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Ridiculous that I unsubsidized from this thread because of spammers. Tired of notifications for viagra in an aluminum welding thread...

2 things left, the cap and a new bracket. After I cut all the pieces I welded it all and riveted everything in place. This thing is super strong now and handles the outboard perfectly.

I picked up some .060" sheet from Nate's Custom Boats and Accessories, located about 10 minutes from me. I picked up the transom and bracket material and top cap from Nate's as well. He has a full line of materials for doing about anything on aluminum boat mods, does custom modifications in his...

Still one major thing to remedy, outboard height. So I cut out the center section (1.5" drop) and added .25" pieces of plate for strength. I cleaned all the welds so it would fit nicely inside its covering pieces I was about to build.

I ended up using material from the middle seats I removed to follow the gap...

I'll let the pics talk for themselves... ... I was left with a gap to fill on the back...

Stripped back apart, I started measuring and cutting the pieces needed to replace the wood. The biggest issue being achieving the proper height for the outboard. I chose to raise the transom fully to the corner plates and drop the center to the height I found worked well tmwith the outboard.

This was the wood setup I used last season. It worked well enough for all the outings we did.

To get the boat usable last year I added a front deck extension, a flat floor for the mod v hull and needed to rebuild the transom with wood. I also added an extension to the back of the transom because my outboards are both longshaft. All that put me to where I was when I stopped the Mig...

I've had my Tig welder close to a year now and have mainly focused on welding aluminum with it. Most of my work on this boat has been in the Mig section. It was definitely time for a move. My latest project was replacing the transom wood with aluminum rectangle tube (1.5" x 3"). I had replaced...

No, its a link to something completely unrelated about dogs...

Finally got around to replacing the transom in my jon boat. It should be complete by this weekend. I'll post the progression, will be pic heavy...Too bad the weather won't be nice enough to want to take it out... Gary showed me I should move this to the Tig section since it's most of my...

Definitely tig...

Hunting break (firearm season), so I decided to pull in a jon boat that needed a new transom. This one got an all aluminum transom. No worries about rot in this one!

Pain in the butt when they ship atv tires folded in on themselves. Had to deal with only one set so far and a strap did them, but they were only 25"...

Yep, use the ratchet strap on small tires all the time. It works. Had to use one on a zero turn mower just last week to re-seat. I have some golf cart tires I'll be swapping to atv tires pretty soon and I'm sure I'll be using strap on the narrow front tires at least.

Here's a pic of it in action. The two pegs lock onto the joist and as you rotate the arm towards that joist it draws the board its pushing against tight against the previously installed board. It got tested pretty good today.

My scrap take on a board bender. They're used to tweak straight warped boards when building a deck. I had a bought one years ago, but it was stolen. We're building a dock for a customer at work and the decking is 2×6 material. This will come in handy and was a good project to try out my "new to...

I haven't done much to my jon boat project lately. I did add carpet to the front and lower deck and got my lighting and rod holders going so the boat could be used. I wasn't really looking for one, but happened into a bow mount trolling motor. It's not something I'll use a lot or want...

Welding cast aluminum can be done with tig. It's a slow process because casting aluminum traps a lot of impurities that will have to be heated out of the area needed to be repaired. A good welding shop should be able to repair about anything you bring to them, unless it would be more cost...

I'm sure this has been done before, but when you have a shallow socket and need a real deep one... this one works great on the deep oil sending units...

I used to have one of those ac flux 125 welders. I couldn't get the wire feed up much beyond 3 on on the wire feed setting on either low or high selection. Mine ran best between 2 and 3. I had good luck running hobart E71T-11 wire with it. They are pretty low on power, but they will weld. AC...

The guy I work for had a cylinder go bad on his 90hp Yamaha so he upgraded to a 115 Mariner. The way his boat is constructed and situated for seating we were having issues figuring out how to mount the controls that came with the new outboard. They came with an aluminum mount that was attached...

Well, while practicing with the spool gun on a scrap setup like I would be welding, I ran out of wire. That made my decision pretty easy to tig weld on the elevated platform. I'm still not comfortable running straight current with the pedal so I used 100 amps on pulse with the pedal for more...

Hoping I get similar results welding it to the top rail...

Tacked up the front platform using tig then switched things out to run some welds with my spool gun. Way less problems with those fillets with mig, once the settings are right...

The rivets definitely were a learning process. They were really better and easier to replace than weld shut. As far as what's next? I want to do repairs and modifications on aluminum boats as a side business. Storage compartments, live wells, front and rear decks, lighting covers and racks...

A lot of boats are setup that way and I could convert mine like that. I prefer a tiller setup with a wide open floor plan that gives me plenty of room to move around and adjust to where I'm fishing. I mostly fish for catfish which is a slower paced process. I prefer to be low in the boat for...

May be a lot to go through on a used jon boat and it would cost quite a bit to have someone else do the work. Glad it's mine. It will be my billboard, both bad and good, of what I can do on a jon boat. I know this started out with trying to repair a crack on my old jon boat's transom and turned...

