Welding Tips and Tricks

What is the best method to weld small steel items, such as 1/4" steel tubing?

MIG, TIG, or what?

Please recommend equipment to do this.

Thank you for your help.

mobile1 wrote:What is the best method to weld small steel items, such as 1/4" steel tubing?

MIG, TIG, or what?

Please recommend equipment to do this.

Thank you for your help.

@Mobile1

Welcome Aboard!

Are you referring to 1/4" dia or 1/4" wall thickness?

If it's 1/4" dia then TIG is probably going to be your best option. There are many machines available, but you want one with the ability to set very low current for handling such small tubing, gas cooled torch is fine, go for an AC option if you ever think you'll want to do Aluminum one day.

If it's small steel tubing, have you considered bronzing or silver-soldering as an option?

Cheers
Trev

welcome to the forum.

Stick. 225 amp. Do your studies. If you cant weld with that machine and the plethora of rods available ??? Don't move on.
My user name refers to Oxy-acet torches. I can do anything with that......OK....almost.
90% of the guys here can grab a "buzz box" and the right rod(s) and solve a lot of problems.

Antorcha wrote:Stick. 225 amp. Do your studies. If you cant weld with that machine and the plethora of rods available ??? Don't move on.

I want to see some 1/4 tubing welded with stick, that is still a "tube" after its welded!

dsmabe wrote:

Antorcha wrote:Stick. 225 amp. Do your studies. If you cant weld with that machine and the plethora of rods available ??? Don't move on.

I want to see some 1/4 tubing welded with stick, that is still a "tube" after its welded!

LMAO!

I'm pretty sure Antorcha was being facetious...

That said, I've TIG welded .049 wall 3/8" instrument tube (6061 aluminum) with a BIG Lincoln transformer, so anything is possible...

For 1/4" tubing, in any material, I'd highly recommend TIG, and preferably an inverter machine (they're more stable at low currents).

Steve S

1/4" diameter tubing.

I have soldered copper. How can you bronze or silver-solder steel?

mobile1 wrote:1/4" diameter tubing.

I have soldered copper. How can you bronze or silver-solder steel?

I regularly silver-solder red brass to 304 stainless. Usually threaded joints from 1.5 to 4" standard pipe sizes. Works the same as with copper pipe, just takes longer.

I would not butt-solder tubing, even with machined faces. Socket-joints only, for wetted area.

Steve S

dsmabe wrote:I want to see some 1/4 tubing welded with stick, that is still a "tube" after its welded!

I"ve done it. Didn't look pretty, but it worked, after a hole got drilled through it. It was supposed to connect to something to measure water temperature, or something.

Where it was, TIG would have been highly impractical, as I welded it with one hand while holding onto a beam with the other.

A code weld? No. But it did what it needed to do.

My first choice would be http://multiplaz.com/reviews
My second choice would be oxygen/acetylene.

mobile1 wrote:What is the best method to weld small steel items, such as 1/4" steel tubing? MIG, TIG, or what? Please recommend equipment to do this. Thank you for your help.

Tig it!


1/4" OD 304 SS by Zanconato Custom Cycles, on Flickr

zank wrote:Tig it!


1/4" OD 304 SS by Zanconato Custom Cycles, on Flickr

Did you build a bicycle for Stuart Little?