Can We Fix This Aluminum Boat With A Mig Welder?

In this video, my friend Louis shows up with a 50 year old aluminum boat that looks like it got dragged through a gravel field. We try and fix it using my Lincoln MP210 Welder with Aluminum spool gun. This was a fun project and a great learning experience! Always look for opportunities to learn new things and push your skill set!
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[@davepelfrey3958]

Aluminum must be clean. Match up your wire with the repair areas and patches. Don't use a grinding or cutting wheel or a brush that has been used on steel, it will contaminate your welds. If using new aluminum, make sure the shiny top layer is cleaned off and wiped as well. After grinding with a clean wheel, wipe down with acetone throughly and let dry. Aluminum is a finicky metal and must be welded with care.

[@MakeEverything]

Thanks for the tips! We definitely "under prepped" but we learned a lot!

[@jeremyspecce]

Interesting tip about the contamination from previous steel use.

[@shall209]

New stainless wire wheels work great

[@UncleKennysPlace]

Yep. Clean it, then clean it, followed by cleaning. That was my #1 issue when I learned to weld half-a-century ago. Stuff you can skate by with welding steel will burn you on other materials.

[@user-uq7sr9eb7v]

@@UncleKennysPlace as a 4th step to that process, you should also clean it

[@MelancholyRequiem]

Flex Tape is over here like, "Am I a joke to you?!"

[@Bigfoot14000]

Kudos to Louis, took the maiden voyage without a bucket in sight. Brave dude!

[@Anakhasacock]

The best secrets for aluminum, material, match the wire with what your welding, clean it really good,hot and fast.

[@jimmyfavereau]

the gold nugget: experience cant be bought , it has to be lived.. thanks for the vid and God Bless :D

[@johnw4590]

Great video! I used lincoln electric k488 spool gun for years.. i bought a Fronious transteel welder and after dialing in the arc legnth control it welds Aluminum awesome!

[@jparker785]

If you're going to epoxy it, you can also use a filler called, All Metal, over welds. It is a powdered aluminum filler and uses MEKP hardener. It would be perfect for catching any small pinholes. Extremely rugged filler. I use it in place of lead on the classic cars I restore. Great vid! Never stop learning ✌️

[@brianlittleforest631]

FYI for anyone reading this; All metal, metal 2 metal and other metal fillers are fillers and just that. I got a free tool box for my pickup off my buddy's work. Corner welds were all cracked and water was getting in so they were getting rid of all the old toolboxs on the trucks. Dunno who did it but somebody had wiped metal filler all over the cracked welds. It didn't hold up well at all. Actually glad it wasn't JB weld or some other horrid epoxy I've had to clean up on other stuff. I have not come across a brand of metal filler that doesn't have talcum power in it which is porous. Metal filler will not keep the oxide layer from forming on the base aluminium unless it's encapsulated somehow, so it will just fall off. Don't buy a qt of rather precious metal filler for 80$ or whatever it costs now to patch your boat. Just buy a proper patching compound for 30$ if you don't want to shill for a proper weld repair.

[@garymucher4082]

When trying to weld bolt holes in aluminum, use a backer plate of copper, brass or even steel. It will help keep from blow through and allow the hole to fill easier to give you a solid backing. It works very well...

[@DconBlueZ]

Thanks for the video, always enjoy watching!

[@SchysCraftCo.]

What a save. Wow that's crazy awesome. Fab On. Weld On. Keep Making. Don't die. God bless.

[@gregmize01]

Always interesting videos with a great combination of teaching and building!!!!👍👍👍👍

[@65Coasty]

As an ex aluminium boat builder we used mig on all of the hull. The transom was done with tig.

[@jeremyspecce]

Why were the different methods used?

[@robertlawson1184]

@@jeremyspeccetig is better for thinner sheet aluminum is why. Hull is thicker so mig is okay and the hull requires more welds so a spool gun would be much more appreciated and faster

[@VortekXtiik]

⁠@@robertlawson1184a lot of the boats I’ve seen on the west coast of BC are done with GMAW, one boat I worked on was a marine response boat, 1” transom for 3 400 mercs. Haven’t really ever seen TIG welding much on boats when in worked in a shop. Although we didn’t really need it when you have a push-pull system with double pulse.

[@tomim7187]

Thanks for sharing. Never welded aluminum before but, it is on my to-learn list.

[@donnie2533]

Great video glad you posted keep them coming thanks

[@arustydodge2111]

all of those years in all kinds of weather, oxidation from age, and contaminants that get into the aluminum from water, air, and Everything else! You done good CHRIS!

[@meesmetsast462]

I would recommend to use some copper plate behind the weld spot to cool aluminium down.

[@dirtywelder483]

Dude those welds physically hurt my eyes..but real world welds can be like that.

[@MakeEverything]

Believe me, they hurt me too. But the only way to learn is to try!

[@garagemonkeysan]

Nice video. Cool tool. Mahalo for sharing! 🙂🐒

[@jvazquez53]

Just sold one of those 210 MP and upgraded to the 215 MPi. One of the reasons for the upgrade was that machine has a tendency to run on the hot side.

[@michaelplays2449]

Great video, Great Job !!

[@outdoorzone]

Push not pull with spool is the saying! Better gas coverage! Preheat also helps!!