Had some holes to fill either side of the deck extension. Used my home-made brake and fabricated some panels out of the piece I cut from the front deck. A few rivets and these will be done

Made another bracket for a starting battery. Not the best location, but saves space and works.

This was an easy addition and it really made the plywood floor quite solid.

Using pulse and no pedal limits the heat enough that a thicker filler cools too much. Depends on the joint configuration though, for sure. Finished the floor framing and put in the foam and laid in the plywood to try it out. There's enough flex under my weight to warrant laying in a grid...

Whew... got all the fillet welds done on the floor framing. I think. May still add pieces between (making a grid. May not be needed). Machine settings were pulse at 95 amps, 60% duty, 20 amps low side, 120 freq, 35% balance. Got in real tight to build heat on the thicker material and found that...

Yeah, that's my issue when I'm inside the boat working, can't use the pedal to control amperage. Just a finger trigger running pulse. It's a balancing act waiting on a puddle to getting things going without too much heat and blowing through and using the filler to help cool the puddle. The...

Fillets have been giving me fits. I've been starting too cold and forcing them which gives me nasty, contaminated welds. Trying to add filler too early. They take heat, but appropriate heat. There's 6 fillet welds on either side of the floor joists on each floor rib. I've went from nasty to...

Me and the misses took the 4-wheelers out today to some hunting ground in search for morels. Found 1 almost as big as my fist. Took that one to a better location (for us) and replanted it. Hopefully next year there will be more there. Ended up digging up some raspberry vines for a start up at...

Now that it's started, I could do that. Thanks for the insight. I could switch back to the foot pedal also and lose the pulse I use with the finger switch. I feel that's part of my contamination issues from not getting hot enough. A rotator setup would be nice. I could suspend the the boat from...

Back to reality... Since the hull is now sealed I started welding in the floor framing. Gonna take some time for sure. Still haven't found the right settings to make things go smoothly. 120 amps takes a bit too long to heat up on pulse. Gonna try 140 - 150 amps tomorrow.

The pipe repairs you described sound rough to deal with. Getting the material clean enough to take a weld sure is the key. Last week I had an aluminum tig welding job opportunity at a boat custom shop that I passed on because I don't yet have the seat time making pretty welds. I showed the...

This thread may be getting boring to most, but I sure have learned a lot along the way. This last leaky rivet was one I had previously welded by spool gun. It had trapped slag and porosity, basically as filthy as cast material. It sure takes heat, time and patience to get all the crud to float...

Took another trip on the river today. Found only one leaky rivet. Close to being sealed up. The splash shield I made for the transponder worked perfectly. I'm really seeing light at the end of the tunnel. It'll be ready for catfish before long.?

Decided to weld the shield to a plate then rivet it to the transom. A bit tricky to weld, but it came out well. Should work great.

Another hour on the water and 11 more leaky rivets. They're fixed. Gotta be an end to them some time. Not really what I wanted for the front deck lids, but I welded in some angle and used plywood. It'll get the boat out and working. Installed my fish finder on this boat and had a nice spray...

I replaced 27 rivets yesterday to seal leakers and welded 7 that I couldn't seal from outside (keel rivets). Then I went to work fabricating side ribs for the missing spots on the sides. Too much flex without them. Made 2 from scrap material cut from a bigger side rib and 2 from sheet material...

I appreciate the kind words. I feel I have a long way to go. Yesterday I realized why I've been going through so much gas. Was using the LPM gauge instead of the SCFH gauge. Only good thing from going to my lws so frequently was they ran out of my little 42cf cylinders and I was upgraded to an...

Falls into the repair part of this post... The guy I sold my old boat to did a number on it last weekend. He brought it over today to see if I could make things a little better. Was not a problem...

I was using .030 5356 through a Hobart spool gun. But, what has helped me out the most on this project is using my new tig machine. Same filler in 1/16" and 3/32". I did use 4043 to build the front deck frame, but used 5356 to attach it to the deck.

Took the boat out over the weekend and spent about an hour and a half on the river. Quite glad I didn't install the main floor decking yet because I found a bunch more pesky leaky rivets. I can't wait till this hull is sealed. Some were up front under that deck so I had no choice but to remove...

Got a bit done today. Learned a bit about welding aluminum sheet to frame, work from the middle out... Crazy how much aluminum sheet will move and pull away from the frame if it's locked by a weld further out. Different thickness material can be a challenge also. Anyways, finished the front deck...

I was right, not much fun at all. I've used ratchet straps and a 20lb anchor along with a big c-clamp to get this far.

Got the frame in all welded up and ready to install. Gonna be a treat flexing the deck to meet the framing...

I then started to figure out how I wanted to build the framing for the deck. Tried a couple layouts before settling on this...

Took out the front deck, that used to be supported by plywood that rotted, and beat out all the dents in the very front. The boats hull is quite straight now.

I have made a change on my outboard lift. I ended up robbing the material that made up the original half gantry for another project (tripod to tree leaner treestand) so I cut the other half to work in its place (thicker material). I have also switched outboards to a longshaft and haven't given...

