Stainless Steel Welding – How to Weld 303 Stainless Steel Free Machining
Stainless steel welding is a sauce. Well, at least most of the time that is.
Here’s a story about a certain type of stainless steel that isn’t so easy to weld.
“Hey John, you can handle TIG welding 303 stainless steel, right?”
That’s the question the machine shop owner asked him right after notifying him that his weld shop won the contract that pays $18,000 to weld 4,000 spindles made of 303 stainless steel.
And by the way, the parts are already machined and on a truck on the way to your weld shop.
You ignore the 303 stainless steel comment because you know that stainless steel is a piece of cake to weld…
Their welders are certified. They are artisans. They take pride in their work. there is no problem
On the day the parts arrive on a pallet, your welders are drooling from all the heavy lifting they’re about to do. Their welders love stainless steel and the quality they produce is nothing short of a work of art.
“This stainless welds like crap! I think I may have some bad argon!” says his best welder as he raises his hood after welding the first of 4000 spindles.
“It’s undermining, and it’s just soldering poorly. Something is definitely wrong.”
You swallow hard. Your stomach sinks.
You are committed to doing the job. You urgently need the money and you want to impress the owner of the auto shop to keep sending you work.
So this is what you do…
Follow these tips for welding 303 stainless steel and things won’t be too bad.
- Use 308L filler rod
- use only enough amperage to do the welding
- add a bit more filler metal than you would on 304 stainless steel
- maintain a tight arc to avoid undercuts
- reduce amperage slowly if tig welding to avoid crater cracking