[TheForge] Re: Welding advice needed pronto

[Coras]

IMHO, you TIG stainless or you don't do stainless.  If this sink is 
going back into foodservice, health inspectors will make it dissapear 
quickly if they can see a seam (especially if it is rusting).  With a 
good steady hand and some practice, with a TIG, you can weld stainless 
and never know it was more than 1 piece.  I know you can weld stainless 
with a MIG (even a stick...that was fun), but in the long run, I just 
don't think it's worth it.

That said, problems with warpage are likely unless you take a lot of 
care to stop it.  You have to tack it together very carefullly and 
never want to get one section really hot.  As for the construction, I 
would cut two chambers off as you suggest.  I would take it a step 
further and skeletonize the last chamber and see if it ould be possible 
to reattach the rolled edge.

Coras



> Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 18:06:30 -0500
> From: "Barking Crow" <mail at barkingcrow.com>
> Subject: [TheForge] Welding advice needed pronto
 
> Here's my dilemma.  A friend that I sometimes work with on remodeling 
jobs
> wants me to turn an old 3 compartment stainless steel stand alone 
sink from
> a restaurant that we've done a bunch of carpentry work in, into a two
> compartment sink by cutting inside both walls of the middle 
compartment,
> discarding the middle section and welding the two end compartments 
back
> together to make a two compartment sink with an inch and a half or so 
piece
> in the middle.  It seems to me like an incredible amount of work and 
that we
> should just cut out side one of the walls of the middle compartment 
and make
> it a two compartment sink that way.  He's worried that doing it that 
way we
> loose the nice curled top edge and that I should be able to weld the 
pieces
> back together.  Seems to me that there will be warping problems, and 
set up
> problems not to mention the grinding and rewelding trying to make the 
joints
> look nice, and the rust problems that will show up.  I'd be jusing my 
mig
> with I don't remember what gas that I have for welding stainless.
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Thanks in advance.   Jeff in Tallahassee where it hit 80 and i was 
hot in
> shorts.