GTAW Pipe Welding Jobs USA?

[BWS29128]

I've recently started looking at possibly taking my mobile rig on the road during the fall/winter and am wondering if anyone out there knows of any agencies or companies who hire TIG pipe welders for seasonal work?

I have several months of experience where I was hired under a W-9 status (subcontractor) where I used my own equipment (limited at that time) and was paid an hourly wage on a weekly basis.

I'm interested in (possibly!!!) TIG welding CS and SS pipe from 1/2" up through 14". I have a limited amount of experience welding blueprints, but am more than capable of cutting/measuring to fit via layout.

There was a guy on the Hobart board (which I no longer monitor nor am a member of by choice) who had a really nice mobile rig and he and his family moved around the country from season to season welding for different companies.....anybody know anthing about that?

Responses and/or PM's would be appreciated.
~Clint

[Bert]

Clint

"....I have a limited amount of experience welding blueprints..."
How do you do that? Paper rods? Sorry, couldn't resist!!!
During the off season, can't you take your mobile rig to the different large marinas down the coast, (phone the harbor masters ahead) and do work on the boats??
Question: when you repair aluminum on boats, what type of rod and aluminum do you use? Also for stainless, do you use 308 or 316?
thanks,
bert

[BWS29128]

"....I have a limited amount of experience welding blueprints..."
How do you do that? Paper rods? Sorry, couldn't resist!!!
During the off season, can't you take your mobile rig to the different large marinas down the coast, (phone the harbor masters ahead) and do work on the boats??
Question: when you repair aluminum on boats, what type of rod and aluminum do you use? Also for stainless, do you use 308 or 316?
thanks,
bert

Sorry 'bout that... I meant to say that I had a limited amount of experience reading welding blueprints!

Most of the marinas down south or on the coast have their own welding facilities or weldors. Besides, there wouldn't be enough business in marinas alone (although, in HI that might not be the case!) and you'd need something else to go along with it. Most of the marinas around here have already slowed down to next to nothing...end of the summer and all (even though we've had 7 straight days of 100 degree + temps around here!!!) and school starts back next week. It really depends on what base material you're welding on and whether you're stuff is going to be exposed to salt air or not or whether you're going to anodize what you've welded or leave it to oxidize in terms of what filler rod to use. Since that didn't answer your questions, lemme try again: I usually use 1/16" 4043 filler wire for almost all of my aluminum repair work. Remember: 4043 forms a nice shiny "nickel" but doesn't anodize very well (or at all, depending on whom you're talking to). 5056 anodizes fine and welds well when the base material is 6061 or higher. Another note, and one you've seen SundownIII talking me through is that 4043 doesn't work real good with 6061T6 unless you get it SUPER-clean!!! first.

Stainless is a little less forgiving than aluminum....it really depends on what your base material is if you're going to have your weld live up to the good properties of whichever stainless you're working with. 304L, 308, 309, 314, 316.....there's a bunch more, but they all have different properties that are used for different applications. Heck, you can use ER70S6 filler rod to TIG 306 pipe, but as soon as that pipe gets wet, your weld is going to oxidize (rust!) and you will have negated the use of Stainless in the first place!

[Bert]

thanks Clint! After you weld alum, how do you get it anodized again? Do you have to put the whole (railing) in, or can you spray/brush it on? I'm thinking heat treated....?

[Samurai Dave]

Anodizing aluminum

thanks Clint! After you weld alum, how do you get it anodized again? Do you have to put the whole (railing) in, or can you spray/brush it on? I'm thinking heat treated....?

Anodizing involves openning-up the pores of the aluminum by submerging in an acid bath and applying current. This is best done by doing the whole thing, unless you can disassemble into smaller parts and then reassemble afterwards. Unfortunately it isn't like spray painting or powder coating that can be done in spot touch-ups. Nothing beats the look of anodized aluminum, especially diamond plate.

Use the 5356 rod for anodizing. The cheaper 4043 will turn black during anodizing. This might work if you are going for a look that draws attention to your welds, but generally is not a recommended practice.

[Bert]

thanks Dave

[BWS29128]

Dave is exactly right in describing the different processes. I've never heard of anyone "spot-anodizing" or "spot-powdercoating" as one involves full immersion for 3 to 6 minutes and one involves exposure to 350 to 475 deg F for 3 to 18 hours, depending on the base material. In most cases, from what I've been told since I've never had to worry about it, once you clean the anodizing from the broken base-aluminum/weld, the best thing to do is either let it go ahead and oxidize naturally or spray something like silver-colored Rustoleum on it.

~Clint

[Bert]

Thanks Clint!!! Problem: If you reweld/fix a bow railing or tuna tower, how the heck are you going to re-anodize it???
thanks,
bert