[@dennisthatcher4384]

Just completed a simular repair on an old 16' fishing boat, replaced a rotted transom with extruded aluminum shapes, had all the same problems but learned a grest deal about aluminum and my spool gun. I don't thinId try it again though. Looks like you did just fin. I learned that for me at least, dirty old thin aluminum is not any easier to tig than to weld with a spool gun. mabey I just need a lot more practice (on non critical stuff). My leakey rivits were fixed with a nice blow of a hammer backed up on the inside with a dimpled steel rod.

[@Orlosthedruid]

when mig or tig welding with a lightweight gas like argon, do NOT use a fume extractor or a fan, as it removes the covering gas and causes a lot of issues with the weld puddle. If you are really worried about fumes, get a remote air handler and CAP mask to feed you fresh air without messing with your covering gas.

[@mikev.1034]

Now I’m thinking about getting a spool gun for my machine. 👍🤙🤘

[@MakeEverything]

Im really glad I got the experience I did on this project. Its encouraged me to try more aluminum welding with the spool gun as opposed to always reaching for the tig torch!

[@AMG63]

Ooh boats, i love boats

[@brandonstrickland6444]

Aluminum spool gun welds downhill REALLY good. On that thin of material there's no reason to try uphill. Also, 5051 would be the best material for that

[@josecruz021]

Planning on stripping the bottom liner and paint from a jon boat i bought and wanna work on. I like the idea of the poly sand brushes. You said it doesn't remove aluminum. So could i just sand it all down with them and not worry about damaging the boat?

[@mp-xt2rg]

I agree with everyone else you should have used flex tape.

[@Uncle_Bucks_Forge]

When I bought my Miller 211 I bought a spool gun. The welder is 5 years old and the spool gun is still unused. I really need to put it to use.

[@clydedecker765]

SV Seeker has a couple of tutorial style discussions on how to use a spool gun on aluminum... Can't give you the URLs but you might be able to find them or message him about what settings you needed. Part of it is speed of moving the tip... I'm NO welder. If anyone can give you quick pointers - he can.

[@kurtshinn9498]

I have a cheap mig welder from harbor freight, what setting should I put it on ?

[@JM-cg3ps]

Ever thought of using Alumiweld or Blue Demon aluminum brazing rods for this kind of repair? 🤔❓

[@MakeEverything]

We thought about trying that, but im not sure how well it would do filling gaps, worth a try on another project though!

[@dmusk]

I spool gun mig thin aluminium every day making scalford towers. Hard to say how bad a job you were doing with some of that without seeing that material close up, but it looks pretty weak/thin in spots. Really is easy to burn through thin aluminium if you're not used to it. Couldn't give you exact settings because I'm in the UK and not sure if the machines use the same values in America but turn down the feed speed and/or voltage if your burning through. You're better off starting on a lower setting and having a shitty weld and grinding it off than being too high and burning through. I really wouldn't be welding uphill on stuff that thin either, you'll be perfectly fine going downhill with right settings.

[@dudleycornman1624]

Generally speaking, if you have something made from aluminum like a ladder, boat, etc that has lots of rivets... there's a reason. It is usually an alloy that doesn't weld well if at all. And of course if there are no rivets and there are welds, it should weld just fine.

[@KPWelds]

This isnt True. It’s because rivets are cheaper and or the welds would cause too much distortion. I’ve welded some Jon boats where all the rivets on the bottom of the boat had to be welded. They all welded smooth as butter

[@kurtshinn9498]

Do you have to use Argon gas ??? Can you use just the spool of aluminum.030 from tractor supply?? What will happen if I don’t use gas ?? I appreciate your time ! I’m new to mig welding

[@VortekXtiik]

I would highly recommend using Argon for aluminum welding, there are stick electrodes made by several companies, Arctec is one of them if you opt out on not using gas.

[@harrytselios4228]

Can you weld leaking rivets? Or hit it with the tig without filler?

[@youtubeisfullofspam7068]

Aluminum brazing rods work great for leaking rivets ..or drill out rivet & go with next size up

[@12wingwfetech]

You should check out Jodie Collier you tube channel welding tips and tricks . He has a lot of aluminum welding videos he is the real deal

[@user-ne1ss1xv4o]

Don't you need a ac welder for thin aluminum?

[@stanleyshostak2737]

Your making Phil Swift angry with your welding.

[@trevorstrutt1]

u just welded in full respirator setup whilst your buddie stood there with nothing lol , sorta crazy good friend u are

[@MakeEverything]

He didn’t want to wear his

[@J-Gx]

Love the channel, but you are definitely not a welder :D When welding aluminium you have to prep and clean your material. Use dedicated stainless tools for this. This wil help you a lot.

[@madhounddog04]

A mig welder used only spool guns!

[@littlejackalo5326]

That makes tons of sense. (Sarcastic) LOL

[@bobd.fletcherjr4912]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍🙋‍♂️🙋‍♂️

[@mikeeldridge637]

Dude that is some nasty looking welding. You need lots of practice. You can get a lot of adjustment on a spool gun by adjusting the wire.

[@wurlabyscott]

Aluminum back then really sucked...

[@madhounddog04]

Anyone who knows how to weld can get that boat fixed right.

[@littlejackalo5326]

Thanks for the hot take. Derrrrrp.