Welding Aluminum Boat?

[jim657]

Hi guy this is jim had aboat problem like yours someyears ago. We finally gave up. And got out the silver solder. Plus a few new riverts andthat boat is still fishing. Needs to be real clean. It might be worth a test spot?

[drizler]

[QUOTE=wmgeorge;397018]Try a fine stainless steel wire brush and some etone (small squeeze bottle) on the aluminum first







FWIW here is a great source for those small squeeze bottles to use for acetone, cleaner, penetrating oil ect. Try the old used plastic hair dye applicators that come with the home hair dye kits. The bottles are only about 3 oz or 4 and have the sharp cut off applicator nozzle that screws off.
They hold up perfectly to thinners and are small enough not to cause you a big fire if they torch off. They also leak very little if tipped over so they are ideal around the shop. All they lack is a screw on tip but you can't have everything if it's free. Pretty handy little buggers around the house and shop.

[drizler]

Finally going to make the plunge and buy an aluminum boat, but i am confused. Our goal is to buy a boat that will last for many years to come and also turn heads when on the water. The more i talk to salesman the more BS i hear. What should i be looking for as far as the quality of the welds, some look like art and some look like my son who is 12 tried to weld for the first time. Does the apperance of the weld matter? We are looking at a 200 Sea Runner Hewes Craft right now, any comments would help at this point

Thanks

You would have to look hard to find any aluminum boat that needs welding attention. They just last forever unless some bonehead keeps plowing it into things. These days fiberglass is the rage and it is a lot quieter and stable but aluminum is far lighter. Just look at it on all the seams, there should be no serious scrapes to speak of and by that I mean serious metal ground off like hit by a grinder or deep dents. Otherwise it should outlast you and I put together. Best place for info I know is Iboats.com If you are looking for a new one as it seems, I doubt that you would have any trouble with any of the alum boats made today. Personallly I would go used as you just can't kill them without piling them into rocks or letting them fill with water and freeze. BTW no matter what the boat if used IT IS THE FLOOR THAT GOES TO HECK. Any sign of a soft spot if its wood is GOING TO need replacing, period be it this year or next. They use absolute crap wood for boat interiors and the rat hair carpet hides it as well as holding the water to help it rot.

[Hotfoot]

I've been reading all the replies, and am as anxious as anyone to see Peter's errors and successes. We a; have to learn!
No one chimed in recommending Allumalloy???( I'm surprised!)

Is there a good epoxy or adhesive for sealing up the non-structural leaks on these old aluminum boats? (I know, super prep, acetone and SS brushes) (Like Krunche's Mighty Putty?)

[clampman]

Krunch Said:

On the jobs I've done, I sanded and degreased the underlying aluminum real well, applied the unthickened epoxy, then sanded through the epoxy while it was still wet (to get better tooth for adhesion) and then did the repair.

Krunch's method works as well as any. The sanding must be done through the wet epoxy to prevent oxygen from getting to the aluminum even for a second. If it does, aluminum oxide will form and ruin the bond.

I got to this thread because I am buying a spool gun for my handler 210. I've never welded aluminum before, but will be trying to fabricate a bench seat for my boat from aluminum tubing and want to learn how to stick aluminum together. I do not plan on using thin material, however, so it should be a bit easeir.

My machine shop is also located between two welding shops - one of whom made me a new tank for my boat from 3/16ths 5052-HC32 sheet. He told me a shop space was opening up next door, and I leased it shortly thereafter. The tank was TIG welded as are his circular aluminum and stainless stairs. The other welding shop also welds aluminum, mainly guard rails, fences, trailers and pretty much anything else. Bob gives his circular stair jobs to Ken. All the welding and fabricating I've seen both shops do are dynomite.

So, if I don't like the way my welds look (very likely) ....it's "trade time" I was watching one of the railing guys welding spindles for stairs, and I can definitely save him a lot of time and fixturing aggravation by boring the bottoms of his railings on the proper angle to accept the spindles. I can also cope his butt joints for him on the same machine if he doesn't want holes bored, or if the sizes are too close to the same for it.

I'm really looking forward to learning something new once again. By the way, I was here a while back with a rush project, and I got it done before hurricane season, and it came out very well. It was an easy job for the welders in here, butting 1/4" wall square steel tubing to 1/8" wall tubing while hanging off a ladder.

I was having trouble getting good penetration without burning through the 1/8th inch but diddled around enough and got a decent job done, following the tips I read in here. Getting in the best possible position under the circumstances made all the difference. And practicing while in that same position first on numerous pieces really, really helped. Thanks.

Cheers,
Jim

[SundownIII]

Well,

I must say this thread has brightened my day. After I finished rolling around the floor laughing, I figured I just had to reply.

Aluminum boats today will last forever. Go right on thinking that.

These things are so easy to work on, even a monkey can do it. OK. I got the bananas, you got the time?

Alumaloy (or any of the other crap out there) Brings thoughts of horror to any tig welders mind.

Never seen an aluminum jon boat that couldn't be fixed with a couple rolls of duct tape.

Man, I say go for it.

