Subject: Cracks in 309 SS welds

From: [email-masked] (Wirdweird1)
Date: 6 Jun 1996 21:41:50 -0400

We are experiencing cracking of welds in .060" 309 SS after roll
planishing the welds.  We are using 309 filler rod with argon purge and
backfill on an automatic seam welder. The parts are aerospace and the
cracks, very small, are unacceptable.  Can anybody help.

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From: [email-masked] (ErnieLeim)
Date: 7 Jun 1996 10:11:10 -0400

> [email-masked] (Wirdweird1) posted:

>We are experiencing cracking of welds in .060" 309 SS after >roll
>planishing the welds.  We are using 309 filler rod with argon >purge and
>backfill on an automatic seam welder. The parts are >aerospace and the

Have you tried running an argon/ helium mix?
It's all I use anymore for all stainless TIG work, since it burns hotter
and cleaner. The cracking is usually caused by carbide formation in the
welds. They are too hard to deform when you roll planish the welds.
Argon/helium might help, but you might try sending samples of your base
metal and filler to a metallurgist for testing to make sure you got a good
batch of metal. Mills do make mistakes. Even the tiniest impurity in the
filler metal will make clean welds impossible. Also make sure you didn't
get a contaminated batch of Argon. I had a bad incident last year with a
series of argon tanks that were all contaminated. I found out a couple of
months later that 45 tanks were returned in a matter of weeks because of
bad weld performance.

Best of luck

@}---------------------------------------------------{@
                    Ernie Leimkuhler                                      

                  Stagesmith Productions                                  
                                          
                 Custom Metal Fabrication                                 
               
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From: Steve Herrick <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 8 Jun 1996 21:12:08 -0700

You might try a different 309 alloy. I might suspect a carbide
precipitation problem. To eliminate use a 309 L (L standing for low
carbon) filler and base material.

Hrolthgar -   [email-masked]
           Steve Herrick

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From: T Lipton <[email-masked]>
Date: 11 Jun 1996 02:29:02 GMT

> cracks, very small, are unacceptable.  Can anybody help. 

  You didn't say what your base materials were. Typically type 309 
filler material is used for joining steels to stainless steels.
If this is the case and you are joining dissimilair materials I would
closely examine the steel. As my friend Hrolthgar says in the following post
you can also go to a low carbon 309 alloy. These are identified with the suffix letter L.
In my career I have seldom had problems with cracks in stainless. the culprit
is usually the culprit is the steel.

    Good luck   TML