Tuna Tower welding

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Has anyone had any experience in welding together aluminum tuna towers? My step son just brought home to me some aluminum tubing that they use in the production of these towers. He's trying to get a job there so they gave him some of their drop. They told him it was like no other aluminum he had welded, which actually is any type of aluminum. I know how to tig aluminum, little rusty but not too bad. So we started on some 2" x 1/4" bar with some 1/8" 5356 rod so he could see the difference between alum and steel tig. Then I tried to run a bead on the material he brought home, and wow I could'nt get it to flow worth a D***. They said it was anodized and you had to burn it off. I'll play with it later, but obviously there is a trick I'm unaware of.
Reply:I have no experience - but do recall reading a recent post that touched on several details of welding various alloys of aluminum and dealing with anodization.  I suggest you might try using the search function to discover and read those past posts on 'aluminum'.Rick V
Reply:Tuna towers are anodized.  The material will weld like normal aluminum if you clean off the anodizing.  But, most manufacturers prefer not to clean the anodizing off because they don't re-anodize after welding.  Better get yourself a nice square wave TIG if you're going to be working this kind of material.
Reply:Given that anodizing is a layer of aluminum oxide, I don't understand how you could weld without removing it.I mean wouldn't that cause the aluminum to melt unevenly?
Reply:Just in the last couple weeks there has been a ton of discussion on the subject of welding through anodizing.  I was surprised to learn that it is done on a regular basis, and quite successfully.  Search back a week or so and you should find the thread.
Reply:http://www.weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=7237Here is the thread.Campbell Hausfeld Fluxcore 80Thermal Arc 185Millermatic 250JD Squared model 32 bender
Reply:Thanks for the info. It seems that 4043 runs better than the 5356. Does that sound right? My 4043 is 3/32", and the 5356 I have is 1/8". I have a new syncrowave 250 DX, so I turned the AC balance for more cleaning action seemed to run alot better. But it is still, in my opinion a nasty material to weld, not very cooperative.
Reply:5356 is preferred alloy for anodized materials.
Reply:Grab yourself a can of easy off oven cleaner! i know its not the answer to the anodizing problem  but it will allow him to get the hang of welding the tubes before he has to fight the coating.Take some sections OUTSIDE!! spray em down good with the foamy kind oven spray(avoiding the fumes) come back a few mins later spray em again then 5-10 mins later hose em off...wash em with soap and water...then rinse em with acetone.....anodizing has now left the building!Enjoy but be dang careful about the fumes and be sure to wash all the crap off of em firstBY the way if ya let em sit to long in the oven cleaner the tubes will get a black finish on em,Try to avoid this stuff<It will come off with some scotchbrite and acetone but its a pain.I had 10 of those nice red and blue AN fittings that i had to strip then polish for a bike i was building at work and normaly its cheaper to do it this way then buy the pre polished ones...needless to say i soaked em and got tied up on something else 2hrs or so later came back and found a bunch of pitch black fittings that took me an hr just before i could get near the buffing wheel!Last edited by ridgerunner; 11-17-2006 at 02:07 PM.
Reply:5356 has long been the preferred thing for anodized aluminum...but I think its because 4043 wont anodize.  If you're not anodizing after welding, why not use 4043?At work, we do wakeboard towers...which are made in the same manner as the tuna towers.  Its not hard to do when you get the hang of it.  He should have asked if he could go in and watch one of the guys weld it...if only for 5 minutes.  He'd learn more in that 5 minutes than he will at home for weeks.Oh...and you should get an argon/helium mixed gas.
Reply:hi all, a lil recap for the fellas that want to build towers. we use a pure or/zirtung argon or argon helium mix. airgas has a mix called alumamix. 5356 filler. we have syncro 250 s i recently purchased a thermal arc 185 to mate up with our mobile trailblazer 302. i use the 185 in the shop all the time. watercooled. i ordered the ta 300 . i swear by these machines. also make a first pass. make a second after cooling a lil. you will actually watch the anodizing push off and a clean hwy of aluminum follow. a bump switch is a given ...hope this helps...i am trying to coach a fellow in hawaii that wants to build tops.....hope this helps. visit www.nbssportfishing.com and my www.arctekmarine.com for welding info and pics.........happy holidays.......jim   Last edited by arc-tek marine; 11-23-2006 at 01:14 PM.www.arctekmarine.com