[TheForge] tig welding, 18 gauge 316 stainless steel, chemical fume hood

[Andrew Vida]

On 6/29/2012 3:10 PM, Ries Niemi wrote:
> And if you buy a good tig welding machine, and use a design that uses
> overlap welds, backing plates and angles, you should be able to fab
> up the 18 gage. It wont look beautiful til you do it for a couple of
> years, but it should be fume proof and sturdy.

I would add plug welds if it is permissible when using plates... unless 
you can spot weld them, which I have never tried on SS.
>
> But send out the bending and forming and punching- thats another 2-5
> year learning curve, and cheap tools are only going to drive you
> crazy. A decent sheet metal shop to fab 18 gage SS can easily run 30
> to 50 thousand dollars in tools.

I fell ike one of us is channeling the other.  Sage advice - know when 
to buy v. build.