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? on welding Aluminum

edgey

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Jul 9, 2001
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When you weld alum does it get brittle or weaker where you weld it? Is there temeper in alum like steel?
 

edgey

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Jul 9, 2001
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I was looking at welding my sno eliminator running boards in instead of rivets. Just wondering if the constant flexing would crack the welds?
 

Dunatic

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Jan 24, 2003
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I was wondering the same thing, I have a crack on the outer edge of my running boards that I was going to weld up, and I thought about welding on the Eliminators also.

I was also wondering about my electronics, what do I need to unplug while welding on my sled, I don't want to fry anything.
 
R
Nov 26, 2007
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I have always just stop drilled any cracks in any of my tunnels, never an issue with further cracking.
If there was a concern about any future repairs, i would rivot, it is a pain enough to grind rivots out let alone a weld of that size
 
B

Bull

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Jan 20, 2004
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as thin gauge as the tunnels are, i would not really recommend welding. i'm just assuming you are thinking about GMAW and not TIG? rivets are going to be much better way.....as was said, many airplanes... without TIG, it is hard to get even a decent weld (with no burn through risk) in something much less than 1/8th aluminum.
 
N
Nov 27, 2007
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Kapowsin, WA
Welding would be a tough option. Very thin material with lots of flex. Rivets work great. Welding aluminum is always careful work. Unless you call yourself a welder, I wouldn't try it. We did some welding on a guys aluminum boat at the fab shop. It turned out nice but it was minimum 1/4" stock.
 

Jeff C

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Jul 4, 2001
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Give this a try.

http://durafix.com/

This might work very well for what you are trying to do. It will not burn through the aluminum and might be strong enough to do the job.....


Try it and let us know how it went. Looks like it might be worth a try, it's pretty inexpensive.

I have always wanted to get a few sticks of this stuff to have around.....
 
T
Nov 27, 2007
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Use a TIG torch, back up the area you are welding with a thick piece of copper plate, at least 1/2 inch thick. The copper will not stick to the aluminum, and it won't blow out if you get the weld area to hot. I have welded up quite a few tunnels this way with good results.
 
V
Nov 27, 2007
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alaska
The tig weld should actually be stronger than the metal. just clean the metal before you weld it and let it cool. for the application though i think i would use rivets. my 2 cents
 
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