kamaroman68
11-23-2008, 04:00 PM
Hoping not to make to long of a post here so here we go. I need to weld 10gauge ss to 16 gauge mild steel. I will be doing this via plug welds. I know that when welding thick to thin you always weld with the power/speed set for the thicker of the two. Now for regular 10 gauge mild steel the welder says it should be set at a voltage of 16 and a wirespeed of 305. 10 gauge ss requires a voltage of 20 and a wirespeed of 420. If I use the latter setting I have more of a chance of burning through the thinner mild steel. Can i use the lower voltage/wirespeed of the regular 10 gauge mild steel? Or should I use the recommended ss setting? I also have the clamp/pliers with the copper backing plate attached on one side to help prevent burnthrough. I tried a few experiments at the hotter setting and with the welding pliers/clamp everything turned out okay but I am wondering if that is weakening the 16 gauge mild steel? Thanks in advance for the help. Chris
Mathius
11-24-2008, 06:40 PM
Hoping not to make to long of a post here so here we go. I need to weld 10gauge ss to 16 gauge mild steel. I will be doing this via plug welds. I know that when welding thick to thin you always weld with the power/speed set for the thicker of the two. Now for regular 10 gauge mild steel the welder says it should be set at a voltage of 16 and a wirespeed of 305. 10 gauge ss requires a voltage of 20 and a wirespeed of 420. If I use the latter setting I have more of a chance of burning through the thinner mild steel. Can i use the lower voltage/wirespeed of the regular 10 gauge mild steel? Or should I use the recommended ss setting? I also have the clamp/pliers with the copper backing plate attached on one side to help prevent burnthrough. I tried a few experiments at the hotter setting and with the welding pliers/clamp everything turned out okay but I am wondering if that is weakening the 16 gauge mild steel? Thanks in advance for the help. Chris
A lot depends on whether or not these welds are needed to be extremely strong. Typically you need to set your welder as close as you can to the settings required for the thick material you're welding or you won't penetrate the thicker metal deep enough. Of course like I said, a lot depends on the level of penetration you need to achieve.
Plug welds by nature are not usually structural welds, so you can probably get away with the highest possible setting that won't burn through the thinner stuff, but again I don't know much about WHAT you're welding for what purpose.
Joining thin metals to thicker metals is one of the hardest things to do when welding, but 10ga and 16ga shouldn't be too big a deal. We're talking what? 1/8 inch vs. 1/16th inch approximately? I'd set it for the 1/8th and jump around so I didn't put too much heat in one spot. It's also good to keep in mind that stainless generally requires more heat than mild steel. Generally.
Typically 309 stainless is the correct wire and/or rod to join stainless to mild steel, btw.
Mathius