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  1. #1
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    Aug 2009
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    Default What's it like to TIG SS 316 thin wall?

    Hey guys thinking about welding together a bimini or canopy for my boat it will be able to tilt back and foldaway down into the boats seating area while being towed

    i just have some questions about welding SS 316, I'm looking at getting 1.6mm thickness material in round tubing, i can tig steel and aluminum in a left or right horizontal pattern but i have never welded stainless steel and 1.6mm material

    do u think its doable to weld SS 1.6mm material with a preset amp tig machine or am i dreaming?

    i am almost set up to weld aluminium using the Chinese spool gun on my ESAB but i haven't tested it yet so i was tossing between SS 316 and aluminium

    what's it like to weld SS is it easier than steel? will i blow holes easier?
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  2. #2
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    Near Bendigo, Victoria, AUS
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    Connecting SS to aluminium in saltwater is a bad idea! You will have to insulate all connections somehow.
    I used stainless steel rivets to fix some fittings in our tinnie. After about 6 days of saltwater fishing, the aluminium around the rivets looked like aluminium foam and white dust.... Electrolysis is your enemy on the high seas Make the bimini from aluminium - oh, while you are at it, can you make two of them, please? My tinnie needs one as much as yours (PM me if you might consider it).
    Cheers, Joe
    retired - less energy, more time to contemplate projects and more shed time....

  3. #3
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    Default

    I was going to use thin plastic chopping boards cut to shape that will go under the legs of the bimini/canopy i was also thinking of making it foldable so while towing there is no risk of it sailing off the boat into the sunset

    the options are aluminium, SS or steel, i haven't welded SS before it is quiet expensive if i bodge the job, steel should be a piece of cake to weld but it'll rust unless i look after it i am thinking i may be able to make a cheap one from steel and get a nice design going than copy it copy all my angles and notches and make one from aluminium

    steel is cheap so if it doesn't pan out i am out of pocket about $30 and some argon

    this will be the design a one off sorry JH I'm not all that great of a welder maybe u can sort something out with one of the pro's on here to build you one?
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  4. #4
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    I have done 1.6mm SS with arc welder for snorkel and bow rails before, not as neat but if it works with arc welder so I guess tig will be ok.

    IMG_20120901_135349.jpgIMG_20120901_171553.jpg

  5. #5
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    Default

    Jackaroo looks good, did u by any chance melt holes thru the tubing? My tig is a arc welder

  6. #6
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    Good morning Gazza2009au. It has been awhile, I think I did. SS is not conducting heat very well hence it is easier to melt/blow
    I found this exhaust I made a few years ago. I got someone to tig weld for me and it's way better. 1.6mm in thickness too.

    Regards,
    Trong

    20150622_201954.jpg

  7. #7
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    I've recently been welding 0.7mm 304, but in sheet not tube form. The worst problem with SS is that the relatively low thermal conductivity means that the metal will distort and so move rather than let the heat flow away. As a result when welding thin stuff, the fit up must be really good (that is, filler is not used to fill a gap but more like help the metal wet occasionally). Similarly, lots of tacking to hold a joint before trying to do a continuous bead. Another error that I was making (and picked up here on the forum) was using filler that was too large. Eventually I settled on 0.9mm MIG wire as SS TIG filler under 1.6mm only exists in a very pricy form.
    Not much current is required either when compared to steel. Using the rule of thumb for current (1A per thou thickness), I found I was welding successfully at around 20A (vs. RoT suggests 28A - so around 70% of the current you would expect for steel). Variable current control is (just like for steel) not essential, as once you have sufficient heat it tends to hold.

    Having said all that, I'd suggest using Al on an Al boat for the reasons Joe suggests.

    Hope this helps

    Michael

  8. #8
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    Default

    What size aluminium would u guys use? Capral has 25x3mm and 32x3mm looking at buying a Hare and Forbes notch cutter too anyone used this brand?

  9. #9
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    Size is a difficult one as we don't know what you are doing (in detail) 25x3 would probably be fine; 32x3 would be more rigid (but also more chunky). Depends a lot on the look you want, the cost and how much force it has to take.
    I had a pipe notcher like the one you are talking of (I think) and got rid of it - I was using it on thin walled steel tube and found that firstly because of build quality nothing was properly lined up or would tighten up properly but secondly the hole saw would jam on the tube unless you were really careful with the drill downfeed (teeth on a standard holesaw are too coarse).
    It depends on what you have available but notching in a mill with a vice and rotabroach cutter is just as good (may be better?). If you only have a couple to do, even a thin cutting disc and flap wheel will probably shape things well enough. The 3mm wall thickness makes it difficult but I have fish mouthed tubes for a 90 degree T joint by cutting the end so it has a 120 degree included angle. Once there is some weld in place you don't notice the straight lines.

    Michael

  10. #10
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    Thanks for the post Michael, i think i posted a picture in post 3 of the bimini/canopy i want to build it will require 20 of these notches cut so i think it would be best to buy a notch cutter, the notch cutter I'm looking at is this one https://www.machineryhouse.com.au/P090 i think since i need to make 20 cuts it would be best i use something like that to get a better finish

  11. #11
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    Default

    How about the annular cutter? I cut that 1"x1.6mm SS. It took maybe 10 seconds

    20170602_215036.jpg20170602_215039.jpg

  12. #12
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    Jack any idea what those drill attachment/bits cost? i was looking at them today while i was at Weld Equip picking up spool gun tips, i have a bench drill all i would need is that attachment and a vise

  13. #13
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    I think I paid around $50 each. The shank is 20mm so that is no good with the pedestal drill you have then. I am using er32 collet on the milling machine.

    edit: sorry shank is 19mm, you can get mt2 holder if your drill is mt2...but then you need the cutter on top. Annular Cutter Holder 2MT suit 19mm shank Cutter(Rotabroach holder)1 holder only | eBay

  14. #14
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    I'm just going to buy the tube notcher, i took the boat out in a cold winter 50kph southerly breeze before sun up not that there was much sun but it was absolutely freezing so this canopy must be built asap, i will pick up the aluminium and notcher this week, i'll see how i go with making it and if it turns out ok i will post pictures as i go along

    just need to fine tune the ESAB with Chinese spool gun

  15. #15
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    Hey guys, I got the spool gun conversion on the old ESAB done a couple of nights ago and got it welding beautiful all though it is on wire feed speed 9 from 10 i ran around 10 welds and finally got it dialed in for 3-4mm aluminium, today i picked up 13 meters of 32x3mm tubing, tomorrow if i have time i will pick up the notcher and a hole saw, should i go with a Sutton or Lenox hole saw? bunnings have both of these

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