Setting in my flat floor framing revealed what I know to be a "Friday built" boat. Pretty easy to see the rear bench seat was installed low on the starboard side, something my ocd won't handle leaving this way. A bit more holes to fill...

Had a little trouble finishing the install on the side ribs. Riveting them to the sidewall was easy enough, but tying them in at the bottom by welding them to the floor cross rib was a learning experience. I'm pretty sure the floor ribs are 6061 aluminum where the rest of the boat, including the...

Since my bead running skill isn't up to speed and I'm only using 42cf tanks, which seem to go empty pretty quickly, I tried some autogenous tig welding on the supports I cut down and moved from the front. Switched my Weldpro over to pulse and adjusted it to 1 pulse per second at 90 amps, 30%...

I'm using a Weldpro ACDC200GD Tig machine. So far I'm quite happy with it, just not my skill at the moment. Gotta start somewhere though. Using the 1 amp per thousandth of material thickness approach, although I see people use 10% - 15% higher amps. The practice material was .072". My first...

Had the opportunity to try some aluminum abrasives sent to me from Yomax4 and they work really well. I was able to clean up some of those nasty looking spool gun welds on the front deck pretty quickly. A bit left to clean up and a lot more to go... Thank you Yomax4!

Day 2 messing with the tig and all of the previous mig welded bottom rivets are now tig welded and solid. Mig just didn't wel the rivets properly, or better put, I didn't. Maybe with preheat they would've been better. Once I hit the mig welds with heat from the tig torch they opened wide with a...

Made a new bracket that's level with the highest point of the transom to retry the long shaft 35. Now the cavitation plate is even with the bottom of the boat. Took the boat out to try it out and check for leaks again but the motor wouldn't start (problem with the primer bulb), but found a few...

New welder arrived yesterday and I got a chance to get it set up and try my hand at it today. Gonna be a while before I can make things pretty, but I did find out I can go back over problem areas and fix them... Shouldn't be a problem to fix the leaks in my boat and make some framework...

This project is about to get a little help. I have a new tig welder on order that should arrive next Wednesday. Not a high dollar unit, but a good entry level tig with nice features. With a bit of practice I should be up and building again soon...

Doing better than us here in central IL. I'm sure it's way worse up north too. This low single digit weather with way lower wind chills are rough.

I have successfully sealed some open old rivet holes from a removed bracket on my boat's floor, but the stuff won't take any flexing action. I tried numerous times to fill I a crack on top of the transom, but it never lasts more than a couple short trips on the water. It's the reason I now have...

Looking at rebuilding the transmission in my Silverado, so I took some scrap metal and welded up a bracket to hold the tranny on my engine stand. Should make it a bit easier to rotate and lock in position. Just a few drilled holes away from being done, then the real fun begins...

Still looking about a month out. Have 2 vehicles that need serious repair. One has a bad transfer case, just picked up one to replace it and the other is my daily driver that now has a bad transmission. First and reverse noise in its 4L60E, bad rear planetary. Gotta have my horse to pull the...

I have a Handler 190 and have stuck with Hobart wire. I mainly use .030 even on thin gauge because I get a bigger spot weld with it. I have used some wire from Praxair and it works well also. Just easier to buy from a local farm supply that has sales quite a bit on wire.

Doing some multitasking, boiling my first ever deer skull and welding up the ladder sections on my tripod to treeleaner conversion. Using the cross bracing for rungs. I plan on adding a 6" angled footrest section to most of the perimeter of the platform; will make it 4' wide... the deer skull is...

Versatility is a must. What I'm using is working pretty well for now. Small and easy to move around in my garage. Just a section of grating sitting on a frame with wheels. Fairly strong too.

Getting way closer to working on this project again. I harvested two bucks and my wife harvested a buck on Black Friday. Plenty of meat for our freezer. A doe would be nice and put us over the top for sure where we won't run out of meat before next season. Late season is indeed here though along...

Looking at trail cam pics and wishing I wasn't tagged out on bucks...

Saturday morning I mounted a piece of wood on the transom to raise the mounting height for the long shaft Evinrude 35. I opted for a 4 inch extension because my other outboard needed to be lowered to run properly. Could've went an inch or so higher because the the water pump was in the water at...

I've seen a few YouTube videos of guys doing the marine battery conversion, but they don't say how long they last or how the charger works...

Yes, they claim 5 times more charge cycles and their prices are reflective of it... Problem is you need more than just the batteries to run them. Takes a different charger and controller in most cases. Some even are smart and link to an app on your phone for monitoring... too high tech for my needs.

For me and my budget, it'll be a while before I can afford the batteries, so yet another sidelined project. This 70° weather has spurred me more back on track with my boat. It may be time to bolt on a piece of treated 2x12 and see how my longshaft 35hp Evinrude does on my project boat... I hope...

I do the same on my boat with one battery @ just under $100. Golf carts and their batteries are a different beast. The amp hour ratings of our marine batteries aren't much compared to a golf cart battery. The prices I gave are an average. If you go online you can find Trojan T105 batteries in a...

