Welding Tips and Tricks

I hate waste. And I hate paying for metal to practise with.

A friend recently connected me with a workshop that is contracted by a major car brand to create special performance versions of their vehicles. Brand new car comes in, many parts stripped off, performance parts bolted on. All the parts that are stripped off are simply thrown out.

I have access to as many of the pictured exhaust components as I want. Free. It is unused, build date November 2015.

Main pipes are two and a half inch diameter, thin wall. Maybe 1.2mm wall. I am told it is 'low grade' stainless. It is quite magnetic, apart from the tips.

While I know it's impossible to tell from pictures, can anyone with auto industry experience hazard a guess at what type of stainless (if it is indeed stainless) these parts might be?


Kym

Low grade, magnetic... I'm thinking 409. The exh tips might be 304

Rick_H wrote:Low grade, magnetic... I'm thinking 409. The exh tips might be 304

Thanks Rick. I've had someone else face-to-face say maybe 409, too. I really don't know much about stainless myself.

The tips by comparison seem very high quality and are not magnetic at all.



Kym

Definitely good practice material.
I don't invisision you building trailers and crane booms with it.

AKweldshop wrote:Definitely good practice material.
I don't invisision you building trailers and crane booms with it.

Nope!

I'll be able to use some of the tubing and possibly the tips to fabricate exhaust components for friends who have 'hipster bike' projects. I might not be able to weld 'aerospace' yet, but I can do 'rustic' all day long!

Internets say weld with no filler at all, or use 309. I have some 309...



Kym

Rick_H wrote:Low grade, magnetic... I'm thinking 409. The exh tips might be 304

Yup very likely.

409 is a very common grade for OEM main exhaust pipes, magnetic, and likely the grade used here.

For car manufacturers it's a good tradeoff metal between lifespan of the material and the cost. 409 will corrode/rust, but the rate of corrosion is a lot slower than plain mild steel, so it gives a decent service life while being relatively cheap. (and also it has similar expansion under heat as mild steel)

Bye, Arno.