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Welding an aluminum boat

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Dennis

10-03-2001 06:39:57




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I have a 16 foot LOWE john boat that I want to modify so its more adaptable for duck hunting. This involves removing the middle bench and adding a rib then changing the back bench to make room for my GO-Devil motor. I don't have a comercial riveter so my plan is to weld the rib in place and weld some of the other areas where modification will take place. I'll be using Craftsman MIG welder with a TPH aluminum welding kit installed. What type of wire should be used and what other things should I be concerned with? I am aware of the requirement for extremely clean welding surfaces.

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Nellie

10-09-2001 13:34:36




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 Re: Welding an aluminum boat in reply to Dennis, 10-03-2001 06:39:57  
You have received great advice - the only thing I can add is you might want to try:
Link

It is an aluminum boat repair site.



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Ed

10-04-2001 08:21:55




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 Re: Welding an aluminum boat in reply to Dennis, 10-03-2001 06:39:57  
I have used 5356 or 4043 alloy wire with good results. Use 5356 if appearance is not important, as it produces more spatter next to the weld bead, 4043 produces a smoother bead. Use straight Argon gas at 20 to 40 cubic feet per hour. Clean the weld as best you can with a stainless steel wire brush, either by hand or with a grinder, but you will get a black, powdery oxide coating as soon as you strike the arc.(just keep going) I tend to use .035 dia wire but you could get by with thicker. Most of the boats I have done are about .030 to .040 thick, so you wil have to train the arc on the thicker pieces of metal that you are putting in, and then manipulate it, (weave) onto the thinner boat material. Try to push the weld ahead of the gun as much as possible, but you can pull it if you need to. Aluminum tends to weld colder than steel for the same settings, so get some scrap pieces from somewhere, and practice, practice, practice. It will probably look terrible at first, but it will get better as you go along. You will have to experiment with different voltages and wire feeds until you find one that you are comfortable with. Good luck.

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DrCyKosis

10-07-2001 06:45:21




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 Re: Re: Welding an aluminum boat in reply to Ed, 10-04-2001 08:21:55  
Ed's pretty well right on the money. I'll add two things: Best aluminum MIG results are obtained with a spool gun. If you go on and use a regular MIG gun set the welder up at near maxium reach distance from where your work is so you can keep the guns lead as straight as possible. The aluminum wire can kink and bind way too easy as it goes to the gun through the lead. When you say "aluminum kit" I assume your refering to a teflon liner. I also recomend a larger diameter opening on your nozzle to have a wider dispersion of the argon. If any binding problems occur Go to one size larger contact tip. (.035 for .030 wire or .047 for .035 wire) 5356 wire is quite stiff, and will feed much better than than the softer 4043 wire. I use only 5356 and a spool gun for aluminum.

The need for cleanliness cannot be overstated. Also I'd say more argon is better than enough, especially if you're welding outdoors.

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C.B.(MO)

10-05-2001 17:35:29




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 Re: Re: Welding an aluminum boat in reply to Ed, 10-04-2001 08:21:55  
all I can tell you is practice on some scrap first. when i got my welder the first thing i did was blow some holes in my boat.good luck



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