I'm finding its all about the plates and their capacity for longer discharge time. A true deep cycle has huge plates and can can be discharged down to 20% and still be fine. Marine batteries can only be ran down to 50% max because their plates are not as beefy. I need to be able to get between 2...

Have one boat about to be stripped of accessories and outboard to go to a buyer, 2 nice bucks to process for the freezer and euro mounts to do (my first ones to try), a golf cart to hunting vehicle project hopefully to use yet this season, so this project is on the back burner. I knew it would...

I have plenty going on with work, family and hunting at the moment. One buck quartered and in the fridge and another buck hanging in the garage chillin' waiting to be quartered. Should be around 100lbs of meat to process soon. Still have a few tags for does also... I did pick up a new project...

Lol... priorities!

No doubt! You give the rest of us hope. I want to be still welding and hunting deer 30 years from now...

Got a 2+ yr old, 8 point last night. My biggest deer to date... Season is shaping up well.

2lb .030

It's the Titanium 125 fc only machine. Can't switch polarity. Lincoln NR211-MP and Hobart E71T-11

Took the time yesterday to run that welder on some scrap the same as I did welding up that angle and the same thing happened. No slag coverage on the weld, like its boiling it off and leaving holes in the weld. I tried a different wire spool and another brand (hobart) that was fresh from the...

Weird. Still my first roll of it. Been sitting in the machine a few months though...

Used my Titanium 125 today on the job welding up angle we're using to help retain a line of 1 ton blocks. Gonna be a retaining wall at a lake front. Supposed to build a gazebo and a new dock also. Anyways, was having some issues with the Lincoln wire on the butt joints. The pool acted like it...

Had a friend and fellow hunter call with an issue last night. He took a shot at a doe and missed low. He proceeded to recock his crossbow and the foot stirrup broke and wondered if I could help. He brought it by this morning for me to check out. The stirrup had some light welds to hold it...

Posted this in another thread also, but still a tool. Job specific, but I can alter or use as I need in the future. Its a 4' x 1.5" pipe F cheater bar. Made to tweak a treestand that got bent. Definitely did the trick...

Made my F cheater bar and it works quite well. It tweaked the left top rail with ease and brought the rear mounting points for the footrest in line again. Should come in pretty handy...

Yeah, its thin wall tubing also. The L piece laying on the cardboard has a mating L that did break at a bolt, it holds the backrest. I did weld it back together and redrill its mounting hole. The bends I labeled in the pic allow that tubing to open up for the seat. The seat section has moved...

I have a long piece of 1.5" black iron pipe thats been laying around since I moved in to where I live now. Was gonna use it for clothes hanger rod in the basement, still may. But, I did just find a good reason to drag it into the shop to cut a piece. I have a treestand that hit the ground pretty...

That mount looks good and is a good option I may use on my trailer. Right now my trailer just has a piece of angle with one piece of threaded rod to hold the tire that's mounted right where I want to mount a front tool box. Pics are from when I straightened the forward leaning jack. Want to...

That's awesome, best of luck to ya! I'm in central IL. No monsters on the cams yet here. Thats ok. Does eat very well!

Thanks. Really hoping to get a turkey this season too. Have a lease where they run around on quite a bit, just haven't seen one with a bow in my hand. The seating decision was one decision I had to make, I also have to decide on short or long shaft now. I've acquired 2-35hp longshaft OMC...

Some pics of the seating...

I have only messed with the rear seating. I removed the rear bench and bracing to see how the mid 1/4 seats would work in the back. They won't work without modification because the boat side angle is different from where the seats were originally located. Leaves a 1" gap between the seat and the...

Looks like it'll give you plenty of more service

Yes and we're talking just a Honda 300 Fourtrax being loaded up there across the front.

The bost trailer metal is 3" c channel and the trailer is actually 5" c. These extension pieces are only 9". No other support outside their welds.

Yeah, wouldn't trust it with 1/3 that weight. While the axle is sitting idle for now, the cut frame is working out pretty well for my "expansion project"...

Just picked up a scrap boat trailer for material to widen the front of my 11x5 utility trailer. Want to use the 11x5 to haul 2 atvs, one loaded across the front and one loaded from the back. Had to cut it up to haul it home. Not sure if I'll repurpose the axle section into a small atv trailer or...

An Arc Pig may be a viable option for me. I was given a Lincoln tombstone welder a while back (still don't have in hand and don't know if it works...). I should pick that up and see if that would be a route to take. Unless I can get that boat in the right position to weld the middle of the floor...

I'm understanding that tig is just better at some things. A tig welder is now on my list of equipment to get. Looking pretty hard at the Primeweld Tig 225x. Being close to the end of fishing season and having another boat to use, this project is going on the back burner. Probably won't mess with...

I am learning the importance of preheating. Welded the 46 rivets I could reach that attach the keel to the boat and had a dozen still leak. Upon close inspection some of the weld did not fully wet-out and connect to the base material. These leaky welds were not preheated. Just enough porosity or...

Just tried 15cfh and no issues. Here's an example of my snail method of sealing up the rivets... I move in a fast spiral to the center.

