Tractor implements made of stainless steel

[Zeus1]

Ain't much to working with stainless. It's different, not hard. It will warp much quicker. Welding...grab some 308 stick rods and get after it. Stainless to carbon you need 309, which is a different story.

 

[MattMc]

Depending on the quality of stainless it's harder, heavier and more brittle than mild steel. A completely rust free stainless is extremely brittle. Hitting something with it might split it in half over just bending a flange. Work hardening all the joints in it from twisting might also be an issue causing it to crack.

If you want something rust free and new than buy a new mower, tear it completely apart, strip the paint and paint it with POR-15. It will NEVER rust unless you somehow manage to scrape it off, which you will on a mower but you'll be better off in the long run than just paint. Maintenance is the key to keeping things together for a long time. If you don't ever clean it up every so often nothing will last.

 

[Baby Grand]

King Kutter seems to make one:

http://www.kingkutter.com/store-product.aspx?id=3543

James K0UA

But ... how can we complain about the paint?
BTW - that floating hitch idea is brilliant!

 

[schoolsout]

If it is rusting it isnt stainless! Not talking about 3cr12, it is silver but it ain't stainless. I'm talking about 304L, 316L, or 317L. Just about every fab shop I have been to has tons of scrap stainless piled up. I'm sure if you offer them scrap price they will gladly sell some.

stainLESS will still rust...just won't be all that bad.

Rusting by Stainless Steels

 

[dstig1]

Exactly. It's called StainLESS and not StainFREE. It just stains "less" than regular steel. Now common conditions will not have an effect on most grades, so people come to think it is rust proof, but it is not. If the protective oxide layer does not form or gets damaged in certain ways, it will rust. A common problem is certain grades used under water. They will not form the chromium oxide protection and will rust like crazy under water but not in air or when generally wetted and dried.

It is generally harder to cut and weld than plain steel (warps more when welding as thermal expansion is higher), and is heavier and not as strong overall (some exceptions). SS threads tend to gall, along with other moving parts rubbing against each other in SS. And it is very expensive. Some great benefits, but some significant drawbacks to it too.

 

[Zeus1]

Exactly. It's called StainLESS and not StainFREE. It just stains "less" than regular steel. Now common conditions will not have an effect on most grades, so people come to think it is rust proof, but it is not. If the protective oxide layer does not form or gets damaged in certain ways, it will rust. A common problem is certain grades used under water. They will not form the chromium oxide protection and will rust like crazy under water but not in air or when generally wetted and dried.

It is generally harder to cut and weld than plain steel (warps more when welding as thermal expansion is higher), and is heavier and not as strong overall (some exceptions). SS threads tend to gall, along with other moving parts rubbing against each other in SS. And it is very expensive. Some great benefits, but some significant drawbacks to it too.

I know you can't cut stainless with a torch, a plasma makes quick work or it though. How is it harder to weld? I have spent many hours behind a hood welding with stainless stick and wire and flux core, didn't have any problems except the wire would break off at the feed wheels and I would have to strip out the wire from the mig wip and re feed it back through. This was with some 6-7% moly mig welding wire. Other than that no problems for me.

 

[dstig1]

The actual running of a welding bead may not be so hard. I briefly tried TIG welding it in class and it was very nice to do. I've heard SS stick is a bit tougher in that it acts different from regular steel, but have not tried it, only heard that. But in general it is harder to fab weldments with due to the same reasons - it moves a lot more when welding, which can cause big problems on alignment or surface ripples. Plus you can't cut it with a torch, and it's heck on blades and bits compared to regular steel. Spool guns or push-pulls needed for most wire feed work too as the wire is not as strong, as you noted. All that stuff falls under what I would describe as "harder to weld". Maybe not as bad as alum but not as easy as steel, when all is considered.

 

[Zeus1]

The actual running of a welding bead may not be so hard. I briefly tried TIG welding it in class and it was very nice to do. I've heard SS stick is a bit tougher in that it acts different from regular steel, but have not tried it, only heard that. But in general it is harder to fab weldments with due to the same reasons - it moves a lot more when welding, which can cause big problems on alignment or surface ripples. Plus you can't cut it with a torch, and it's heck on blades and bits compared to regular steel. Spool guns or push-pulls needed for most wire feed work too as the wire is not as strong, as you noted. All that stuff falls under what I would describe as "harder to weld". Maybe not as bad as alum but not as easy as steel, when all is considered.

