As a certified welder and experience in this on a daily bases, if you cannon clean a certain area like you showed here, a blow torch will simply melt any impurities left behind prior to welding. Also assists in stress relieving any frictions that are present prior to welding, basically resets the properties of the alloy and once welded has new defined properties.
Excellent video. Would like to have seen a minute or so of it actually floating, but I really enjoyed watching. You have just enough detail without being boring. Keep 'em coming!
Great comments on what you are doing, when you are doing it, and the reason WHY you are doing it, thus, we learn. Thanks for the great job on your videos!
Thanks for a 'real world' type repair. Since I live around the water aluminum skiffs are often in need of repair. The heavier gauge models are a breeze but the production thin skins are a bit of a challenge. Your video takes that on very well. I will have to give that overhead tig a go, something I try to avoid! Doug
Great job guys, I do alot of dirty tig welding on rusty cars up here in the north east, my go device for cleaning is a wire wheel on a angle grinder. it will remove the oxides but not take away material. You did a great job filling those holes better than I would have done.
my father was a master welder. he used always used oxy acetelen to weld aluminum fishing boats. as his helper he always told me the aluminum has to be so clean you could eat off of it. people tend to use gum, silicon to fix the leaks and has to be removed. number 2 tip was used on the torch. not many people could do this.
A good lesson on how important it is for you to know what chemicals/elements your are using to do the repair. I would not have not thought about the argon issue. I don't do much welding (no TIG), but will be good to remember if I do start doing that.
Hey Cool Videos. I Have to thank you for the video of fixing dales cast alum part. I Was welding a cast alum bearing housing it was getting ugler by the min. Then I saw process u did with that weld and grind so you have good metal. took some time got it welded And machined back to size bearing. Thanks again keep up the great videos, Chris deon.
Man that was awesome I got it couple little crack leaks in my Jon Boat so I wanted to look up and see how it's done and if I can find somebody but I also like the fact of the sign wash balls here LOL
Great job only thing I was wondering is to drill a hole at the very ends of the crack to keep it from opening up again I have seen lots of professional welders do that what are your thoughts on that?
Thanks for the video. I duck hunt and boat damage is inevitable. While I'll never weld my own boat,now I can at least have a better conversation with my welding shop the next time I tear up my flat-bottom.
Why do the weld craters happen after finishing a straight section? We paid a guy to weld our keel on our bass boat and we found a ton of leaks from these craters. Is there a way to prevent these craters?
Wish I had seen this video a few years ago... I ended up using some Hobart aluminum brazing rod because I sucked at TIG welding at the time... Hope all is well and thanks for sharing! Tom Z
I kept waiting for you to drill holes and either side of the beginning of the weld but you never did that. Did you think that it might be necessary to prevent anything from continuing a crack?
Yes they can, that's how they build the boats, but takes a lot of patience to get the gun dialed in correctly. When I MIG aluminum I prefer to use a push/pull gun on pulse mode. The trouble with that is that is a pretty expensive setup, not in the budget of many small shops or the home hobby guy.
Acetone has a very high vapor pressure, so it won't take very long, even in cooler temps. Probably just a minute or so. There is no reason to weld both sides if the first side is done correctly, other that appearance. The side that has the copper plate will not have a very nice apperance.
I had 4043 in the shop. It's an hour each way to the weld supply, so 4043 was gonna have to do. I agree 5183 is better for marine applications. Thanks for the input.
yes, thin aluminum does not take much heat to completely melt away so you dont need a super heavy duty welder for it. just make sure you got an AC/DC tig, as you need AC output for welding aluminum. most cheap tigs are DC only.
Typically balance is spoken about in reference to electrode negative, the penetrating side of the AC sign wave. So when you say I'm 75% unbalanced, you are referring to spending 75% of the time on the negative, or penetrating side if the sign wave. Another way to look at it would be 75% welding, 25% cleaning.