Backed it off to 20 cfh and it did just fine. I realized I'll always have some black soot running 5356 wire due to magnesium in the blend. Thought more cfh would clean it up and saw plenty of vids using 30 cfh while aluminum welding. Good to know I should be fine running half that.

I actually have to back way off with my oxy-acetylene torch once welding temp is achieved or I just melt everything. I just picked up a tradesman mapp gas hose/torch setup I may try welding aluminum with. For now I'm just using it to preheat for spool gun welding...

No, a Smith HD torch. Quite heavy and cumbersome, but works well.

Its set just over 30cfh in my garage with no fan. Much less and its very sooty. I haven't tried any higher a setting. Figured I'd get clean welds, but always a bit of soot. Outside corners are the worst though...

Ty. I did not preheat these. Picked up a mapp torch hose setup specifically for preheating, but realized I was out of gas for it... My first argon tank (42cf) is down to 750 psi so I'll have to get it filled soon too... did 3 of these ribs yesterday and that little tank went from 1000 psi to 750...

Oh, yes... WAY nicer!

This setup should weld up a lot easier than my previous attempt... The cap is is inside the rib...

True, all this took me only around an hour to weld up...

Around 50 holes in the front deck alone... be close to a full afternoon of grinder work on this thing once I remove it for bracing... Its why I'm wishing I had a tig; wouldn't have so much welded material to smooth out. I'll be saving up for one... Maybe

Its around 36" so its tall enough. Yeah, I can slide out the tube, but then I'll have to angle it downward (to mimic the transom angle) and probably have to weld it in place. Kinda hard to find that size tube OD, it's 2³/⁸". I picked up some 2.5" OD and its too big. May have to cut off the...

I haven't had the best of luck with either...

Definitely wish I had a tig setup to weld these rivets. I wouldn't have to grind off so much filler material... Still haven't tried pre-heating yet. I have a full keel on this jon where most of the rivets that hold it in place leak. I'll have to seal them by welding on the inside of the boat...

It's honestly quite stable. Yes, it could tip, but it rolled around great out on my dirty driveway. The uprights are easy to grab and manipulate to roll with the weight. I was a bit surprised how well it worked.

It works well for its original purpose though...

I don't believe so. As it sits I don't believe most outboards would fit. It just sits too close to the upright I put behind it. I'll either have to extend where the outboard will mount to the stand, reposition the 1/2 gantry on the back side for clearance or use the other side of the gantry...

Did some more testing and found it was actually flexing at the engine stand base. Has only one bolt to hold the wheeled members together. There's quite a gap allowing the flex. Needs a shim or welded solid. With the base flexing the top moves quite a bit. Have to rework my original plan for it...

I was a bit surprised it was strong enough without the front support. I'm no engineer so don't know the stress loads or how to figure them. Just glad my welds are holding well... Nice to know I can use it that way, makes it a bit easier. 11 gauge material would make me feel better though...

I thought it to be 12 gauge, but my calipers show around .085" (a strong 5/64")... most likely 14 gauge. I did not try my weight on it without the other leg until you asked. It doesn't flex with both legs with my weight and does flex yet holds my weight with just the back leg. Tried it a few...

Finished up the welding and drilled the holes for pins. Mounted a chunk of 2×10 to the stand (will probably add a shim to accommodate the protruding bolts or modify with another piece). Testing will be next. May work for light outboards without the extra brace leg.

I'm sure they overlap a bit in what material thickness can/should be used for each. I haven't used .035 flux core wire yet. I have used .030 on as thick as 5/16 in a T joint configuration with pretty good results. .035 would've been quicker and possibly had better results. A general rule of...

Been a pretty fun fab doing the engine stand mini gantry. Welding is almost done, not perfect by any means, but solid. Gonna weld a hook point up top center, drill some through holes for pins and figure out a saddle to mount an outboard to the stand. Stands 80" tall and 36" wide.

Definitely an option. It would work for picking up heavy objects out of a truck bed a bit better too. Most people get cherry pickers because they are more functional. My setup is more of a mini gantry that'll be removable from the base stand. For an engine stand, I feel having the weight more...

Sweet! Sounds like a cool project. Too bad its not cooler for ya... 85 here in central IL...

Between the vertical legs. Picture a rectangle around 6 to 7' tall with a ratchet chain hoist center of the top. Making it short enough to fit under my garage door. Hoist is rated for 500lbs and the stand is rated for 750lbs. My outboard is around 150lbs; a '76 Yamaha built Mariner 48 (a reduced...

So, I did get a start at my hoist concept. Had 3 pieces of .125" 1.5" square tube 4' long. Also a 6' piece of 12 gauge 1.75" square tube. Drove in a piece of the 1.75" tube into the end of the 2" base. Will basically make a tall rectangle that will pin together and come back apart. Might be...

I agree. Need a separate switch setup to run it. Pain to setup, but does work nice.

I work on outboards also so it would be nice to make the old engine stand work and keep things in my garage. Be really nice to incorporate the "hitch" setup so its removable and have a plate on it to hold the outboard so it could be worked on. Basically unhook from the boat, lift, spin 180°...

