Welding Tips and Tricks

I've posted recently regarding welding SS rod and tubing, both welding and flame straightening. I've looked up some other videos on the latter.

Big question: is there any liability in quenching with cold water hot SS (or mild steel or aluminum for that matter) immediately following welding or flame straightening while the material is still too hot to keep working on or touch?

I've heard arguments both ways. For me, the wait between welds for the piece to cool down is costing me time and money and if it's not harmful to quench welds (either structurally or appearance-wise) then it would be a benefit.

Would appreciate any advice on this.

Quenching steels with water can cause an increase in brittleness. It can also cause rapid contraction of the metals and embed stress into the joints, which can lead to cracking of the welds. I wouldn’t do it.

For aluminum, it’s less of an issue due to ductility of the metal. But it’s still not a recommended practice for final production.

One solution is to gang up a bunch of work, do the welding of one piece, let it cool while you weld another. Then repeat that while heat straightening. If you over-bend it so the spring back is enough to bring it to square again when cooled (naturally) you can move through your work a better pace.

Cooling is a significant part of welding. That’s why there’s no such thing as a 5 minute weld job

Good. That's what I thought you'd say. I just need to keep calm and wait it out. And, like you said, pile up a bunch of work to systematically just work through.