but I'm looking for other input from people who have done ss countertop in similar situation. I have 2 1inch hole and 3 2½ holes.Thanks for the further helpal
Reply:maybe try heat sinking it with copper block and also i spose you can weld little sections at a time.Cigweld Transmig 265seBoc 140amp StickBoss 200amp AC/DC TIGLincoln Electric Invertec V260-S
Reply:The use of GTAW, low amps and weld on the puddle.  the whole will close and the finish is as good as you are a welder.  JGSMAW,GMAW,FCAW,GTAW,SAW,PAC/PAW/OFCand Shielding Gases.  There all here. :
Reply:Yes but the problem with i have with the test piece is they are pulling (waving the sheet). I weld as low as I can (aprox 30 amps for 16ga) little inch wating that the paste suck the heat and repeat... I wondering if I need to apply paste only on the back, only on the top or on both side of the sheet. The only other thing I'm seeing is that my test piece is a flat sheet (without bend) maybe it's to weak to hold the pull.Francis
Reply:It's gonna look like hell no matter what you do. Sorry, but that's the truth.If it were me, I'd*be on this with a heat sink block also, and be ready with leather mallets to pound it when still hot to get it close to straight.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Ok thanks. I will try my best !! And post result
Reply:Originally Posted by RojodiabloIt's gonna look like hell no matter what you do. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Reply:I worked at an industrial kitchen appliance manufacturer for awhile. We made stainless steel counter tops, tables and sinks for restaurants or rich people.anyways The bottom line is it's not going to happen.  We do a 100% blend after welding. Which means we grind the weld bead flush AND match the grain using belt sanders.  No way to have it look anything but ugly if you don't match the grain you'll always see the weld bead, very obviouslyFWIWalso the general technique for sheet metal SS. Is to tack every 1-2" (for beginners) Then do all welds vertical down, no filler. at a very fast travel speed 12 inch/min or higher.  Large stick out (1") fine point, high amperage very minimal torch anglej (15-20deg from parallel). absolutely no root gap. Parts must be in close contact.  not sure of your thickness but on 18 ga we would run around 80 amps.  The idea being that the heat just barely skims the weld and fuses the surface with minimal heat input and minimal penetration.It's actually counter-intuitive if you go slower you put more heat in and blow thru. If you go very fast the haz is very narrow and the bead has a much better appearance.  It's different from most other types of hand welding.
Reply:Originally Posted by alteredYes but the problem with i have with the test piece is they are pulling (waving the sheet). I weld as low as I can (aprox 30 amps for 16ga) little inch wating that the paste suck the heat and repeat... I wondering if I need to apply paste only on the back, only on the top or on both side of the sheet. The only other thing I'm seeing is that my test piece is a flat sheet (without bend) maybe it's to weak to hold the pull.Francis
Reply:Thanks a lot for the input!!I have started to weld today. First I was lucky the sheet was already backed with sheet metal channel. The gauge was about 16 or 14. I have put a big block of alu underneath the hole and paste around the weldzone. I've tacked alot and run small bed segment like weld an inch, gap 1.5 inch. After  each pass I was waiting the surface to cool down and then weld again. That was long but the finish look very good (it is not polish yet, just grinded with flap). The only problem was the rigidity of the sheet after drilling all the punched hole who was giving some stiffness to the sheet. I will tacked back the sheet to the channel at some place.Again thanks for all the info that was very appreciated.Oh and I was force to weld flat the countertop was fixed to the wall.All done with a maxstar 150 tigal
Reply:Originally Posted by alteredThanks a lot for the input!!I have started to weld today. First I was lucky the sheet was already backed with sheet metal channel. The gauge was about 16 or 14. I have put a big block of alu underneath the hole and paste around the weldzone. I've tacked alot and run small bed segment like weld an inch, gap 1.5 inch. After  each pass I was waiting the surface to cool down and then weld again. That was long but the finish look very good (it is not polish yet, just grinded with flap). The only problem was the rigidity of the sheet after drilling all the punched hole who was giving some stiffness to the sheet. I will tacked back the sheet to the channel at some place.Again thanks for all the info that was very appreciated.Oh and I was force to weld flat the countertop was fixed to the wall.All done with a maxstar 150 tigal
Reply:I weld close fitted disc.The channel are surely galvanise, I will make small tack with stick just to make sure the sheet stay ridgid. I don't have acces to mig on the job site.
Reply:Yesterday I finished to polish the counter top, all went good and i managed to blend to old with the new pretty good. I had a small issue at the end of the polishing process the stainless of the weld is slightly brighter than the sheet counterpart. Is someone know why ? I tried to brush it with scotch-bright but it stay the same ....Again thanks for all the advice it helped a lot.Al