@@DoRiteFabrication hey mate, doing the same job on my boat here in australia. brand new to tig welding, 3 days experience but learning fast. Have just bought the unimig 200 acdc inverter tig. when setting the balance % it settings shows from -10 0 +10 0 being even balance so with the electrode running out of the negative port as you do for tig welding, to match your 75% welding and 25 Cleaning would i run this settings at -7.5 ? cheers mate.
Why did you decide not to grind the high spots to blend the metal with the rest of the boat? You’re very knowledgeable, I figure you did it for a reason but you never said, and it looks less complete.
Good video and I appreciate your comments about the hazards of welding. Can you please turn down the volume of the background music? I can barely hear what you are saying, sorry, just saying, Thanks!
Why didn't you drill the ends of the crack? I build and repair aluminum boats for a living and run into this on occasion and I always drill the ends, Tig welded or not. Also, since you didn't grind the weld on the inside of the boat, and just welded over it, paint and all, you can't guarantee there aren't pinholes from the impurities, risking further cracking. Also, your point of argon being heavier than air makes sense, but even with the 2-3 passes on the inside, you'd never have enough argon to displace enough air to be unsafe, even if you're running at 20-30 cfh.
You need to grind out & fill the "fish eye" you left at the end of your pass or you risk running a crack right thru the weld. (No doubt its already been mentioned many times).
wow, good stuff! The idea of welding aluminum scares me a bit less now, but I have to ask: would you have been ok using mig and a spool gun rather than TIG?
A jon boat is very common in many parts of the US. It is a lightweight flat bottom boat that is great for fishing in shallow waters. It is usually lightweight enough, where one or two people can carry it. A small outboard moves the boat at a good pace because of it being so light. Duck hunters love them. The customary color is olive drab green. I have to be in a hurry, I have so much to do, and only approx. 40 years left to get it done...lol
Great point with the argon. I often see people using carbon dioxide and dry ice carelessly because due to their ignorance they fail to realize the danger i.e. death. Due to the way they have been portrayed by Hollywood most people think the flame throwers function is to burn up or set things on fire, which they have been used for on some occasions, but they were actually developed during the war as a quick and efficient way to take out the Japanese that were held up in bunkers and caves. One shot and the flames would immediately deplete or consume all of the oxygen and the soldiers inside the would quickly suffocate due to their lungs being filled with Carbon dioxide. Peace!
The Henrob is an oxyacetylene based torch where as Browns gas is the byproduct of water electrolysis i.e. OH + H. The interesting thing about it is that it can cut much like plasma, but the metal and torch remain cool to the toucjh aas well as other interesting traits.
Some aluminum alloys are not weldable. If the boat doesn't contain any welds from the factory, it could be an "unweldable" alloy, making the aluminum crack prone, difficult to weld.
Mightiflier would brazing be the way to go on a riveted boat I have a hole up high in the front maybe close to water line, not sure I haven't put it in the water yet. The hole is about the size of a pencil?
The marina will be your best bet for advice. An expert welder familiar with marine welds should be able to close it for you. It is difficult to weld, but not impossible. They may suggest a rivet patch. I wish you good luck and great adventures with your boat!
Well I have actually have done it my self, I wouldn't say that it is easy, but due to the very low temperature under the correct conditions the possibility of burning thru is way less.. "Hey I'm not trying to insult you it was just a comment"
OK.. I guess that the reality is that one make things work with what one have..and at the time while I was working on fabrication the only thing I have to work with was a humble Profax Spool welding gun.. and that was what I manage to get things done with..
safety note. had a friend and Co worker die from accidently breathing argon in his fresh air supplied respirator while painting. the argon line was mistakenly switched. we assertained that it took less than 30 seconds for him to succumb and asphyxiate. so be careful when breathing close to an argon gas source.
@@fakiirification I worked in and retired from the paint department at a major truck manufacturing plant. That year, the company put in an additional paint booth. We used fresh air supplied respirators. Most of that part of the plant had plug in argon ports everywhere so you just had to roll the welders around without the heavy bottles. The contractor that installed the booth tied into the argon lines instead of the fresh air lines. The plumbing tie in was above the booth. The plant engineer didn’t catch the mistake and certified the booth. He never knew that he wasn’t breathing fresh air. He passed out from lack of oxygen and lay on the floor breathing in the argon until he died. We did CPR on him until paramedics got there but he was gone.