[wmgeorge]

Wow,

Nice to see the welding community is a helpful bunch of people.

Nowhere do I see an explanation as to why the welder I listed cannot do this job. I can see how it is not ideal, and I can see why it would not be used in a professional setting, but I dont see why it wouldnt work.

I should read the rest of the thread, but get a bottle of argon, blow out your liner with compressed air and give it a shot using what you have already. Don't forget to prep with a stainless steel wire brush and acetone. If your liner hasn't been used a lot for steel it might work. I am sure not an expert but I did build a motor driven yard kart for the grand kids using a Miller 172 MIG without a spool gun, just the welder. It was a learning experience on even new aluminum square tubing!

In the mean time I took a class in TIG welding, purchased a Miller 180 SD to use at home and got decent welds on aluminum and stainless. But it took lots and lots of practice. When you get good enough with TIG welding aluminum, then I would consider your boat repair using that process.

[SundownIII]

"I should have read the rest of the thread"

Yes, and maybe if you had, you wouldn't have posted such a recommendation.

But, then again, there's no shortage of "experts" here.

[wmgeorge]

Do ya think, if I’d spent the past 50 years doing specialized TIG and Mig welding instead of doing what I did, I’d be good enough to carry your welding hood?

I mean instead of working as a commercial / industrial electrician with a masters license?
Or the fact I also worked 23 years as a union journeyman refrigeration pipefitter. Learning enough electronics and computers stuff on my own to be doing DDC controls for commercial building automation? Oh and spending the last 12 years teaching the stuff and retiring with 2 good pensions?

Even after all that I would realize that the Hobart Welding forum is made up from people from all walks of life and much different skill levels than yourself. I would never presume to insult or belittle people who post here, that are not up to my skill level.

[SundownIII]

wmgeorge,

You can get huffy all you want. Where in that post did I say anything about your electrical/refrigeration skills? What I said was that you should have read the 75 or so posts that preceeded your's which added nothing to the discussion.

There had been several discussions about different processes to accomplish the repairs defined by the OP. Comments came from hobbiest welders who have never done this type work and from guys who've been doing the work for years.

There was also a lengthy discussion on why this job is not suited for mig. Then, out of the clear blue sky, you appear and tell the OP how to set up his machine to mig weld it.

What I said was "you should have read the previous posts before responding" especially since you have NO experience with this type repair.

[peter94]

Well sorry its been so long guys,

SundownIII, it hasnt been long enough...

Anyway...Been keeping myself busy with my senior project at school...

In the mean time I did try MIG welding just some scrap aluminum I had laying around. Results were not good just as everyone on here said they would be. I can see how it would have probably "Worked", but with MIG welding aluminum, it is difficult to do repair work, at least at my experience level.

Otherwise I've been getting a chance to get on our schools synchrowave 200 every now and then. Even bent myself up a nice control panel out of diamond plate and TIG'd it together. Some of the welds looked decent, I had trouble with 1 corner where I'm pretty sure I didn't apply enough heat and hit it with the filler too soon which caused a few booger looking clouds to appear in my weld. But Ah well, I just re-heated the area and they went away...

I've been thinking alot about TIG welders lately. Looking at either a new diversion 180, or a demo Dynasty 200DX.

The Dynasty 200DX is about $1000 more than the Diversion, but I wake up each morning on a different side of the fence. I would be nice to have the extra $1,000 for accessories, metal, or other tools. But on the other hand the Dynasty has a torch that you can actually replace with a different one (Diversion is hard wired in), and is fully upgradeable (wireless controls, cooler, etc...) Also the torch and ground clamp cords on the Diversion are about 1/2 the lenght of the ones on the Dynasty. So I dunno. I can tell it is something I really like to do, and is something that would last me for a while.

Anyway since I don't have any pics of my stuff, here is a video of what I've been doing instead (I guess it kind of applies since I TIG'd some of the intake stuff):

http://www.youtube.com/user/maverick18436572

Its a single cylinder KTM 525 quad motor with an IHI turbocharger on it. Converted to fuel injection, and running a 19mm restrictor (about the size of a quarter). This is for our formula SAE car that we will be racing in May at the Michigan International Speedway.

Also SundownIII, just messing with you regarding the comment at the start of the post.

Have a nice day

[wmgeorge]

In the mean time I took a class in TIG welding, purchased a Miller 180 SD to use at home and got decent welds on aluminum and stainless. But it took lots and lots of practice. When you get good enough with TIG welding aluminum, then I would consider your boat repair using that process.

Like I said in my post above it takes lots of practice to get good at TIG but that is the way to go on the thin aluminum as on your boat. I did finally get a spool gun for my Miller 175 and it works great using the E4043 wire, on 1/8 stuff. Never tried on the thin like they would use on a boat. With the TIG you have much better control. I had a Miller 180 SD at one time and loved it, but I did not use it enough to justify having it around.

No matter what you get, when you start doing the heavier aluminum or at least more of it at one time, you will need to think about getting a water cooled torch.

[cal_rox]

I wished that I knew it aaaaall like Sundowner. oops! Hope your cars run well with all the oil from my Alaskan pipeline welding crew gramps!