Before beginning I do want to say there are not many locations that will give you the chance to discover how to TIG weld thin wall stainless steel pipe. I was lucky sufficient to have Fluor train me and am extremely thankful for becoming capable to attend their training plan! Fluor is the only cause I got to study this talent!
What I can share is that TIG welding stainless steel pipe is not much harder than carbon steel pipe. There are a few rules to adhere to and you should really be capable to choose it up quickly! The guidelines are as follows:
Purge your pipe effectively.
All the things should be clean.
Retain stainless steel tube moving at all instances.
Allow the pipe to cool prior to the subsequent weld.
Stainless steel pipe should always be purged. The outcome from a less than fantastic purge will cause the root to get contaminated. The slang term utilised in the field for root contamination or oxidization is “sugar”. Sugar is brought on from the weld getting exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere. The weld joint will have to be taped off and only untapped when you are prepared to weld that element if the pipe.
In basic TIG welding calls for a very clean weld joint but with stainless steel this is an absolute should! The tungsten ought to be clean. That implies cleaning it soon after each restart and pass. The weld joint need to be filed prior to every single pass except the root pass. Even the bevel needs to be filed on the hot pass and all color alterations require to be filed to pure metal at all instances. Failure to file all heat impacted locations will result in the filler wire not getting capable to flow into the joint smoothly.
Moving your tungsten rapidly is extremely vital when TIG welding stainless steel pipe. The trick to stay clear of melt by means of and overheating the pipe is to move speedily. From the moment you strike the arc that tungsten wants to be moving. Don’t begin and wait for the metal to heat up before moving. Ideally you want to commence 3/4 of an inch just before the region you will start adding filler wire as well. This will permit enough preheat for the filler wire to flow effectively. Ideally when the weld is finished it need to have a copper colour to it. If it is gray or dark in nature you are working with too considerably heat or moving also slow!
When it comes to stainless steel the heat this metal absorbs and holds is unbelievable. Now add thin wall pipe to the picture and you have a radiator that is constantly prepared to overheat! You require to let the pipe to cool enough that you are capable to touch it with your bare hand. TIG welding stainless steel pipe needs a lot of waiting for the pipe to cool. It only requires an additional inch of weld also soon to ruin the weld joint!