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Aluminum Welding!

M

Murray Hebblethwaite

Member
In this first photo Mr. Murray was welding quarter inch structural material. On the left was the first weld, you can see there was NOT quite enough heat, but on the right it is much better, NOT PERFECT, but far better than anyone could do in this ONE HORSE TOWN!

Keep in mind I self-taught myself to weld aluminum, in this second picture there is a horizontal weld connected with a vertical weld on one-eighth material. I used a piece of plywood as a background to make a contrast to high-light the fore-ground, the deck of this trailer is ALL ALUMINUM EXTRUSIONS!

The third picture shows my inclined weld where I attached my prefabricated one-eighth material fenders to my ALL ALUMINUM HOME-MADE UTILITY TRAILER!
a26462.jpg

a26464.jpg

a26465.jpg
 
From a fracture mechanics standpoint, I would go grind and polish all the welds to minimize the crack size. Aluminum usually has very poor characteristics normally when it comes to cyclic fatigue (ie going down the road) and some of those welds look like they could start cracking quickly. I would make sure you inspect ALL the welds very carefully before and after each use. I would especially be worried about the quality of those welds on the tongue as the trailer flexes going down the road.

bjb- EIT in structural engineering
MS UT at Austin
BS UN at Omaha
 
What ONE HORSE TOWN are you referring to? Check out the pictures of Puddles aluminum welds. One of the best examples I've ever seen of what a difference having some knowledge and a better machine can do. Dave
 
Mr. Murray would first like to say thank you for all of your replies.

I was told that Mr. Murray personally invited an instructer from a local community college to his location to view and inspect his welding capabilities, compared to numerous licensed, qualified, professional welders.

Upon inspection, the instructor informed Mr. Murray that his welds would meet or exceed a 90% rating on his welds, (mig welder), in fact the instructor was sure the welds were "tig"!
 
As we ALL should know, the "Real Test is Time"!

From what I understand Mr. Murray has NEVER had a structural failure due to his welds since 1992!

Would you like me to post several photos on behalf of Mr. Murray?
 
I'd tell that Murray guy that the instructor must not know much about aluminim welding either. Sorry but those welds, especially on the tongue, can barely be called welds. It reinforces why the DOT needs to do more inspections of homemade trailers. Dave
 
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