Welding Tips and Tricks

Today I repaired an aluminum john boat and would like for someone to help me fine tune my welding. There was a ton of porosity and my arc was very unstable. Crappy beads. But in the end it was welded. We'll see if it lasts. Here is what I did.

1. Cleaned the crack with emory cloth.
2. Cleaned with paper towels and acetone.
3. Welded the crack.
4. smoothed out the bead. (it looked horrible)
5. put on fish plate.
6. smoothed out the bead

It was windy so I know I wasn't getting good protection….i had the flow set at 30…maybe i should have gone higher

PICTURES!!

Your probably not going to fine tune your skills on a jon boat. Aluminum is like a sponge for contaminates so if I were you I would get some clean metal and start there. I do alot of repairs on golf carts and lawn mower and stuff like that, stuff that no one else wants to do and even though I want my repair to be perfect, I can't sometimes/usually achieve a perfect weld in badly contaminated metal. If you managed to get a solid repair on this boat and it holds up then IMO you did good. Build your skill set on clean metal first. You will get plenty of opportunities to tear your hair out on crapped up stuff down the road.

I don't know how to add pictures!!!!

jbtreece wrote:I don't know how to add pictures!!!!

I was typing an explanation of adding pictures as you posted this...

I see you've improvised, adapted, and overcame!

Steve S

when i'm in a booth on nice clean metal, my beads actually look pretty good….to be honest i'm kind of embarrassed about this work. I know I can do better.

One thing I've noted since January….in the field, everything is out of position. ha

What was the finish on the boat, paint or just an aged patina?
I"m a noob at tig and can appreciate the truth of your last sentence.
I have a few comments, you're never going to get a good looking weld in wind, so you were on a hiding to nothing there, contaminated material wont help either, added together, well..........
I probably would have cleaned a spot on the flange near the weld for the earth clamp, you have no idea what was lurking under that handle or between the rivets and the body that would effect a good earth connection.
Finally what did the other side of the weld look like.
Experience comes from "issues", your next attempt will prove that.
If it was easy everyone would do it

jbtreece wrote:when i'm in a booth on nice clean metal, my beads actually look pretty good….to be honest i'm kind of embarrassed about this work. I know I can do better.

One thing I've noted since January….in the field, everything is out of position. ha

JB,
There's nothing wrong with feeling embarrassed with doing less than perfect, that's what drives us to be better and there's nowhere that's felt more than the members here. We come here to help each other strive for perfection knowing full well we'll never get there. Now the most important part of your quote, "I know I can do better", that's where the help that's available here comes in. If you become a student of this forum and Jody's videos you can't help but do better, I have and I've been welding for over 40 years.

One tip I'll give you about welding out in the wind is to do whatever you can to avoid it and if you can't do whatever you can to block it. Use tarps, foil dams, backing or all of the above, anything you can the keep your cover gas where it's needed. Also try and clean any paint off the back side so it doesn't fume up into your cover gas.

Len

jbtreece wrote:Today I repaired an aluminum john boat and would like for someone to help me fine tune my welding. There was a ton of porosity and my arc was very unstable. Crappy beads. But in the end it was welded. We'll see if it lasts. Here is what I did.

1. Cleaned the crack with emory cloth.
2. Cleaned with paper towels and acetone.
3. Welded the crack.
4. smoothed out the bead. (it looked horrible)
5. put on fish plate.
6. smoothed out the bead

It was windy so I know I wasn't getting good protection….i had the flow set at 30…maybe i should have gone higher

I would avoid cleaning with emory cloth. I work at a plant that builds aluminum petroleum tankers. It seems that every time you have to tig over an area that has been sanded, you end up with porosity. I think the grit from the sanding becomes imbedded in the aluminum. In your place I would have cleaned the crack with a carbide burr.

In breezy conditions you can set up a screen to block the wind. Also, you can use aluminum foil taped next to the weld to form a trough to contain the argon. Check out some of Jody's videos. You can learn a lot of tricks to make life easier. Hope this helps.

I use cardboard boxes to build walls around what I'm welding on if I have to weld outside. Cut them up and fit them around whatever you are welding. You can use masking tape to seal them. You must keep the air still around your welds. Sometimes turning up the argon can cause more problems.

