I'd like to see a video of welding 304 stainless rods together. I'm trying to build a rack for a gas grill to replace the rusty mild steel one out of 3/16" rods. I've never seen a video of welding rods, just flat, angle and tubular stock.
- Otto Nobedder
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Weldmonger
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Posts:
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Joined:Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:40 pm
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Location:Near New Orleans
I've done this in small scale, and need to do it for my Weber.
I was using 1/8" 308 rods. I did not use filler. The trick was to clamp them tight with vice-grips (I suppose I'll need a weight block for the center divider for the Weber), set the welder to 250A, get the (very sharp) tungsten in real close, and hit it with a very short pulse of full power to fuse the rods (done on each side). While each individual weld is not particularly strong, pairing them on opposite sides, and having as many as it takes to make a good grill grate, makes a very strong finished product. Also, once they're fused, you could always come back and fill a bit with some 308 MIG wire, but you'll be surprised at the strength without fill.
Experiment a bit with rod butts to get the right pulse length.
Good luck!
Steve S
I was using 1/8" 308 rods. I did not use filler. The trick was to clamp them tight with vice-grips (I suppose I'll need a weight block for the center divider for the Weber), set the welder to 250A, get the (very sharp) tungsten in real close, and hit it with a very short pulse of full power to fuse the rods (done on each side). While each individual weld is not particularly strong, pairing them on opposite sides, and having as many as it takes to make a good grill grate, makes a very strong finished product. Also, once they're fused, you could always come back and fill a bit with some 308 MIG wire, but you'll be surprised at the strength without fill.
Experiment a bit with rod butts to get the right pulse length.
Good luck!
Steve S