@@fakiirification the real tragedy was that he had a 2 year old son and his wife was pregnant with their second. And to top it off, my so called honorable company refused to accept blame and held up his survivors benefits. It took her filing a lawsuit and it still took several years to resolve. I’m a UAW member and my union fought for years to get the company to do the right thing.
4:23 video begins. Dirty crack like this, just cut it with a cutting wheel. Run a cut right up there, clean it all out, weld it back up. Faster, stronger, better in every way. These guys are amateurs.
As a certified welder and experience in this on a daily bases, if you cannon clean a certain area like you showed here, a blow torch will simply melt any impurities left behind prior to welding. Also assists in stress relieving any frictions that are present prior to welding, basically resets the properties of the alloy and once welded has new defined properties.
Great to see neighbors helping each other.
Wow, awesome repair! Boat saved from the graveyard!
Excellent video. Would like to have seen a minute or so of it actually floating, but I really enjoyed watching. You have just enough detail without being boring. Keep 'em coming!
I really liked this video. I'd like to try some aluminum repair with my everlast.
Great comments on what you are doing, when you are doing it, and the reason WHY you are doing it, thus, we learn.
Thanks for the great job on your videos!
Thank you for the positive comments.
Always enjoy your videos. Great lighting, thorough explanations, clean shop, and a very calming nature and voice. Keep up the great work good sir!
Good tip about the copper bars.
Cool. Nice to help those who paid it forward. Well Done.
Nice aluminum/boat repair. I've done a few of them as well and they are not the job of choice. Great job.
Mike.
Thanks.
Very well and professionally presented! Straight to the point and excellent camera work. High five and thumbs up!
ACLTony thanks for watching and be sure to check out some of my other videos.
Thanks for a 'real world' type repair. Since I live around the water aluminum skiffs are often in need of repair. The heavier gauge models are a breeze but the production thin skins are a bit of a challenge. Your video takes that on very well. I will have to give that overhead tig a go, something I try to avoid! Doug
Great job guys,
I do alot of dirty tig welding on rusty cars up here in the north east, my go device for cleaning is a wire wheel on a angle grinder. it will remove the oxides but not take away material.
You did a great job filling those holes better than I would have done.
Wow that's awesome now if I can be that looking fix my boat
Great save on the boat.
my father was a master welder. he used always used oxy acetelen to weld aluminum fishing boats. as his helper he always told me the aluminum has to be so clean you could eat off of it. people tend to use gum, silicon to fix the leaks and has to be removed. number 2 tip was used on the torch. not many people could do this.
That was REALLY GOOD.
Love the copper bars and their purpose, explanation between Brazing and welding is much needed. But awesome tutorial
Very very nice work. I like it!!
Really nice job! I repaired a few pontoon holes and know how tough these repairs can be
Nice job. I away learn something from videos.
Instablaster
I've been welding for years, yet I just learned something new. Using the copper block is genius. Thank you. You are very knowledgeable.
You can also use stainless steel as a backer for aluminum
A good lesson on how important it is for you to know what chemicals/elements your are using to do the repair. I would not have not thought about the argon issue. I don't do much welding (no TIG), but will be good to remember if I do start doing that.
You've got some excellent tips here and I will be remembering each one when I weld with my powertig. Thank you.
Hey Cool Videos. I Have to thank you for the video of fixing dales cast alum part. I Was welding a cast alum bearing housing it was getting ugler by the min. Then I saw process u did with that weld and grind so you have good metal. took some time got it welded And machined back to size bearing. Thanks again keep up the great videos, Chris deon.
Glad it helped you. Check out my other video on welding up the cast aluminum motorcycle hub.
Perfect timing I have to try to repair a couple of canoes. Thanks for the tips.
let me know if you have any questions along the way.
nice welding tips I love the video's
Thank you!