In need of a lift to swap a heavy outboard from one boat to another... don't really want to buy a cherry picker (outboard is only a couple hundred pounds). I do have an old engine stand to use for the base and a 500lb chain hoist...

I keep forgetting how good these Titanium 125 fc welders weld... .030 NR211-MP on 1/8"... and great for getting into tight places!

That was my original intent. But, these rivets are all floor rib rivets which will definitely flex so I figured to seal them up for sure. I did reset the rivets that held in the old middle seats... A body hammer set does pretty good on them.

I will try some pre-heating on the up-coming mods I'm planning: front deck framing and extending, the 3 other side rib narrowing, rear deck framing, and floor framing. Still have some leaks and cosmetics to attend too first. Found a bunch of leaking rivets by putting water in the boat about 6"...

I didn't preheat. Bead started cold, but I ran it backwards to start in the v then came back over it working side to side to wet in as best I could with .030 on 1/4". I did find too hot a setting and melted a tip... too low a wire feed for the voltage. Yes, took a bit of wire, roughly 3' of weld...

Decided to check the condition of the transom wood and it was definitely rotten. Rebuilt it to suit my needs; made it taller with solid wood instead of plywood. Had to modify it quite a bit including a new transom brace... Plan on capping whats left of the old transom bracket back to the transom.

I've usedv the HF aluminum brazing rod. It does work for some things like sealing some rivets and holes if the area is very clean, but I wouldn't recommend it for fixing a crack in a weld or for anything structural with a boat. It is cheap and fairly easy to use. Still have some in my tool box...

Since my previous post, I've acquired another jon boat that needs a lot of work. Transom needs rebuilt, side ribs made (because I hate middle seats), bracing made for extended decking I want for the boat and all sorts of holes repaired in the existing decking and seat from pedestal mounts and...

Been wanting a brake to bend up some .072 aluminum for my jon boat renovation; specifically to make side ribs that are missing because I took out the middle seat. Made this mostly out of scrap. The angle was the only purchased pieces. It's only able to bend stuff around 22" long, but that's...

These Titanium fc welders do pull some amps for sure. I ran mine at 80% of max to weld some 5/16" material and blew my non-dedicated breaker twice. Ran 220 to my garage since and a dedicated 10 gage circuit with a 30 amp 120v breaker and 20 amp outlet (since the machine has a way lighter gage...

I got mine on the same deal you did. Leaps and bounds better welder than their ac fc welder.

A bit more work welding up holes from the old seat mounts: Front deck is riddled with holes too...

My first welder was the CE flux 125. Came with their wire also, of course. That wire was a joke, wouldn't weld to a previous weld. It would just slide to the side and leave a cobbled mess with jagged cracks between the welds. Wouldn't multi-pass for anything. That's when I did some research and...

That's awesome. Not my experience with the old Chicago Electric flux core wire that came with their flux 125 welder. Didn't matter if it was cleaned, a subsequent weld would not weld to any previous with that welder and wire. Once I switched to Hobart's E71T-11 wire that issue was solved. I...

There's plenty of examples with some research. -GS can be either depending on the manufacturer and their testing. Vulcan doesn't list whether it is single or multi-pass wire on the HF website. So, its a gamble from anyone's perspective until tried. Good to hear that it could be a multi-pass wire.

My issue is since I removed the 1/4 seats from the middle of the boat, which was supporting the sides, I need to add supports where they were. The wide ribs are too obtrusive to floor space to my liking. Its why I'm making them narrower. Its a lot of work, but what I want done.

Are you meaning for the sides of the boat?

Guess I did forget to mention I will be installing a flat floor also. Will be using 1.5" .125 angle across the floor ribs to make it flat, adding closed cell foam between the ribs also. Lots to do and the hot weather that's hit here isn't making me want to suit up to weld for sure. Probably get...

Found 4 bolts and a popped rivet on the transom. Had to fix those, of course. These grinder discs work very well on aluminum.

Started the mods on my "new to me" jon. I want to narrow the wide side ribs, remove the 1/4 seats and add side ribs where they were and add support for the transom (or completely redo it). Cutting the ribs went fairly well. How I used the top to cap the rib ended up working against me. Made it...

No, I didn't. That wire went with the sale of my Chicago Electric flux 125 ac welder. After my experience with the wire that came with the ac flux welder I figured most GS wire is not for me. That wire wouldn't weld to itself/single pass... I fought trying to fill a hole in exhaust pipe with...

I've ran the E71T-11 from Hobart and NR211-MP. There is a big difference in how each wire welds. The Lincoln wire has less spatter and seems to freeze quicker than the Hobart wire. I have not ran any wire from harbor freight through my Titanium Flux welder. My first experience with their GS wire...

I hate the look of a scabbed over repair. Especially one out in plain sight. I realize it would be the strongest repair. I may simply move my anchor hold to alleviate that stress from the area and try a simple weld first. I know. I'm kind of hard headed. I know a weld shop wouldn't think twice...

