Stainless steel cutting and welding.
Hello –
I am interested in learning the trade and did a search here on topics on stainless steel fabrication and tools.
Also searched the web on welders, cutters, etc.
Countertops and backsplashes with rolled edges and welded seams is what I would like to fabricate. Also would like to under mount the sinks seamlessly
Couple questions have come up.
-Where do folks get started in learning this stuff ?
Sweep the floor in a fabrication shop ?
-I always thought Tig welders is what’s needed for stainless.
Some folks mention Mig welders.
What’s the scoop on this ?
-Several folks mention plasma cutters as the best way to go.
There seems to be portable 120 and 220-v models.
For cutting straight lines, there are also guides.
And then there are CNC cutters, well beyond my dreams.
How difficult would it be to cut a straight line on location instead of in an industrial shop ?
-Is it beyond the scope of job site tools to fabricate a countertop/back splash ? Would a sheet metal break handle stainless steel sheets ?
(16 gauge or thicker 300-series).
I can live without the rounded front and stick with 90-degree angles.
To start a list of tools, I have come up with;
Welder, Cutter, Gridner, power shears (maybe ?), suited for the task of working with stainless steel sheets.
The welder and cutter would be a minimum of $3,000.
There’s probably a dozen more handy tools that’s needed.
Thanks for your help,
Alan
Replies
I have been told that the plasma cutters are a dream on SS. Something about the worse a metal conducts heat the better the plasma torch cuts. Also, templates and straight edges are easy to use in conjunction with the torch.
Another source of SS fab expertise is Commercial Kitchen Hood mfgs.
Try your local community college?
Good Luck
Local community college offers a class on welding but I don't they get into stainless steel.
I should give them a call to make sure.
I think that you would like the tig for welding SS In fact sometimes you won't need filler rod . The mig leaves a harder bead and in most cases will not penetrate as well as the tig . I like the tig better for SS and thin metal . The plasma is the way to go to cut SS . But try them out before you buy some do not cut as well .
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There are many, many welding schools. A friend studied at Lincoln and eventually obtained a management position in a multinational company.Helen
Vocational/Technicl schools should be the first call. If that doesnot help then should call sheetmetal union hall. Then try welding supply stores for school suggestions. Stainless is pretty tough, and any brake or shears will have to be large industrial style to be of much help. TIG would be my choice for welding, and plasma for cutting, but I doubt that on site is going to work out very well. Better start planning for a bigger shop, and lots of noise to irritate any neighbors. Have fun learning it, it can be a lot of fun.
Dan
Don't now if this thread is still active, but the trade school/community college route is the way to go. My buddy is an architectural metal fabricator who got into the trade via art school. He says he got better in one 2 month vo-tech course than he did in four years of art schoool metal sculpture class. There is a good deal of knowledge behind good welding, but most of it is touch and experience. MIG is easy to learn, I've been doing it for years and you can weld SS with the right setup, but Tig is the way to go. It is cleaner and you can more easily control the amount of heat going into the piece, which will be important when you are welding thin SS plate. Stainless distorts like crazy.
One tip would be to learn your welding on regular old scrap steel, which is nearly free for the taking, then learn to weld regular steel plate, then go to stainless. No need to spend all that $$$ on testing.
And its not so much that plasma cutting SS is a dream as that cutting it with anything else you can hold in your hand is a nightmare.
If you are still out there, email me at [email protected] and I'll get you in contact with my friend, who would be happy to talk to you.
Good luck.
Don
One thing that makes most stainlesses different from other steels, and makes most machinists cuss at them, is that they work harden. If you try to cut or drill it, it gets harder right where you're working. If you bend it, it hardens at the bend, and you can't un-bend it like you can with other steels. So you're right that stainless steel can be a specialty unto itself, and you'll probably make pretty good money if you get to be known as one of the very few who can produce good results with that miserable material.
-- J.S.
If you want to learn s/s welding and fabrication, the only place to do it cheaply is a trade school. Part of my business is custom aluminum and stainless steel fabrication for fishing boats and the fishing industry, or whoever. if your looking for the pretty welds on thin material the only way to do it is with a TIG machine, a MIG is usally used for heavy gauge work, I usally weld up to 1/8" with a TIG. And, if I don't need the prettys I will use a MIG machine down to 1/16" Any other consideration with welding s/s is lots of practice. as far as a bending machine only the good benders are worth a hoot. and if you don't have the money for one then build one. Mine is built out of 1/2" and 3/4" X6" flat bar welded to look like one of the cheap benders that are on the marketI bend up to 1/8" s/s and 1/4" aluminum.
As fo a plasma cutter don't stint and don't get something that is so small that it will cut only thin material. Miller makes a portable that will cut 1/2" aluminum like its butter. in fact you should get a Miller catolog. theres is about the easiest to read and understand. 220Volt is the best. the 120 volts are ok but you can always cut smaller material with a big machine but you will never cut thicker with a smaller machine. And, any work in s/s you need a plasma cutter. Power shears won't last long cutting s/s. First off is to get the training by the time you are half way thru the training you will then be able to make good choices in your tools.