Stainless stick 308L&316L welding is very similar the old 7018. You gotta let it flow and go slow. The bead appearance is relative to your rod angle. The slag pops everywhere as the weld starts to cool. I guess one aspect I didnt mention is the sugaring effect. This is a problem especially on welding sheet metal, and welding joints together. Sugaring is when the area behind the weld is heated while welding, and it glows red, and the molten puddle starts to glob up and become porous. Doesnt happen on the welded side because there is a shield of gas from either the mig gun or the burning of the flux. To fix this sugaring problem you have to back perge with argon gas. Makes the reverse side of the weld look shinny and flat. This can happen with regular carbon steel but usually not a problem.

 

[Just Bill]

As others mentioned, some SS can and will rust. It is just slower at it than mild steel. Are you 100% sure the grade of SS you see in the cut piles at those shops are 304L and 316L??? Because if they are indeed "L" series stainless they are considered a "non-magnetic" stainless. And around here, scrap price for that is about $1.20/lb, which is higher than you can buy mild steel and a bucket of paint for.

And if it is magnetic, probabally a 304/316, then it will rust if left out in the elements. Probabally would deteriorate faster than a mild steel with good paint.

Grade 316L, is the low carbon version of 316
300 series S/S is nonmagnetic
400 series is magnetic but will out last mild steel if left out in the elements

 

[LD1]

Inst only the "L" series in 300 non-magnetic???

We use a lot of 304/304L and 316/316L at work. And ony the L wont stick a magnet.

 

[kruszert]

some stainless does rust - - - but - - -
trailer is 10 years old, kept outside, 304 stainless steel from scrap yard, welded with both mig and tig low carbon rod/wire

 

[Zeus1]

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=271316"/>

some stainless does rust - - - but - - -
trailer is 10 years old, kept outside, 304 stainless steel from scrap yard, welded with both mig and tig low carbon rod/wire

That is one nice looking trailer! In a couple months after I finish my log splitter build I am gonna build a stainless bush hog. Mine is shot but the gear box is tip top shape. I am just gonna copy the design of my bush hog and swap the gear box out. I will revive this thread after there is some photos to show.

 

[dstig1]

I think the "L" means low carbon content. At least it does with welding rods and wire. Could be wrong...didn't look it up.

 

[LD1]

I think the "L" means low carbon content. At least it does with welding rods and wire. Could be wrong...didn't look it up.

Thats the way I understand it.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I would be looking at using aluminum rather than stainless. Some of the aluminum alloys are stronger than steel and are used on battle tanks and armored personnel carriers. I think it would be a bit cheaper than Stainless and much stronger and not as susceptable to warping and cracking like stainless. All chromium alloys(stainless steels above 12% chromium)) are very susceptible to corrosion cracking from salts with chloride ions in them and also some dirty water anaerobic bacteria will eat chromium to a honey comb in certain circumstances. I have seen many stainless steel (304L ) pipelines eaten up with bacteria from hydrotest water. Even the chlorine in potable water will have a detrimental effect on stainless. It just isnt the right alloy for all "non-rust" applications.

 

[kruszert]

First to answer the question about "L" on the welding rods - - yes it does stand for low carbon. When you weld stainless the carbon comes to the surface of the weld and discolors/rusts. You have to use a wire brush to clean the weld after welding even when using low carbon rods if you want to keep the shinny silver stainless look.

Stainless is not for all applications - - exposure to chlorides as Gary said will cause corrosion cracking - - - salt water being one of the main sources. But they still use stainless in boating applications it just doesn't last forever. I have tried to repair handrails on a sailboat and found the metal was so badly corroded that there was nothing left to weld but the sailboat was 25 years old and kept in salt water all the time. In normal applications around the home and farm I have made many things out of stainless that are good as new 25 years after I build them.

As for aluminum I am far from an expert and only have a little experiecne. Some are stronger than steel and some are NOT weldable (found that out the hard way). The aluminum types I have delt with are the 6000 series. They are weldable using tig high frequency or a mig spoon gun with argon gas but it takes higher amperage than when welding steel or stainless since the aluminum conducts the heat away from the weld much faster. Not something that everyone has in their garage. They do corrode with exposure to salt water also.

As for what is best - - depends on your application. One thing for sure stainless is heavier than aluminum. The trailer in the picture weights 1800# empty - - mostly made from 1/4" or 3/16" stainless. However, it will carry a load.

 

[sparc]

If your worried about rust use Monel... IF money is no object.