Just an update: second time out with the boat yesterday and the weld cracked. I have a rope tie down very close to where the repair for holding an anchor line and I put some good pressure on the anchor tie. Noticed the crack once i got back to shore. I'll be grinding it all down to the base...

I recently bought a used jon boat that I'll be modifying structurally. Mainly adding side ribs from taking out 1/4 seats in the mid section. I have to figure out how I'll be bending the material from the seats to make the supports first, but I plan on riveting the supports to the side of the...

I have the same welder and generally use .030 hobart or lincoln wire with it. Multi-pass wires are a real benefit for flux core welding. Generally, .030 will be good up to 3/16" material where .035 for 3/16" up to max recommended thickness of the welder. They will overlap considerably though...

"Also dont try to make it look like a TIG weld, just stay in the puddle rather than stepping." I'm learning that this is important. I did a search on YouTube for welding thick metal to thin (steel) as I just setup my first paying gig welding hinges back on a trailer door and found a video where...

I agree. The reason the crack appeared was because of rotten transom wood and a low position for the floor brace. These were remedied a few years ago. Took me till yesterday to remedy the crack.

Took it out for the first time this year today on the Illinois and caught some channel cat. Weld is holding.

Old flap discs work pretty good also. Will probably do a little more work on this weld. I believe the porosity came from the Alumiweld...

I have seen quite a few different ways to make repairs on jon boats. Aluminum brazing gets the most air play from what I've seen. Heck, I've even tried it. The weld I tried today is actually over Alumiweld rod from HF. Probably should have ground that out first, but it did have a good hold on...

Finding out that the door chart isn't that good at initial settings for aluminum. Still playing with the settings, but getting them down fairly well. Kept layering welds to flow in the cold welds in the second pic. This is 1" square .0625 material.

Tried the .030 5356 wire tonight. Started out too hot. Was able to dial it in by lowering voltage and upping the wire speed. Tried a joint and it was a bit cold. A minor adjustment and the other side went way better. Had a hole in the corner and was able to fill it easily with this wire. Its a...

Since the heat moves forward 4 times faster than with steel, I burned through the end of the thinner material in the first pic. Then tried stopping short of the end and started again at the end coming back to the end of the first weld in the second pic. Seemed to work ok. Maybe a full tack at...

This is all 1/8" stuff and thinner. .035 4043 wire welding 6061 material. Getting the spray to go where i want it to is my main focus now. I believe technique will take care of it, once I get it down. Definitely different from steel. I have some .030 5356 wire to try next. It will be my main...

Starts cold, ends hot, hopefully the middle wets out, I'll be needing joint practice for sure.

Anyways... need practice...

Wish my added pics would post...

Got all my ducks in a row; got the welder I've been after for years, spool gun, 100% argon - 2 small tanks, spools of wire, ss brushes, scrap material, ... finally nothing in my way. It was time to stop watching videos about everyone else welding aluminum and do it myself. It took a bit find...

I happened to come up with a 5' section of 2" square that's 1/8" wall. Short leg is 1' and the long is 2'. Its not thick enough for making towing accessories, but strong enough to hold the vises I use for work. Last mod I did was to cap the ends of the tubing with 1/8" material to make it...

I would imagine a 2wd front wheel hub assembly would work well for a rotating point for a truck crane. Wheel studs to mount and flanges to bolt or weld to the vertical tube... just thinking out loud...

My first welding project was out of necessity for the band I was in. I switched from playing guitar to bass to keyboard during our show and sang backing vocals. So I made a stand out of scrap handrail that worked well for me. Notice the settings on my first ever welder using E71T-11... still...

Make sure the sound of the drive motor slows at a lower wire feed setting. If the wire doesn't creep out of the gun at the lowest setting the potentiometer for the wire feed may be faulty. I've found that flux core usually needs a slow wire feed speed to weld nice at any heat setting.

Not knowing the welders you're using: make sure the polarity is set to DCEN using flux core wire (for those machines that can be switched), try the wire feed at only 1/4 of full speed with the heat set on high (I have a dc and ac 110v machine that won't weld faster than 30% wire feed using flux...

That should work good. I made one out of #9 wire in my bender... will probably add a magnetic base or weld it to a clamp.

Royalties? Wouldn't that be nice! Lol! Adopt away. Its one of the reasons I joined is to see what and how others are designing and building projects. I did get my pipe vise mount done this afternoon... can't wait to get a drill press...

If you try welding anything 1/8" or thicker with that machine you will want to upgrade. For twice the money (coupon brings that down) you can get into they're better dc line of flux core welders. I have the black CE 125 ac flux core machine and the Titanium 125 which is a dc flux core machine...

The crane project looks nice. Heavy duty for sure. Got me thinking... about repurposing the material I have from an old weight bench into a light duty hitch crane... if only to help load a deer...

Thats a nice set up. I work construction so we need a mount to thread pipe on the job. Probably work it up this weekend.

Finished up one vise setup. Pipe vise will be next...

Thing I like the most about welding is the ability to make tools to make our work a bit easier. In just the past few months I've made a vise brake press, a rod/flat bender, portaband table and a mig cart. I'm currently working on a trailer hitch vise mount. Post up some of your projects intended...

