New to tig, Help me repair my boat!

[FusionKing]

some 4x4 timbers wider than the beam of the boat... along with some wood blocks, ratchet cargo straps and a porta power will also be really helpful in moving things back into proper position for repair...as well..

Without a doubt!

[H80N]

A lot of that straightening requires 2 people

some 4x4 timbers wider than the beam of the boat... along with some wood blocks, ratchet cargo straps and a porta power will also be really helpful in moving things back into proper position for repair...as well..

[FusionKing]

A lot of that straightening requires 2 people

[cw021382]

$

I really liked burnt hands post Why buy it for $1 when I can build it for $100. That sums up my thoughts perfectly. I consider the skill acquired to be worth the price of admission on all my projects. Plus it's always a good excuse to buy more tools.

[cw021382]

Penny wise, Pound Stupid?

Hi FusionKing, I was hoping you would see my post. H80N sent me a link to your site, and I have to say I am rethinking doing this job myself. After seeing the quality of your work, tackling this repair myself is starting to seem penny wise and pound stupid! At least if I want to fish anytime soon that is. I guess I won't know until I spend some time welding scrap and see where I'm at. I ordered 2lbs of 5356 rod and some 3/32 and 1/8 lanthanated tungstens. They should be here this week and then I can start practicing. I have torn the boat down as far as possible without cutting welds, and yea it sucks trying to take pics of the damage. I don't have much exp. with body work, but I have managed to straighten a lot of the damage out with just large hammers. I haven't used heat because I read that it wasn't a good idea. How would you go about straightening out the dented areas? Any special tools? I do have a oxy/ace torch if heat is ok.

[FusionKing]

Use the 5356 filler on that application.
Looks like you're gonna be stripping that boat down pretty far!
Sucks taking pics of that don't it?
Hard to show what it is you are taking photos of... Either too close or something is in the way of getting far enuff back (like the trailer)
Keep us posted.
Do you have any exp. straightening metal?
That is mainly what you are gonna be doing here.

[H80N]

Yup... that guidebook should be helpful...

you might also read this thread,,

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/communities/mboard/showthread.php?31961-4943-for-356-Aluminum-TIG-Casting-repair&highlight=4943

[cw021382]

welding setup ?'s

I found this site http://maxal.com/files/QuickSiteImag...g_9-12_doc.pdf that outlines parameters for mig and tig welding aluminum. If my boat is 5000 series aluminum, as H80N suggests, it is at least 2.5% mg, and probably higher. That means I would probably want 5356 for my filler material because of its toughness right? All my welds are going to be on .100 aluminum with a root opening less than 1/8" so does this sound right? 1/8" 5356 filler, 1/8" 2% Lanthanated tungsten pointed with land, 7/16 ID gas cup, Argon at 20cfh, and amps 110-140. Let me know what you think, and any changes you would make and why. Remember the welder is a miller d165 inverter. Also after the welds are done should I do any heat treating to restrengthen the areas? If so how would I do this? I have oxy/ace torch. If anyone is looking for an extension cord I bought one off ebay from torchking for 103 shipped. It is 8/3 50' with lighted plugs. Much better than making your own and cheaper too. I had it in hand in 3 days. Very good seller

[cw021382]

some progress

I didn't have much time to work on the boat today, but I spent a couple of hours with the hammer massaging out the big dents. It's looking pretty good so far. I didn't get any pictures today, but I will try to post some Friday or Saturday. I feel like a kid at Christmas waiting on my stuff to arrive so I can start welding.

[H80N]

I read the pic guide, but didn't notice where it said that the site would resize and edit your pic for you. I entered a 500kb pic and it modified it to 50kb and 800x600 for me. I edited this pic to 800x600 and 97.8kb to see if the site would lower the file size, and it did. It Lowered it to 53kb. Anyone know why it keeps lowering my file size?

Max JPEG file size here is 500KB with dimensions of 730 x 730....

according to the manage attachments window

[cw021382]

pics

I read the pic guide, but didn't notice where it said that the site would resize and edit your pic for you. I entered a 500kb pic and it modified it to 50kb and 800x600 for me. I edited this pic to 800x600 and 97.8kb to see if the site would lower the file size, and it did. It Lowered it to 53kb. Anyone know why it keeps lowering my file size?

[cw021382]

full size

full size pic

[cw021382]

Better pics (I hope)

Hi guys, I am playing with editing tools trying to post better pics. Sorry if some of these are not viewable.

[H80N]

Thanks for the link H80N. I spent a lot of time looking at their site, and I am amazed at their abilities. Professional for sure. Funny thing is their shop is only about 1.5 hours north of me at LOZ. I fish up there sometimes. I damaged my boat on the water. The rivers are really low here right now, and I had the family out fishing and relaxing for the day. My motor started acting up and not running full throttle. We hit a shallow area 10mi up river from the ramp. Not shoal gravel, but little mini boulders. I left 20' of aluminum and broken rocks in the river when I came off plane in 6" of water. No one was hurt and we managed to drag the boat to a gravel bar. We bailed with the battery box until I found the main hole, which is located under a cross brace. I cut a stick into a plug for that. I thought my fuel filter was plugged so I managed to bypass the filter by cutting a section of fishing pole from one we found earlier in the day. No luck. Still only about 1/2 throttle or it would die. I replaced the line later because I found out the entire inside of the line was deteriorated from ethanol use by the previous owner. It took us 5 hours to limp back to the ramp. Anyway the insurance totaled the boat and I bought it back.

FusionKing is an artisan and his work is beautiful to behold.... I believe he has a bunch of picture albums as well...

Again..I suggest that you master your technique on scrap before you tackle the boat.... and expect it to take weeks to months NOT hours to develop enough skill to be acceptable....
TIG requires skill and practice... so be patient and keep practicing... it will be worth it...

[cw021382]

fusionking (WoW)

Thanks for the link H80N. I spent a lot of time looking at their site, and I am amazed at their abilities. Professional for sure. Funny thing is their shop is only about 1.5 hours north of me at LOZ. I fish up there sometimes. I damaged my boat on the water. The rivers are really low here right now, and I had the family out fishing and relaxing for the day. My motor started acting up and not running full throttle. We hit a shallow area 10mi up river from the ramp. Not shoal gravel, but little mini boulders. I left 20' of aluminum and broken rocks in the river when I came off plane in 6" of water. No one was hurt and we managed to drag the boat to a gravel bar. We bailed with the battery box until I found the main hole, which is located under a cross brace. I cut a stick into a plug for that. I thought my fuel filter was plugged so I managed to bypass the filter by cutting a section of fishing pole from one we found earlier in the day. No luck. Still only about 1/2 throttle or it would die. I replaced the line later because I found out the entire inside of the line was deteriorated from ethanol use by the previous owner. It took us 5 hours to limp back to the ramp. Anyway the insurance totaled the boat and I bought it back.