Welding Tips and Tricks

I have in my possession what I'm told is an original stainless 1931 Model A grill shell in need of help. There are 3 areas that have cracks that need repaired so it can be polished.

The dial calipers tell me its about .025" thick.

Has anyone done this with a TIG?

Other than probably shaping an aluminum block to pull heat out of the back side, I'm drawing a blank. I guess the most important thing might be what filler(if any) would be best for an 87 year old piece of stainless. Two of the cracks are right out in the open and will be quite noticeable if things don't go well. The other one will certainly need filler but it won't be seen.

I'll probably try and fuse it unless someone has any better ideas.

(Hopefully I was able to properly add images)

Backing and/or purge is a must, maybe keep a piece of .030" filler in hand ready...

I’d use 308 filler. And I would fill it. The weld can be polished and ground flush afterwards, but stainless that old will be brittle so a filler is a good idea to avoid future cracks. Purging will help too.

I used 308 filler and aluminum backing. At some point previously someone attempted to weld one of the cracks. Its now in the hands of the polisher