The suitable welder to weld aluminum speed boat.

[steph]

Hi guys, I'm here cause I need to hear your opinion as per title above. The weld must be done in the beach, not in shop. I'm sorry if data I gave wasn't suffice. Another question: what is the common material the boat made of? What is the suitable rod/wire to be use? Thank you guys in advance.

[dondlhmn]

First thing I'd try is to ask the manufacturer what the boat is made of if it isn't home made. Best thing is to know what the base material is and then select the appropriate filler. If the boat is home made and you know the maker and he remembers what filler he used when making it, use the same thing. (that is if the whole thing has held up well...if the welds have failed, you may NOT want to use the same filler!)

The type of machines do you have available to you may limit what gets used to make the weld. AND....as the weld must be done on the beach, what kind of power is available "on the beach" may dictate what machine you will be forced to use. Aluminum can be normally welded with two different processes: MIG and also with TIG. Another thing that may dictate what machine gets used is what kind of training and how much skill the weldor who is going to do the weld has. Both MIG with aluminum and TIG are more skill oriented than your more "normal" processes such as stick and A/O gas welding. Now that I think of it, I believe I have heard of people with the somewhat special skill of being able to weld aluminum with an O/A setup, but have never personally seen it done and don't know anything about that.

[steph]

Thank you dondlhm for quick reply. Now about power source we will use generator. One thing I wanna ask is..for a newbie like me..which process will be much forgiving (in other word: which one is easier?), TIG or MIG? Which one is better in windy condition?? Thank you.

[cruizer]

Likely going to want to make a welding tent around the repair. Wind is not good to have when your using gasses.

Think you should get a CV machine, a spool gun and a bottle of Argon. And a operator that is familiar with this process.

[dondlhmn]

First, not to talk you down personally, but YOU should NOT do this weld if you have never, ever welded with either MIG or TIG (especially on aluminum, as it is pretty unforgiving and needs fairly specialized talent and skill to weld to where it will be structurally sound and maybe even nice looking. (unless, of course, if you just happen to be that RARE one-in-a-million kind of people that just have a knack for aluminum). As far as MIG goes, some say it is easier than TIG with the right setup, correct speeds, etc, but me, personally..I can make total junk out of aluminum stuff with a MIG welder real fast, but can produce pretty decent TIG welds. ( I did NOT say PRETTY...they are sound, but not as pretty as I would like!)

Second..the wind WILL be a problem any time gas is involved with a weld, so I would STRONGlY recommend that you build a shelter around the welding area....something like a tent (could be sheet rock, plywood, an actual tent, wood and plastic sheet...pretty much anything that will keep the wind away EVEN if it is not blowing when you start out on the project. (If you can get something not too flammable, that would be good, but any time there is anything flammable around a weldor it is a REALLY GOOD idea to have a fireguard with a fire extinguisher right there). Also, remember that gasoline fumes are very dangerous and a spark or flame can make a BIG BOOM, so do everything possible to not have gasoline fumes in your "tent". As a matter of fact, if I got into the "tent" to weld and could smell gasoline at all, I WOULD NOT DO THE WELD. The wind always seems to strike at EXACTLY the wrong moment.....believe me...I speak from experience trying to weld both MIG and TIG here in Reno where it can get VERY windy VERY quickly and then just die right out just as quickly.

Thirdly......fitup between the parts before you start welding is IMPORTANT, so get the very best fitup you can before proceeding with welding.

Fourthly, Fifthly and Sixthly...Cleanlieness is your friend. CLEANLIENESS IS YOUR FRIEND. CLEAN! CLEAN! CLEAN! Oh, yeah...be sure all parts to be joined are CLEAN!! That means all corrosion, all dirt, paint, fish bait, left over bikini bottoms, all everything that was NOT the base metal when it was ******. Oh...and...CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN!

Seventh....for the very best, strongest weld you may want to back gas it.....that is to say apply the same gas you are wleding with to evacuate the atmosphere from being in contact with the heat affected area on the back side of the metal from time welding is begun until the weld has frozen back up.

There are a bunch of guys on this site that are a LOT MORE EXPERT and experienced at this stuff than I am....can any of you TIGGERs or MIGGERs add anything to what I have told the OP (or maybe subtract anything?)

[ja baudin]

Long threads always through me off. Big project on a beach, mig it : good luck! 5356 filler for marine applications..

[SundownIII]

This post is a joke, right?

No mention of size, or what needs to be done, etc.

Way too little info to provide ANY guidance.

[steph]

[QUOTE=SundownIII;276630]This post is a joke, right?

No mention of size, or what needs to be done, etc.

Way too little info to provide ANY guidance.[/QUOT



I'm sorry if I gave too little data. This is no joke and I'm trully a newbie..never do aluminum speed boat repair so I have no idea about that. Usually do SMAW mild steel and stainless steel but some time people came to me and ask to weld their aluminum speed boat. Thats why I'm here, to learn from all of you, I believe there's many experienced guys will share/guide me. For now I cant give any specific data bcoz I never done that, I just need general/common information to start. Sorry for bad english too.

[aametalmaster]

So a guy owns an expensive speed boat so he takes it to a guy who has never welded alum and has no shop or welder? ...Bob

[MMW]

What kind of repair is it? You didn't give any info other than aluminum speedboat, beach & you don't know how to weld aluminum.

If you have a suitable generator than a Dynasty 200 is what a lot of welders use for portable aluminum.