Is it possible to weld up stainless with a wire feed? I just bought a couple of grill shells off of a fellow HAMBer he said that there were splits on the shells and I figured I would have to take it to a welder to get them fixed...well he lied a bit these "splits" are very minor and i think I could take care of welding them up but all I got is a wire feed. so school me on what I need to do. I will most likely be painting them so polishing is not an issue.
Yes, ...you can even weld them with regular steel wire but don't expect it to look fabulous. It will hold though. Stainless wire is available too. If its some thin sheetmetal use a br*** or copper backing plate to soak up the heat and give your weld something to rest against during welding.
using a TIG is obviously the better option, but if all you have is a wire feed, that'll work fine. I would definately get ahold of some stainless wire, if you use reg. steel wire, the weld will rust. the stainless wire will also allow you to grind/sand and polish the weld to match the rest of the base material. if you have any other stainless material available, i would do some experimental welding. Stainless takes a lot more heat to penetrate than mild does for similar thicknessses... good luck
With a Tig you can purge in gas around the material being welded and also have the gas come out of the torch as well. This helps Keep everything clean. With a wire feed just go buy a small spool from your local welding supply and practice setting up the machine first.
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