Mig welding stainless tips needed

[crzhors]

Greetings, I'd like to start doing my own Stainless welding repairs, railings,exhausts,mounts etc, anyone have suggestions on a Affordable wire feed setup to use? thanks!

[alan white]

A good start is the Lincoln SP 135T. About $450.00, and a tank would be about $130.00 or you can rent (bad idea if you are an occasional welder).
Stainless requires a different gas from carbon steel, so if you want to do both, you're into twice the tank budget.
Stainless welds just like carbon steel with a MIG. The weld is as strong as the base metal.
Other brands are Hobart, Miller, and a few others. Stay away from cheaper rigs like Century and beware the Home Depot or Lowes Lincoln models--- they are not the same machine as is sold at welding supplies. Your best deal is actually the welding supply houses.
You can weld up to 1/4" in a single pass with the smaller welders mentioned, and multiple passes do thicker material. Most jobs are in that range.
I've made a lot of sailboat parts from stainless. Once ground and polished, they look like expensive manufactured parts.

Alan

[crzhors]

Thanks Alan, I'm currently in a very backward area of Panama,and trying to get the machine and gas lined up. I've got lots of projects just waiting to be started. :cool:

[northerncat]

buy a 300$ inverter tig stick welder, do your structural stuff with the stick and your pretty stuff/repairs with the tig, low cost outlay for high return all my stainles is done this way if you have more money by all means go mig
sean