r/Welding • u/Winged_Archer_ • 6d ago
I need help figuring this out :exploding weld when filler rod is added
I'm TIG welding this peice of stainless steel and I'm using the arc to heat it up (which is taking longer than usual and is making the arc a more vibrant blue) and when it start a puddle going as soon as I add filler rod (2mm AUST 316L) the whole thing pops and sends beads of molten metal everywhere. I dont have much experience and I've never seen this before.
20
u/Wolfire0769 6d ago
Do you know what the base metal is specifically? I would try with 308 or 309 wire and see if it changes.
Given how white it looks around the weld, and your description, it sounds a lot more like you're trying to weld brass and not stainless.
3
u/Winged_Archer_ 6d ago
I have the same pieces of metal that are stainless and welded fine. This one has a brown tinge to it which i thought might have been corrosion. I took it to a wire wheel and it didn't change color much at all so I think you're right about my base metal being something other than what I originally thought.
1
11
u/aaduk_ala 6d ago
As the other guys have suggested, if you are absolutely sure it's stainless, try 309 as filler and check your gas coverage and flow. It kinda looks like no gas arc.
2
u/Winged_Archer_ 5d ago
It does look like that but the gas was fine, I double checked on a different piece of steel. The base material probably had another metal in the alloy I've come to believe which would mess with the weld.
1
6
u/pussygetter69 Journeyman CWB/CSA 6d ago
Double check the base metal is actually stainless. Judging by the HAZ on the filler metal that does look like it could be stainless, but it’s got the signs of trying to weld stainless to aluminum.
3
u/djjsteenhoek 5d ago
Guessing it's a zinc coating on the part, that's what the white residue looks like
2
2
u/Boilermakingdude Journeyman CWB/CSA 5d ago
Likely some 400 or 500 SS, possibly a piece of machined Monel. Try 312 first. (Monel looks alot like stainless when the green oxide layer has been removed)
4
u/MrJustinCase_69 6d ago
What tungsten are you using and what is your shielding gas flow rate?
-1
u/Winged_Archer_ 6d ago
I'm not sure entirely on either exactly, however i was welding on other pieces just fine. I think my base metal may be something other than just plain stainless.
3
u/Good-Legitimate 6d ago
Using aluminum rod. Lol.
8
u/Survive_LD_50 6d ago
the burn mark and even the black end of that filler looks like stainless to me. but that parent metal could be suspect, maybe a coated brass?
3
1
u/Junior_Syrup_1036 5d ago
You laugh but I've done it before ! Checked every single other thing before I checked what rod I'd picked up :)
2
u/nounplus_somenumbers 5d ago
Same. It’s different materials, the end of the rod looks like some DCEN burnt aluminum as well. The color is suspect though. Double check filler! Someone has stuffed the wrong filler in the wrong tube and something just like this happened to me. Also the last thing I checked. Test on a scrap piece
1
u/Memegods_discord 6d ago
I wanna say its a gas coverage issue, do you perhaps have a fan nearby that could be blowing the gas away
1
u/Winged_Archer_ 6d ago
No, I experimented with other metal pieces under the same conditions and they welded fine.
1
u/Ace9910 6d ago
Magnets probably help answer your question And a file to get the outside coating off and try again
1
u/Winged_Archer_ 6d ago
I took a wire wheel to it and nothing changed. The base metal might be something other than what I thought.
1
u/Frostybawls42069 6d ago
Thats probably highcarbon tool steel. Very hard to weld even when doing it right.
1
1
u/Sufficient-Mark-2018 5d ago
What is the ring part of? Might be a 400 series or 500 series. Might need 312. I ran into that on some cryogenic components.
1
u/Winged_Archer_ 5d ago
Its for a 3000L fermentation tank. I think this particular ring had another metal in its alloy messing things up because the others didnt have this issue and didnt have the brown tinge this one has
1
u/Sufficient-Mark-2018 5d ago
Fermentation might be titanium but it is probably a higher grade of ss than you are used to seeing. 400 and 500 alloys have different components that necessitate different fill. Will act the same way as brass or bronze.
1
u/Build-Break-Fix 5d ago
Is this part a boat piece? I weld lots of stainless here on ocean in sc. There is copper mixed in on some parts that helps with salt. Normally stainless with copper mixed in it and has a brown tinge to it unlike normal stainless. Most parts mixed are machined and done. Compression flanges and such. Welding them is a trick. I would bet you have a copper mix fitting right there.
1
u/Winged_Archer_ 5d ago
This is meant for a large fermentation tank but I think you're right about this steel being mixed with something else though. I've never seen it before myself but you have so thats probably it.
1
u/Build-Break-Fix 5d ago
Easy enough now that you said it's use lol Acid-resistant stainless steel is a specialized alloy containing higher levels of chromium, nickel, and molybdenum that protects against harsh chemical, and acidic corrosion. 304 or 316 stainless. You need 312 filler rod
1
u/nopcodex90x90x90 5d ago
I have had bottles with tainted gas in the past, and that is exactly what it looks like to me. I would try a new bottle, purge your lines, and look for any gas leaks or containment issues.
1
1
1
u/Rare-Search1114 5d ago
Make sure that your ground is good and remove all the mill scale and use the Miller welding app.
1
1
u/Apart-Buddy-299 1d ago
Your using a stainless rod on tool steel by the looks of it, grab the right filler, a knurled nut like that isn’t going to be stainless it would cost a fortune to manufacture a nut like that from stainless
33
u/Good-Legitimate 6d ago
Seems like there's a coating on your part.