Thx, very helpful. How thick was the aluminum?
Great video and fairly informative. Make sure you're wearing an appropriate glove in a well ventilated area when working with acetone.
Man that was awesome I got it couple little crack leaks in my Jon Boat so I wanted to look up and see how it's done and if I can find somebody but I also like the fact of the sign wash balls here LOL
Great job only thing I was wondering is to drill a hole at the very ends of the crack to keep it from opening up again I have seen lots of professional welders do that what are your thoughts on that?
Thanks for the video. I duck hunt and boat damage is inevitable. While I'll never weld my own boat,now I can at least have a better conversation with my welding shop the next time I tear up my flat-bottom.
Like you said it is inevitable.
You did great
thanks you
Enjoyed
good video ,you rock, nice welding job .keep it up...
good job
Very informative!
Very nice video. Subbed!
thanks for the info
Enjoyed , Good fix man .. Catch Walter the cat fish guys !
Why do the weld craters happen after finishing a straight section? We paid a guy to weld our keel on our bass boat and we found a ton of leaks from these craters. Is there a way to prevent these craters?
NICE JOB!
Wish I had seen this video a few years ago... I ended up using some Hobart aluminum brazing rod because I sucked at TIG welding at the time...
Hope all is well and thanks for sharing!
Tom Z
Now all you need to do is give your old buddy Jim a call.........
DoRite Fabrication I'm overdue for that either way! :)
How do you tig aluminum overhead without excessive droop
Control the heat very closely. Use chill bars if necessary.
I use chill bars as much as possible welding aluminum. Thick slab of copper or stainless is your best friend.
I kept waiting for you to drill holes and either side of the beginning of the weld but you never did that. Did you think that it might be necessary to prevent anything from continuing a crack?
no, I used copper backer bars to assure complete penetration. Stop drilling works good, but we essentially did the same thing but with the TIG torch.
l like that weld Thanks Don M
Thank you!
To check if you have leaks, run water in the boat, if it leaks out, fix and repeat.
Could you braze this crack together instead? I don't own a TIG welder and have a similar problem
how much does a weld job like this usually cost?
Would Stainless backer work as well. Would like to attempt a similar repair. But i dont have brass. Just some SS angle pcs.
Thanks. Can a wire spool/mug unit be used? I've heard pros and cons about spool guns. Both for aluminum and steel.
Yes they can, that's how they build the boats, but takes a lot of patience to get the gun dialed in correctly. When I MIG aluminum I prefer to use a push/pull gun on pulse mode. The trouble with that is that is a pretty expensive setup, not in the budget of many small shops or the home hobby guy.
ww_big_al
have you ever welded a lower unit on a outboard motor hairline crack on the outside with the gears still in?
Thanks
Yes I have, a bit tricky, but doable.
Thanks!
keeping it cool is the key!
Thanks, I'll just take it apart! easier said then done!
What did you do paint wise? Got a boat with the same problem, only they tried to fix it with caulk.
Haven't addressed that yet.
Rust-Oleum ??!!
How many amps did you have the Machine set to? Did you just go full pedal almost or half?
How long do you have to wait after you wipe acetone on? And did you weld both sides of the holes? Or just one? Thanks in advance!
Acetone has a very high vapor pressure, so it won't take very long, even in cooler temps. Probably just a minute or so. There is no reason to weld both sides if the first side is done correctly, other that appearance. The side that has the copper plate will not have a very nice apperance.
if you can get them best to weld boats with er5183 as they are stronger and more corrosion resistant. but 4043 will do the job.
I had 4043 in the shop. It's an hour each way to the weld supply, so 4043 was gonna have to do. I agree 5183 is better for marine applications. Thanks for the input.
Whats a good 110 volt tig aluminum welder for doing the job on that boat you fixed thanks or can a 110 volt welder do that job?
yes, thin aluminum does not take much heat to completely melt away so you dont need a super heavy duty welder for it. just make sure you got an AC/DC tig, as you need AC output for welding aluminum. most cheap tigs are DC only.
