DIY'ers need advice fabbing SS exhaust
 

Im going to start my custom stainless downpipe soon once i get the flanges but i need some advice. I currently dont have anything that can cut stainless and i want the cuts to be nice and perfect as possible. what did u guys use to cut and what do u reccomend thanks

ha! i think they make a tubeing cutter for exhaust or im sure a nice chop saw (h freight has one for like 60 bucks)

ill prob end up getting a chop saw. has anyone ever used a jigsaw? how does it compare?

That chop saw would surely make the job easier. Last week, I fabbed an intercooler pipe with a sawzall, a bench grinder, and a belt sander to use for cutting, shaping and flattening the cuts.

a band saw or a chop saw are really the only things you'll want to use. everything else will frustrate you and suck. stainless will also destroy blades, so make sure you have a few for the chop saw (HF abrasive cutoff wheels are cheap). If you use something other than a chop saw, get a carbide tipped blade.

my dad's got one of these:
http://www.powertoolsuk.co.uk/webcat...5Cdw712275.jpg

worked like a charm

sweet. im going to pick up a dewalt chopsaw for 100$ used. looks good condition and they retail for 350 hopefully it will work. ill be cutting mandrel tubing hopefully i can clamp it down =P thanks yall

The dewalt blades for there chopsaw seem to last the longest in my opinion when it comes to stainless. A bandsaw i feel is the best way to cut pipe for exhaust and intercooler piping only reason being when you do use a chop saw dont put to much pressure on the cut becasue the blade will bend and cause the cut to go on a slight angle leaving you with gaps to fill with weld instead of a tight fit. On straight cuts it is not as bad but when you cut bends it can leave big gaps. One question is what are you welding this with if it is stainless.

GTAW tig with backing gas.

308L stainless rod

The thing when you cut SS is that the blade must run SLOW

At the shop, we have a horizontal bandsaw and we cut with a rpm of 150.

Go down smooth too.

For Tig, like others said, piping = backpurging. Depending on the diameter of the pipes and the lenght, I use the argon always at 20 psi and at 20 cfm to 35 cfm.

Practice is the secret.

Oh! And for a 1/16" thick piping, use a 0.035 (my preference) rod or 0.045 at max. Never use filler rod as thick or thicker than the material you weld or else your welds will be less than shit. And I always cut the 36" rod in half, less hassle when you weld, you'll see.

do you do a lot of welding cause stainless is a lot more money if this is a first time project why not just go with mild steel. I dont know what your back round is so I was just wondering. I agree on the .035 rod is your best bet on filler and if you clean the medal good you should have no problem

yes i tig weld aluminum at my work and have done stainless pipe welding with back purge. i agree about never welding with a rod thats the same if not bigger than the base. i believe the material is a bit bigger than 1/16th (.0625) i believe its around .085 or around there. ill do fine =). one question i do have is can u use c25 as a back purge if nothing else is available. only got 1 tank of argon and 1 tank of c25 and dont feel like buying a regulator that u can send out to 2 different hoses

Fuck stainless steel. It's overrated IMO, and an utter BITCH to cut/bend/shape/weld/you name it. Mild steel FTW. Cheap and easy in comparison.

Oh, and I use a Craftsmen 14" abrasive saw with a tube cutting DeWalt wheel. Cuts 2.5" tubing in 5 seconds and it's a PERFECT cut every time after cleaning it up a bit with the die grinder.

SS is not overrated. I don't know why everyone whine about cutting it? I work with SS everyday and never had problem with cutting, with a bandsaw or even grinder 4" cutting wheels. I sure need to sharp my drill bits a little more often but that's not that bad. As for welding, for TIG though, I find that it's easier to weld it than steel because you don't have to wipe off all the fucking calamine and rust on it. You take it from the rack and you weld it, no brainer.

For cocker499. I don't recommend the use of C25 for backpurging. The purpose of backpurging is simply to make sure that you don't have any contaminants that touch the weld inside the pipe, just like the pupose of the gas that comes out of the gun's nozzle. The CO2 in the C25 mix will act as a contaminant.

If you can find a way to split the hose or have a double connector for your regulator, just press you pedal (or button) for a couple of seconds while having your TIG gun away from your pipes, to have them filled with gas and then start to weld.

I'll take my 100% stainless exhaust over rusty mild steel any day, thx.

SS is one of the hardest metals to work. It cracks easy, it warps easy, it's hard to weld, it's brittle, hard to cut, etc. Compared to say, any other metal that would work just as well, Stainless is a BITCH! Not everyone has a TIG and a bandsaw.

I got 200 bucks in my exhaust system from the turbo to the tail pipe. And it's new. And better than yours. How much was yours again? :giggle: And mine isn't rusty either. Aluminized mild steel FTW.

you do have a point about stainless being expensive but not everythings about how cheap you can do it. Theres more like pride and quality. As a welder i hold these virtues higher than any others in the industry. Personally i think ur being a complete dick but its a free country. I know i should of probably went with mild steel but then again i love a challenge. :jerkit:

I'm gonna side with pat here. beyond the downpipe, muffler, and cat, there's no reason to run a stainless exhaust. I bet if I look under my car, my 3 year old aluminized home-built exhaust is not rusty at all.

btw, who would waste their money on DeWalt abrasive wheels taht cost 10x what the harbor freight ones do? they do the same thing and I always wear a face shield.

I had a few harbor freight wheels, but they kept breaking. :jerkit: Got tired of changing them and put in a $3 dewalt 1/8 blade from Lowes (much closer to me than HF)and it's STILL working. made at least 250 cuts with it (some tubing, some rebar, some flat stock, some rails, little of everythign) and it's worn maybe an inch. Comparably, the elcheapo ones lasted 20 cuts if I went slow, which made for a shittier cut.