Alloy Boat Welding Pics

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Hey guy's, just after your thoughts and opinions on my welding.StuartAustralia Attached Images
Reply:well it looks like you MIG welded it ,and i think you should have practice more on some scrap before you welded your boat looks like you ran a bead then readjusted then tryed again ,it's a nice try but i think you can do better given some time.im not trying to knock you or your welding but you askedChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:the last pic dont look so bad..but more seat time is in order...have fun and keep practicing!...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:looks good for a begginer, like chopper5 said it needs practice. Practice makes perfect
Reply:Looks good Stuart by the time your finished you will be welding better.It looks like it will be a fair sized boat when you are finished.SimonLabel EverythingMetal Fabrication - Welding Repairs - Wrought Iron - Sign Writing - Custom Decals.
Reply:As pointed out you really need some practice to at least get dailed in for for what you are welding. You also need to get away from having so many starts and stops.... these could prove to be where the penatration will be least effective.What are the parameters your machine is set at? as well as the series of base metal along with the size and series of the filler metal.Will you have a way to pressure this when you are finished?_________________Chris
Reply:It looks like you're not getting very good shielding gas coverage.  MIG welding outside can be difficult because of the wind.
Reply:Thanks for the replies guys. I don't care if your replies are to the bone, I prefer that than sugar coated answers. If I'm not told I cant learn, simple as that. I will have to take some pics of my MIG welder because the settings don't actually have number read out. It has course and fine settings. I didn't weld inside or any of the structural stuff, I got a boiler maker Friend of mine to do it. I have then welded the seems on the out side of the boat. I haven't been welding for that long as you can already tell, I do love it and try dam hard to get a good weld but its hard when you don't have experienced people beside you to give a swift slap to the back of the head when I start heading astray. Would it be safe to say that a continuas weld of around 500mm would be better than stop and start every 250mm on alloy. StuartAustralia
Reply:Here is a side profile. Attached Images
Reply:I just realized that the welder photo didn't turn out as well as I hoped. I will take a much closer photo so you can clearly see the settings and maybe guide me down the right path. Thanks very much for the help so far guys.StuartAustralia
Reply:Originally Posted by StuartWould it be safe to say that a continues weld of around 500mm would be better than stop and start every 250mm on alloy. StuartAustralia
Reply:Stuart,I'd shoot that bird that's roosting over the boat!  Now seriously, looks a bit rough, could have used some more off-the-boat practice, but given you're obvious enthusiasm the next boat will be a masterpiece!That's a very ambitious project, very cool.Good luck Captain, thanks for sharing the photos.Always have a safety floatation device (life jacket).
Reply:Meh, you should see the welds that go into professionally built aluminum boats...  Many of them are cracked within a few years, but there are enough welds elsewhere that it doesn't cause problems.
Reply:At least it will just be static water pressure.... what's that about 5 or 7 lbs per sq inch for the ocean..... anyway if it starts to leak just pull the drain at the transom while your cruzing along .... don't forget   to put it back before throttling down _________________Chris
Reply:Its safe to say I have heard all the bird Sh!T jokes from my mates. I have used a hammer to see if I'm getting good penetration "not on the boat". The alloy bends above the weld and not at the weld. The alloy I used was 4mm onto 4mm. I kept hitting it in both directions until the alloy broke above the weld itself. Is this a good indication of good penetration?.StuartAustralia
Reply:the longer you can make your welds with out a restart the better Stuart is that a UNI MIG 270 ?I use a UNI MIG 250 at were I do after hours work on ally it works great but doen't like alot of wirefeed takes a little figgin about to find the sweet spot get some scrap and play around with your wire feed speeds and knock the 2nd swtich up a click see how that goes the setting's look like 3/3 think you need a little more Last edited by wello; 01-03-2007 at 02:35 AM.Creative metal Creative metal Facebook
Reply:WelloThanks mate, Yes its a UniMig 270. It has proved to be good so far but as you said the wire feed is a bit of a pain. I will have the MIG set up one day and the next I seem to have to dial it back in again. Whats your thoughts on the settings I have so far for the 4mm plate that I'm welding "trying" to weld. It helps so much when some one has the same MIG.Stu