Went to subscribed , found out I have already subscribed
When you say 75% balance. Is that on the penetraition or cleaning side of the balance? I run an old tig machine and doesn't have a balance option.
Typically balance is spoken about in reference to electrode negative, the penetrating side of the AC sign wave. So when you say I'm 75% unbalanced, you are referring to spending 75% of the time on the negative, or penetrating side if the sign wave. Another way to look at it would be 75% welding, 25% cleaning.
+DoRite Fabrication thank you sir keep up the good work
+DoRite Fabrication thank you sir keep up the good work
@@DoRiteFabrication hey mate, doing the same job on my boat here in australia. brand new to tig welding, 3 days experience but learning fast. Have just bought the unimig 200 acdc inverter tig. when setting the balance % it settings shows from -10 0 +10 0 being even balance so with the electrode running out of the negative port as you do for tig welding, to match your 75% welding and 25 Cleaning would i run this settings at -7.5 ? cheers mate.
Why did you decide not to grind the high spots to blend the metal with the rest of the boat? You’re very knowledgeable, I figure you did it for a reason but you never said, and it looks less complete.
Good video and I appreciate your comments about the hazards of welding. Can you please turn down the volume of the background music? I can barely hear what you are saying, sorry, just saying, Thanks!
..Yeah, I was going to mention that....I'm wearing hearing aids...so any background music/noise is greatly amplified and annoying....
I will try to make adjustments.....Finding the sweet spot so the audio is good for everyone is proving to be difficult. I will keep at it.....
Thank you!
Why didn't you drill the ends of the crack? I build and repair aluminum boats for a living and run into this on occasion and I always drill the ends, Tig welded or not. Also, since you didn't grind the weld on the inside of the boat, and just welded over it, paint and all, you can't guarantee there aren't pinholes from the impurities, risking further cracking. Also, your point of argon being heavier than air makes sense, but even with the 2-3 passes on the inside, you'd never have enough argon to displace enough air to be unsafe, even if you're running at 20-30 cfh.
You need to grind out & fill the "fish eye" you left at the end of your pass or you risk running a crack right thru the weld. (No doubt its already been mentioned many times).
Well I guess since this video is up it must have floated. :-)
blub blub...
Is it easier to catch the fish when they are at eye level? lol
Yep, especially with a spear gun!
DoRite Fabrication
Would love to see a video on the harpoon build. :-)
Jeez Brian, I'm catching Catfish, not Moby Dick! LOL
wow, good stuff! The idea of welding aluminum scares me a bit less now, but I have to ask: would you have been ok using mig and a spool gun rather than TIG?
You cannot control the heat as closely in MIG. It can be done, that's how they built the boat, I prefer TIG for the repairs.
why 4043???? i use 5356
5356 is much more resistant to corrosion and is the better choice for below water line.
Hi mate. Nice repair, but what is a Jon boat? It looks ex-army if I look at the colour. I like the videos, but why are you always in such a hurry?
A jon boat is very common in many parts of the US. It is a lightweight flat bottom boat that is great for fishing in shallow waters. It is usually lightweight enough, where one or two people can carry it. A small outboard moves the boat at a good pace because of it being so light. Duck hunters love them. The customary color is olive drab green. I have to be in a hurry, I have so much to do, and only approx. 40 years left to get it done...lol
Thanks mate. You better get cracking than, 40 years ain't that much.
Mark Jacobs Thanks mate, Now I know.
Marcel Timmers You aren't kidding.
Concerned about argon gas suffocation, but then welds without a glove on...
👌🥇
Cant find anyone to weld an aluminum boat. Everyone says they don’t mess with boats because it helps them sleep at night. What crap welders!?
If you are scared, say your scared....
Great point with the argon. I often see people using carbon dioxide and dry ice carelessly because due to their ignorance they fail to realize the danger i.e. death. Due to the way they have been portrayed by Hollywood most people think the flame throwers function is to burn up or set things on fire, which they have been used for on some occasions, but they were actually developed during the war as a quick and efficient way to take out the Japanese that were held up in bunkers and caves. One shot and the flames would immediately deplete or consume all of the oxygen and the soldiers inside the would quickly suffocate due to their lungs being filled with Carbon dioxide.
