What Does a Stainless Steel Welder Do?

A stainless steel welder connects pieces of stainless steel through the use of a welder. Commonly used in the production of food storage and kitchen production equipment, the stainless steel welder also creates medical equipment, agricultural and high-performance automotive equipment. The welds are typically made by using one of three methods: metal inert gas (MIG), tungsten inert gas (TIG) or shielded metal arc, or stick electrode, welding. The stainless steel welder is often schooled in many types of welding processes. When asked to create a stainless steel storage tank, the welder is required to actually get inside of the tank to weld the internal seams of the tank, so welders in this profession cannot have issues with being in an enclosed area.

Welding stainless steel requires ventilation to keep the fumes away from the head of the stainless steel welder. The fumes created by welding stainless steel can be extremely toxic, and often require the stainless steel welder to wear a protective suit and breathing apparatus during the welding process. The tremendous amount of heat generated when welding requires the stainless steel welder to also wear protective gloves and an apron to prevent burning the clothes and skin while welding.

The brightness of the weld arc is very similar to looking directly into the sun. This mandates a very dark lens be used in a protective welder's helmet to protect the eyes of the welder. The helmet also guards against burns from flying sparks.

There are many grades of stainless steel that the welder must be familiar with, and each grade of steel requires special measures be taken in order to correctly weld the metal. Some types of stainless steel require the welder to preheat the steel to get a satisfactory weld, while other grades require specific actions to be taken once the welded seam has been created. The welder must understand what each type of metal requires in order to make the strongest weld possible or risk the weld failing prematurely.

When a stainless steel welder receives an order to create a stainless steel product, he or she must evaluate the order and decide which grade of steel to use. Once selected, the steel must be properly prepared for welding by one of several methods of cleaning the steel. The proper welding rod, wire or filler stick must then be selected to make the correct weld joint. The correct heat range to provide the best weld is selected and dialed into the welder, and then the weld can be completed.