Trying to do the welding with arc rods is going to turn the boat into a submarine.

 

Boats are not supposed to be submersible…. except for the Titanic

 

Mig will weld better on dirty aluminum than a tig. the tig is nicer for the thin stuff unless your still young and fast then pull the triger on the feeder and go like hell.
You have got to have a good self darkening helmet for alum. with a new, clean sheild. you have to weld fast and to do that you have to see where your going. I'm sure you have seen the patern on most alum. beads. You do this by pausing while welding and knowing when to move on. Like stated earlier, it don't turn red so it will take some scrap and practice.
Don't waist your money and boat on trying to stick weld it together.
Also, you shouldn't breath the smoke, but I don't rember why?

 

It's been suggested that inhaling the smoke while welding aluminum can cause Alzheimer's. That makes you forgetful...

Cheers,
Eric

 

how bad is the normal fumes from welding steel? The only thing I notice is that its harder to breathe for a day or two

 

You don't want to breath in the fumes from any welding. It's been linked to a whole range of diseases. Don't bother with AC.. the manufacturers specifically state DC. That is of course if you want it to hold.

 

its not the metal itself its the gasses it gives off from the sheilding stuff. except for galvanized metal, theres somethin they use to galv. it that isnt good for you

 

That is why I like tig. No smoke, you can weld in your sunday clothes.

 

I agree with mike on that one. You can run a TIG and get married all on the same day.

However, in most cases, it IS the metal that gives off toxins when you raise it's temp above it's boiling point. Mild steel and carbon steel give off Manganese, which can cause Parkinson's disease over time if you weld in a closed space.

Galvanized metal releases Zinc into the air, which causes 'Metal fume fever'. Feels like the flu, and goes away in a few hours. too much exposure, and your dead.

Stainless steel is the worst however, it releases all kinds of bad things, mainly nickel and chromium. Nickel can cause asthma. Chromium can cause serious sinus problems and holes between the nostils. Nickel and chromium together can cause many different kinds of cancer.

As far as gases go, the welding arc itself makes ozone and nitrogen oxides from the air. MIG and TIG make the most ozone when aluminum is welded. Ozone can irritate the eye's, ear's, nose, throat, and permanently damage the lungs, and some nitrogen oxides can cause fluid in the lungs.

In other words, don't weld in your closed up garage unless it's big enough, or there's a good exhaust fan going. Or, just weld outside.

ON EDIT: Early up in this thread, I see people talking about those miracle rods that you weld with a propane torch. This isn't actually welding anything. Those rods are made up of usually 80% Zinc, and 15%copper, and some other garbage that got into the mix. Zinc has a very low viscosity when in a fluid state, not to mention a melting point of only a few hundred degrees. It's low viscosity allows it to flow over the surface and adhere with the tiny pores in the surface of the metal. The parent metal does not actually melt, or liquify in the case, so those rods are just sticking to the surface. It probably won't hold up well below the water line on an aluminum hulled boat, but it may be worth a try anyway, before a more expensive welding procedure is used. The last time I saw one of those guys at a swap meet, I asked him why a pound of his rods cost 45.00 considering the cost of zinc was only a few cents per pound. Also why he was saying it's welding when it isn't welding anything. In effect, it isn't even soldering, because it doesn't tin the surface, it only sticks to the surface like bubble gum. He wasn't too happy with me after that conversation.

 

Haha......I bet he wasn't.

 

good info freight. A good friend of mine welded alum boats for a couple of years and after a long day he would go home with bags under his eyes so bad he could barely see.

 

The posts about the fumes being dangerous are very true. If you've had problems breathing after welding, you definitely need better ventilation. You likely have gotten some PERMANENT damage already. Whether it's enough to notice or not is in question, but you should NEVER feel bad after welding. Get a fan and put it at your back, have good ventilation, and in the event you have to weld in a position that smoke comes into your hood, only do it for short lengths of time that you can hold your breath.

A few things I read that I must state my thoughs on:
Stick welding it is even more than dicy, it's going to be frustrating, look horrible, cause much warpage, and likely leak in the end. TIG is very much more possible than stick. I would NEVER attempt to weld this up with a stick rod.

It goes from the color we all know as aluminum to a mirror-like finish when it melts. On thin material, you have to increase heat slowly since it does make this change all of a sudden.


TIG does give off smoke, and even fumes that cannot be seen. Smoke is not nearly as bad as stick and mig welding, but ther is still smoke there. Some metals that contain a larger copper content can put out an odor that can be smelled on skin and clothes.

Seems that Freight Train is pretty knowledgable on the fumes and stuff...makes me wonder a bit about the backgound for this knowledge

Stickwelding on that boat will just blow a hole. It won't leave anything to file off.
If you try this bubblegum zinc rod stuff, it's very possible that it will be very hard to get off if it fails, and then make it nearly impossible to weld correctly.

The comments about using 5/32" or 1/8" rod are just absolutely insane. Sorry, dude but you must have never tried something like this because there is no possible way you can make it work on thin material like a boat hull.

Even with a stainless brush, too much brushing, or using a motor driven device to brush with can contaminate the aluminum. I find that scotchbrite wheels work best.
No offense dude, but this is far from the truth. I have NEVER owned an auto-darkening hood. And if your heat is right, you don't have to move fast.

I agree 100%, and I didn't start welding yesterday. In fact, I don't think aluminum would make a good submarine....especially in saltwater

 

I agree with engloid, I have been welding in the marine industry for 24 yrs. If your not familiar with alum. welding don't attempt to fix your boat. Welding is "what your used to". I hear all the time "Alum. is hard to weld" ....not if you do it everyday. To me stick welding boiler pipe is hard because I don't do it everyday. You need to use a good machine or else trying to weld aluminum will be frustrating at best.

 

Engloid, you should try a good auto helmet. Technology can be a good thing.
With a tig you can controll your heat as you weld and the piece heats up.
With mig you can't so you must weld fast as the thin material gets hot.

 

I've used the best auto darkening helmets available, but it was always at places that provided them for me. I like the Esab and Autorama hoods the best for auto darkening. Personally, I'd rather use a $30 Jackson hood and not have to worry about damaging a $200-300 hood, or having it stolen.

I think they're more beneficial for beginners really. After doing enough welding, you don't move anything bt your head to get the hood down anyway. As a beginner, you nod your head and both your hands move and then you start your arc in places you didn't intend to.

It's all in the hands, not in the hood I weld 2-3 times as fast as the other guys I work with, and that's including the guys with auto darkening hoods. I just don't see it as a necessity, so I keep my money in my pocket.

I agree with 66fdTrucknut above. Alminum really isn't any hearder than any other material. It's all metal. I used to be scared of different alloys, but I've now learned that they're all very similar. It's not like the difference in spanish and english. It's more like the difference in a southern accent and a northern. They're both english, just a bit different.