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I used the Search, but what I saw was info on finishing aluminum welds, with the recommended abraisives (to use in a side-grinder (right-angle-grinder) being flap-wheels and what I'd call sanding disks. I have to try to repair a bunch of cracks under the back end of an aluminum dumptruck box, some of them being difficult to get at (a project which has been put off and put off, as the cracks grow and grow).. I have electric die-grinders with some carbide rotary files (burrs), but I'm guessing some of the cracked welds might be faster to grind out, where I am able to get at them with small or large side grinders. The local welding supply sold me a 7" wheel for aluminum (Pferd, I think), but a 9" disk would reach more places, maybe. Probably this is because I am OLD, but I have a very hard time finding anything on a majority of commercial websites, which seem to be devised by software geeks and data-entry folk who know little about their customers, or welding. Have you found any good 9" side-grinding disks (not sanding disks and not the very thin cut-off wheels)?
Other tips are welcome. Aluminum seems to me to be a lousy material for dumptruck boxes. I have a spoolgun, an MM175, and a rented bottle of Ar/He (which I figured might give that little welder more of a chance). But how I'm going to get some of those nearly inaccessible cracked welds anything like clean enough to weld worries me. For this job, I really wish I had some new inverter equipment that I could dial in for extra "cleaning" action on the first pass, after which I could grind out that bead and then try to make the weld. Frankly, I'm not expecting much. This job has been put off again and again (it's the customer's main rig), but I'm told I'll get a shot at it this weekend. Customer ought to buy a new STEEL box, but his customers owe him a ton of money and are slow to pay, a usual situation.
Oh, I was looking at Home Depot's "Diablo" 7 1/2" circular saw blade, with 56 carbide teeth and stating that it is designed specifically for cutting non-ferrous metals. The idea was to put this in my side-grinder (I can make the guard cover part of the blade) and use it WITH GREAT CARE to gnaw out some of the welds faster than other methods allow. What are your experiences, if you've tried this (I only know one guy who has, and he likes it for exactly the job I have to do, but doesn't tell his boss).
Other tips are welcome. Aluminum seems to me to be a lousy material for dumptruck boxes. I have a spoolgun, an MM175, and a rented bottle of Ar/He (which I figured might give that little welder more of a chance). But how I'm going to get some of those nearly inaccessible cracked welds anything like clean enough to weld worries me. For this job, I really wish I had some new inverter equipment that I could dial in for extra "cleaning" action on the first pass, after which I could grind out that bead and then try to make the weld. Frankly, I'm not expecting much. This job has been put off again and again (it's the customer's main rig), but I'm told I'll get a shot at it this weekend. Customer ought to buy a new STEEL box, but his customers owe him a ton of money and are slow to pay, a usual situation.
Oh, I was looking at Home Depot's "Diablo" 7 1/2" circular saw blade, with 56 carbide teeth and stating that it is designed specifically for cutting non-ferrous metals. The idea was to put this in my side-grinder (I can make the guard cover part of the blade) and use it WITH GREAT CARE to gnaw out some of the welds faster than other methods allow. What are your experiences, if you've tried this (I only know one guy who has, and he likes it for exactly the job I have to do, but doesn't tell his boss).
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