Welding boats is usually not going to be pretty. I wish people would bring their boats to me as soon as they crack. Instead they smear epoxy or silicone into the cracks, and then when that fails they want it welded. It would be so much easier to weld if they had the welding done before they smeared all of that crap into the cracks.

That job would give ANYONE fits. The wood in the transom is smoking. I've done many. On the top though, the paint wasn't buzzed far enough back. The coup de grass was the wind. The advise above is sound; stay away from Emery.

wind/draft/breezes/contamination/(bad karma )/horoscope/etc,etc

All are natural enemies of TIG welding. And don't forget luck.

But when it all comes ttttttogether for a great weld--SWEET .

Prep and fit-up, as we all know, makes it easier but sometimes you can't get it all like this fix.

One of the things I learned from Jodies vids is what I call "pump welding". That's where he had a very short stick out and had the amps a bit high and just did one puddle at a time kind of thing.
Hit the peddle, make a puddle, dip in the rod, back off and have a look, if it's good do another, if it's not brush a bit and try again. If it goes good for 5 or 6 pumps stop and move over to another tack or the other end. sooner or later it gets done and usually ends up needing less paint prep and smoking crap from the back side you couldn't get to lol.

This method has saved me much frustration on a "quick repair".

Thanks a million for all the responses.

Here is what I have taken away from this discussion…please let me know if I missed anything..

1. Clean Clean Clean! Do not let any of the paint remain anywhere within 3 or 4 inches of the joint. And clean both sides of the joint. Also, do not clean with emery. Better to clean with a carbide burr or stainless brush. For sure use acetone.

2. Gas coverage….”about welding out in the wind is to do whatever you can to avoid it and if you can't, do whatever you can to block it. Use tarps, foil dams (you can use aluminum foil taped next to the weld to form a trough to contain the argon.), backing or all of the above, anything you can the keep your cover gas where it's needed.
“use cardboard boxes to build walls around what I'm welding on if I have to weld outside. Cut them up and fit them around whatever you are welding. You can use masking tape to seal them. You must keep the air still around your welds.”

3. coup de grass – French coup de grâce, literally, stroke of mercy
\ˌkü-də-ˈgräs\
: an action or event that finally ends or destroys something that has been getting weaker or worse
: a hit or shot that kills a person or animal that is suffering

4. "pump welding". That's where he (Jody) had a very short stick out and had the amps a bit high and just did one puddle at a time kind of thing.
Hit the peddle, make a puddle, dip in the rod, back off and have a look, if it's good do another, if it's not brush a bit and try again. If it goes good for 5 or 6 pumps stop and move over to another tack or the other end. sooner or later it gets done and usually ends up needing less paint prep and smoking crap from the back side you couldn't get to lol.

5. Jody has this article about aluminum props….it fits well with this discussion. http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/wel ... llers.html

6. Jody recommended this article..http://www.rundquist.com/how_welding_props.htm

By George I think he's got it !!


....and just so it doesn't go unsaid; make sure the motor is in the "up" position before backing.

jbtreece wrote:Today I repaired an aluminum john boat and would like for someone to help me fine tune my welding. There was a ton of porosity and my arc was very unstable. Crappy beads. But in the end it was welded. We'll see if it lasts. Here is what I did.

1. Cleaned the crack with emory cloth.
2. Cleaned with paper towels and acetone.
3. Welded the crack.
4. smoothed out the bead. (it looked horrible)
5. put on fish plate.
6. smoothed out the bead

It was windy so I know I wasn't getting good protection….i had the flow set at 30…maybe i should have gone higher

About all I can think that I would have tried is scrubbing the weld area with acetone and a stainless brush to try and make sure all of the oils and contaminants are out, put up a sheet of wood or some plastic as a wind block and sanded off the area where the ground attached. I think Rockmount makes some filler wire that is suppose to be better for maintenance type applications but I have never tried it. If it holds its good, if it doesn't it's just another opportunity to practice.
Jim

Update, the weld broke while he was taking it to a lake. Sigh. If he asks me to do it again, I'd have to tell him that the wood has to come out.

The handle is not the best place to ground because it is held on with rivets that corrode. Try close to the metal that is being welded.