thill
Well-known member
All you need is a MIG welder and a bottle of Argon. Watch a few YouTube videos and give it a shot. It's what I did, and now I'm pretty comfortable welding aluminum
Thanks, I like the setup as well. It is a bit dated, but with some new materials it will be perfect.
That flip up cover covered the old stereo. The new ones are round. I want to see if I can repurpose it for something else.
All you need is a MIG welder and a bottle of Argon. Watch a few YouTube videos and give it a shot. It's what I did, and now I'm pretty comfortable welding aluminum
I think a professional welder could weld it quick enough to minimize on heat. Aluminum sinks the heat away quickly anyway. Perhaps a little melting but, I doubt if it would catch fire.Thanks. I do not weld aluminum, nor know anyone who can can do odd jobs like that. I will have to find someone to weld the transom cover anyways, as it had to be cut for it to come out. So it all depends on the sequence of steps. If I will be able to do this all at the same time, I will do it.
Few of the cracks are right next to foam, it think I will bolt those up to prevent fire.
Transom will have a very tight fit and i am not sure i can oull it out after hammering it in.
It is not the width, it is thickness. The original transom is even thicker, but I think the aluminum on outer skin deformed a bit when the old transom rotted.I think I might do a little shaving so it fits without having to hammer it in place.
Check your local radiator repair shop, often they are aluminum welding experts !Thanks. I do not weld aluminum, nor know anyone who can can do odd jobs like that. I will have to find someone to weld the transom cover anyways, as it had to be cut for it to come out. So it all depends on the sequence of steps. If I will be able to do this all at the same time, I will do it.
Few of the cracks are right next to foam, it think I will bolt those up to prevent fire.
Lots of work and effort goes into those builds, great job! I agree that welding would be the best way to repair those cracks.
You will have a wonderful boat when you are done, Crestliner makes a great boat IMO.
You don't need a spool gun unless you are building a whole boat or doing a lot of it. Look up some youtube videos, but all you REALLY need is argon and you must oversize your tip so the wire doesn't bind, and try to keep the lead as straight as possible, with no hard bends that could bind the softer wire.Thank you. I thought about it. I am comfortable welding steel, but have not tried aluminum. I do have a lincoln 160 welder from homedepot. Not sure if it will be enough. I will need to get a spool gun as well as the Argon bottle. About 3-400 around here. Decisions decisions...
Here is an little Easter egg from the factory. On the inside of the transom it says Daryl's Boat. Well, whoever you are Mr Daryl, nice to meet you over 25 years.
For sure. Practice makes 👌.Very nice! With a little practice on some scrap pieces, you could get real good at it.
Would you mind sharing what you roughly paid for this set up?
Thanks!That was a bit to pay for the welder, but the product looks worth it. I rent my gas bottles. $100/year and whatever gas costs. No need for a dedicated regulator. Gas doesn't leave any residue in the regulator.
Wait... Did you say Tungstens? That is a TIG welder? In that case, that's a good price for the setup, especially if you use it for more than just this one job.
Welding aluminum is kind of fun. You will only get better and better, and as long as it's burned into both sides properly, even an ugly weld is very strong. A grinder can make it pretty enough.
Congrats and good job!
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