# I Welded Some Unknown 400 Series Stainless Today- GTAW



## Ulma Doctor (Jan 15, 2015)

I got the task of welding an unknown grade of 400 series stainless steel used for making precision cutting edges for a brand of processing machine that i will leave nameless.

My machine is a Miller Idealarc 250P(AC-DC TIG & STICK Welder), with a Lincoln High Frequency Box with foot control, and Water Cooled Torch & Cooler.  :biggrin:

Here's a picture of the Rig,




the material is 8mm thick.
i welded the project at 50 amps DCEN
the filler rod was 1/8" ER309L
the shielding gas is straight Argon @ about 14 CFH
i didn't preheat the material, but i did weld the piece on an aluminum slab.
my intention was to reduce the warpage, the aluminum being a make shift heat sink.
 the method worked better than i anticipated.
i'll have to keep it in mind for the next time:thinking:

here's a picture of some of my warm up pieces made of the same material, the material on top was a broken blade, i followed the contours of the break responsible for producing the mountain range effect in the weld.
i was pleased after making a few operational adjustments. 




the second picture came out a lot blurrier than i thought :angry:

if you have experience in welding 400 series, i'd like to hear your experiences!
anyone is encouraged to comment!
thanks for reading!


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## randyc (Feb 11, 2015)

Nice work !  I had to smile at this part of your sig line however:  "If it broke once, it WILL break again!"


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## ProMetalShop (Feb 11, 2015)

Hi Guys
 I've welded lots of stainless 300 and 400 series. One just resently on a set of spindles for a customers pedal car I'm building.


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 11, 2015)

randyc said:


> Nice work !  I had to smile at this part of your sig line however:  "If it broke once, it WILL break again!"



Hi randyc,
the saying is not mine.
 i was fortunate to have many mentors growing up, one of which was a WWII Ordnance tech. He worked with bomb arming devices. He had a million stories.
a very calculated and precise man, like i never met since. he still believed in his mind he was working on stuff that went boom by his actions, very slow and methodical- 0 deviation from specs.
I leave it in my sig line as tribute to him, he was the single most inspiring man i have yet to meet.
the man could write encyclopedias of machine knowledge, i was lucky enough to capture a thimbleful for myself.

i work on things with the intention of disproving the statement.
It's a tall order.
)


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 11, 2015)

ProMetalShop said:


> Hi Guys
> I've welded lots of stainless 300 and 400 series. One just resently on a set of spindles for a customers pedal car I'm building.




Nice Work Steve,
thanks for reading and commenting!!
mike)


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## ProMetalShop (Feb 11, 2015)

Your vary welcome Mike. I forgot to mention, I use about 1 amp per thousanth. And that does vary if I'm using pulse. Was this a repair you had to fill ? Most of my work is new fab, I don't get to repair very often. I think it would give me a wider range of experience if I did. Are you going to have to machine what your welding ?


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 11, 2015)

ProMetalShop said:


> Your vary welcome Mike. I forgot to mention, I use about 1 amp per thousanth. And that does vary if I'm using pulse. Was this a repair you had to fill ? Most of my work is new fab, I don't get to repair very often. I think it would give me a wider range of experience if I did. Are you going to have to machine what your welding ?




Thanks for the rule of thumb on the amps- good info!!!
 i wish i did more new stuff, i do mostly repairs on broken stuff. 
occasionally i get to do some fabbin' usually in 304 sometimes 308 

The blade i did the actual repair on was cracked in a non critical area.
i  v ground both sides and welded both sides on the repair and flapper disced it smooth.
i won't need to do any machining besides grinding it flat.
hopefully the numbskulls that break these blades will treat them with a little more respect, but i'm not holding my breath!:jester:


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## Karl_T (Feb 12, 2015)

I have a very similar welder, the idealarc 300/300. No hi-freq start box. Had not heard of this. Is this an after market add on and what would it cost me?

Karl


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## ProMetalShop (Feb 12, 2015)

Karl_T said:


> I have a very similar welder, the idealarc 300/300. No hi-freq start box. Had not heard of this. Is this an after market add on and what would it cost me?
> 
> Karl



Hi Karl 
so is your Idealarc a scratch start ? I worked with a scratch start many years ago. And I can also turn my Miller so it's a lift start. They all seem to have add on's for your power unit. Hi freak start is a nice convenient feature that I would not want to have to do without. 
I also have an older Arco 300/300 but have parked that over at a friends shop for the past 15 years..... Miller has spoild me


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 12, 2015)

Karl_T said:


> I have a very similar welder, the idealarc 300/300. No hi-freq start box. Had not heard of this. Is this an after market add on and what would it cost me?
> 
> Karl



Hi Karl,
many manufacturers made Hi Freq boxes.
i don't know the market is back there, but out on the west coast a used hi freq box may run around $500-600.
funny enough, you can buy a fully outfitted tig welder w/ hi freq & water cooler for anywhere from 600-1000 used:thinking:


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## randyc (Feb 15, 2015)

Ulma Doctor said:


> ...I work on things with the intention of disproving the statement.  It's a tall order...



I admire your aspirations and I REALLY liked your background anecdote.  I hope that you didn't regard my little comment as criticism, it was meant only as an attempt at humor -


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## Ulma Doctor (Feb 15, 2015)

no offense was taken, but thank you for thinking of something like that...


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