Yes, tig welding stainless steel is dangerous because you have high-intensity heat being applied next to a nonferrous metal like aluminum which will melt at around 600+ degrees F whereas something like stainless steel melts at around 1800+ F. You need to take precautions during the tig welding process just as you would with any other type of high-intensity welding.

Would TIG welding stainless steel be dangerous? 

I know that some stainless steel is very hard to TIG weld, but I’m not sure what type of stainless steel to use. Some welding suppliers have equipment specially suited for this type of welding so you should try contacting one for help. They should be able to give you all the information on how to do this process safely and correctly.

You will need a clean and relatively new workpiece; otherwise, it is likely that your finished part will rust faster than it can be shipped if at all (something like 316L SS) If your workpiece is not clean, you could still get away with it if the part is to be used in a naturally rusting environment such as underwater or buried in the soil.

You should also use a filler material such as 309L SS flux-cored wire and ro5ch 718 GTAW rod. You can always do some research on these materials yourself to make sure they are compatible with your equipment/filler metal choice/workpiece.

You will need lots of argon shielding gas, but I think inert gasses would be better for this application because stainless steel has not only high heat output but high thermal conductivity which means that you might need even more argon to provide enough protection from the atmosphere. the time you weld on stainless steel, you will also need a lot of oxygen to help with the fume/slag removal.

You will want to preheat your workpiece by putting it in a furnace at around 400 – 500+ degrees F for about an hour if possible. this should give you enough time to get everything ready and some leeway on timing if there are some unforeseen delays for whatever reason.

You will definitely want some type of torch, but I don’t think it matters what type so long as it can provide more heat than normal which will be kind of hard to do unless you have a really big torch that runs off of something like 40 or 50 cubic feet per hour or more. You will also need TIG filler wire/rod, clamps, and a lot of other things that I am not going to bother mentioning because you can research these items yourself.

You should also do some research on TIG welding stainless steel because it isn’t the same as TIG welding mild steel or even carbon steel. You will want to (for this particular application) set your machine on at least 100-150 amps with AC balance for this application; however, AC balance might make it easier (or even possible) to do some post-TIG cleanup work such as “electro polish” which is basically using an automatic wire brush while still under power from the welder. Your choice of torch/filler material combinations should be good ones because you only get one shot at doing this process without screwing everything up.

You will need lots of argon shielding gas, but I think inert gasses would be better for this application because stainless steel has not only high heat output but high thermal conductivity which means that you might need even more argon to provide enough protection from the atmosphere. the time you weld on stainless steel, you will also need a lot of oxygen to help with the fume/slag removal.

If you would like to know more about back purge click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Tig_welding&redirect=no