Peace!
I like flame throwers. Don't judge. lol
Who was judging? Just curious here, but have you ever trie a Browns Gas torch?
No, but I have used a Henrob gas torch. oxy/fuel for welding aluminum. Possibly the same thing under a different name......
The Henrob is an oxyacetylene based torch where as Browns gas is the byproduct of water electrolysis i.e. OH + H. The interesting thing about it is that it can cut much like plasma, but the metal and torch remain cool to the toucjh aas well as other interesting traits.
Yep, and the hydrogen burns clean....
Some aluminum alloys are not weldable. If the boat doesn't contain any welds from the factory, it could be an "unweldable" alloy, making the aluminum crack prone, difficult to weld.
Mightiflier would brazing be the way to go on a riveted boat I have a hole up high in the front maybe close to water line, not sure I haven't put it in the water yet. The hole is about the size of a pencil?
Mightiflier any suggestions? Before I head up to the marina for advice?
The marina will be your best bet for advice. An expert welder familiar with marine welds should be able to close it for you. It is difficult to weld, but not impossible. They may suggest a rivet patch. I wish you good luck and great adventures with your boat!
Mightiflier thank-you for your reply
Kind of disappointed that he didn't use a mig spool gun!!
Why in the hell would I do that?
Well I have actually have done it my self, I wouldn't say that it is easy, but due to the very low temperature under the correct conditions the possibility of burning thru is way less.. "Hey I'm not trying to insult you it was just a comment"
I didn't take it that way...I am not a fan of the spool gun! A push pull gun on the other hand.....
OK.. I guess that the reality is that one make things work with what one have..and at the time while I was working on fabrication the only thing I have to work with was a humble Profax Spool welding gun.. and that was what I manage to get things done with..
You gotta work with what you got. Back up your weld with a copper bar or plate. It will help with burn thru.
..Aluminum...can't be too clean....decent repair here if it doesn't leak....
safety note. had a friend and Co worker die from accidently breathing argon in his fresh air supplied respirator while painting. the argon line was mistakenly switched. we assertained that it took less than 30 seconds for him to succumb and asphyxiate. so be careful when breathing close to an argon gas source.
wow. how does a line get switched? i thought fresh air tank fittings were completely different to prevent this sort of thing?
@@fakiirification I worked in and retired from the paint department at a major truck manufacturing plant. That year, the company put in an additional paint booth. We used fresh air supplied respirators. Most of that part of the plant had plug in argon ports everywhere so you just had to roll the welders around without the heavy bottles. The contractor that installed the booth tied into the argon lines instead of the fresh air lines. The plumbing tie in was above the booth. The plant engineer didn’t catch the mistake and certified the booth. He never knew that he wasn’t breathing fresh air. He passed out from lack of oxygen and lay on the floor breathing in the argon until he died. We did CPR on him until paramedics got there but he was gone.
@@johnnelson8956 wow. What a tragic mistake. Would hate to be in management trying to explain that one. RiP paint man.
@@fakiirification the real tragedy was that he had a 2 year old son and his wife was pregnant with their second. And to top it off, my so called honorable company refused to accept blame and held up his survivors benefits. It took her filing a lawsuit and it still took several years to resolve. I’m a UAW member and my union fought for years to get the company to do the right thing.
4:23 video begins.
Dirty crack like this, just cut it with a cutting wheel. Run a cut right up there, clean it all out, weld it back up. Faster, stronger, better in every way. These guys are amateurs.
Ummmm, from the guy who just said use a cut off wheel on aluminium, and you call me an amateur....really?
But why the hat inside?
Project not projict
Remedy not remdy
Hull not hole
Probably not probly
Too much talking, not enough welding. Could have grind out the crack and fill it, or at least bevel the crack. Overall fine if it floats.