My Hobart 190 is a week old, so I won't have the need to replace the liner for a while. I was looking at getting the 140 instead and use 2 liners, one for steel and one for aluminum so neither would cross contaminate. I don't know the price difference between the factory replacement liner and a...

Bought my Handler 190 the 13th, spool gun 2 days ago. Have an Argon tank (42cf) I'm gonna try to upgrade before I get started. I have a boat that I plan on replacing the wood deck framing with aluminum. Also, brackets for rod holders, switch panels and other mods. Having a jon boat is my biggest...

Is that a field point I see sticking through the back on the first 2 pics? Great idea! I have a bunch of bed frame and could make a pretty big target like this. Also, tired of spending big bucks on targets that don't last. I see one of these being made in my near future.

Very nice

Took the opportunity to mess around with my Handler 190. I've been fighting with a cheap 110v welder for a few weeks and it just won't weld consistently. Absolutely no issues from my 190 though. Added a "hose lift" to the back of my bed frame cart and am finally getting welds like I should be...

I got a great deal on a Hobart Handler 190 just a couple days ago. They have a good warranty and are supposed to have great CS. I tried some welds with it yesterday and was amazed at how hot the machine runs. I'm used to 110v machines. It works great on 22 gauge and I'm glad because I have 3...

It is possible with flux core wire, just so messy and cleanup is needed often during the process. That's once you get it dialed in and are getting good spot welds. First pic is after a lot of grinding 22 gauge using flux core. Second pic is same material with .030 solid wire using C25 shielding...

Just picked up a Hobart Handler 190. Been waiting to pull the trigger on one and found a local deal on a new one I couldn't refuse. Can't wait to get it set up!

Nice looking cart. I made one recently out of bed frame. Have a few more accessories to figure out and attach to it before I paint. It is definitely satisfying to build projects utilizing welding.

I'm having the same frustration with my little CH mig: when it welds good it burns back and sticks the wire to the tip, up the wire feed and get tall, ropey beads or "bzzzt_bzzzt_bzzzt_bzzzt". Yes, its .024 wire (.030 acts too thick for this welder). Guess I'll keep playing with settings, or get...

If you're talking about the Chicago Electric flux 125, its an AC output machine that would struggle with 3/16". I have one and it does ok on 1/8" or thinner. I also have the HF Titanium flux 125, which is a DC output and is a huge upgrade over the CE 125. The Titanium burns way hotter and will...

Picked up a regulator today and some 1/4" OD tubing to give the salvage welder a go at solid wire. Got it hooked up to C25, installed .023 wire and switched over to the smooth drive roller. Feeding problems immediately. Spool tension was too tight and the drive roller tension was maxed. No...

Found this in a dumpster. Story was it wouldn't weld like it was supposed to. Don't know what the expectation was, but it will weld. Tried with flux core. The chart wants too much wire feed. Last 2 pics are with 22 gauge. Don't have a regulator to try gas yet...

A good torch set can be an invaluable asset

I have a 98 K1500 that's in dire need of cab repairs. Gonna be a lot of work, but I'm looking forward to getting started and making it look good again. I'm just happy there's still repair panels available... I get started on it I'll probably post as you have.

I tried spreading the flux on the joint like I've seen in the videos, didn't work so well. It almost acted as an insulating layer and took longer to heat to welding temp. And the results were pretty much a disaster. I switched to just heating the rod and dipping it in the flux and it works much...

I'm using the premium aluminium flux from Tin Man Tech also. I've read that aluminum mma electrodes can be used too. I need to come up with a good container for the mixed flux for storage and reuse. I'm using a salt shaker at the moment, lol.

The drill press stand is a good idea. I have one that was made out of a steel rim with a scrap piece of exhaust tube welded to the center, then 3" square tubing slid over the exhaust tubing with wide angle welded to the top for the table. The tubing could be drilled and pinned to raise the table...

I just did a search on Taptalk for "welding" forums and it popped up. I joined pretty quickly once I saw there's quite a few like me just tinkering and trying go get better. Good info from experienced members. Always good to have a resource like this when you need the help.

1/16" R4043 tig rod. Took quite a bit to fill in the 28" of joints.

Those ugly welds did cleanup ok though.

I finally gave 1/8" aluminum diamond plate a try. Pretty rough for me with OA... I have plenty of scrap to get better...

I inherited a torch setup and use it a lot. Cutting, straightening, fixing bad welds, and welding... been practicing on aluminum and this steel.

I'm pretty new to welding, but have had issues with flux core wire. Biggest was with single pass GS wire from HF. I could not get it to weld to itself at all. It would act like it was slick and slide away from a previous weld; leaving cracks and pinholes. Thats a real problem when trying to fill...

I have a Titanium flux 125 and really like the versatility of it. I've used hobart E71T-11 and Lincoln NR211-MP with it. WAY better wire. Used it to build some tools for my garage (vise press brake, small bender, and portaband table) and recently used it to repair the posts for a 20x20 awning we...