Welding on board?

[GoneDiving]

Originally Posted by Lemsteraak

Unless you weld a lot, it isn't going to be pretty.

Rich

I'd agree that a good welder will get a better result with a crap machine than a crap welder with a million dollar machine.

Years ago, I helped empty out the pits after the final race of the Formula One season. Rather than fly it all home, the teams just abandoned numerous stands, trolleys, tool totes etc. Now that was welding verging on artwork.

As much as a $100 welder is fine for my skill level, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the case for there guys.

[NCWDave]

If you want a machine that can run a spool gun (imho not necessary) you might like the Miller Mulitmatic 220. Ac stick and Tig for aluminum 110/220 input power. adj freek, force ect.

[ChrisPuget]

It is a great goal to be self sufficient and to be able to provide a useful service to fellow cruisers. This, however, sounds like a bad idea all around. There are many things to have on a cruising boat and and many things to do to get prepared to cast off. Welding capabilities is not one of them. Jerry rig with a mechanical fix while cruising, then rent or 'buy and sell' a welder (TIG) when on the hard or pay for a weld or two when tied up or at anchor in a metro harbor. Stay focused on throwing off the lines. Good luck!

[Cpt Mark]

Sweet Jesus did you get a load of advice. As you've figured out by now every welder has a personal favorite process and different processes have different advantages and disadvantages. All processes do the same basic thing though and that is to weld the 2 pieces of metal together.

Welding mild steel vs stainless steel vs aluminum vs bronze all require different knowledge and in some cases tricks to achieve a good weld that will last. Just because the parts ae stuck together doesn't mean it is a good weld especially in SS.

One of the 1st posts said to learn how to weld first and this is where you should start. You need to learn the different processes and why you'd use one over another, their advantages and disadvantages. Junior colleges are awesome for this if they have a good instructor. You get hands on instruction and advice on what you did wrong and how to correct it.

I have a small Miller inverter Tig/Stick welder onboard for pretty much the reasons you want to have one. I also have the skill to us it which takes time. Like a year at least. Then when you don't use it for a while, there's the ramp up to be good again. Like any skill, if you don't use it, you lose it. The reason I Tig is because it is the prettiest weld, I can control the weld, and there are NO hot sparks to start a fire or melt someone's boat with.

Mig was invented because welders had to stop stick welding every 6 inches. Throw out the butt, load a new stick and go. Mig, go for a 100 feet no big deal. Muffler shops love Mig because once you set the machine up you never touch the dials again. They only weld one kind of steel in one thickness. And a spool of wire lasts a long time. I dislike Mig. The gun is cumbersome and since I do different metals, thicknesses I find it a PITA to set up. I know others that love Mig. Personal preference.

Gas welding would obviously not be the choice for work on a boat and lugging around the world.

Learn how to weld first. In person, with someone who knows what they are doing. Junior colleges are great because you are using their machines, their consumables and their metals. Even when I had my own boat repair business and owned multiple welders in my shop I'd still take a class just because it was so cheap to practice.

[nofacey]

Tig - you can weld inside the boat, right against foam with just wet rags and a spray bottle. Beautiful SS and aluminium welds with practice.
Personally would recommend an Everlast multi process unit. Mine is over 10 years old, works like a charm, wonderfully stable. Tig, stick, plasma cutter, and it’s good at all 3.

Built my boat, have had multiple welders, sold big Lincoln arc, Miller mig collecting dust in a corner - if I was going to take one machine, it’d be the Everlast.

BUT I wouldn’t!

Unless this is going to be your income stream, use the space for a dive compressor, help your buddies that way......way harder to find than a decent local welder. You’ll use it a LOT more.

[Cyrus Safdari]

I know nothing about welding and was surprised this morning when the welder I hired to extend the pushpit guardrails around the cockpit sides used an IGBT inverter welder that ran off 120v rather than 220v (i always assumed 220 was neceseary) and was just about the size of an airplane carry-on luggage in its case along with wires, not nearly as heavy as expected. I was told it costs about $5k but cheaper knock-off were available. This has me seriously thinking of making my own cockpit arch. Tube roller benders are cheap too but these aren't as lightweight as the welder. I understand some welders can be run off smallish generators too, as long as the output power is clean so no need for house mains

[GoneDiving]

I can totally understand tradesmen spending thousands on machines that make them money and reputation but for weekend warriors like myself, I apply the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of the features for 20 percent of the price. With practice, it's amazing what can be turned out with these basic units.

Remember, even for jobs where strength or appearance is important, there is nothing to stop someone doing the grunt work of cut, fit up and tacking to get exactly what he wants then call in a professional to do the skilled final finish. This is a good way to build experience and overtime the proportion of work outsourced will diminish.

[AKA-None]

Depends on what your material thickness is. Small works well for light gauge but not so well for something like a quadrant

[Shaneesprit]

As your running from a Gen and space and weight is always an issue - I would use an Inverter welder, Arc ( Stick ) call it what you will
But inverter powered.
Flux core wire is not good welding - I wouldn’t recommend it.
Good thing is SS is actually considered easier to weld as it’s very clean and cleanliness is half the battle when your welding.
Wind will be an issue while welding as will the sparks marking the boat, and don’t forget about keeping all of that dry, chances are when you actually won’t to use it in anger it probably won’t work.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Shaneesprit

Flux core wire is not good welding - I wouldn’t recommend it.

Any reason for saying that? It's hard to make pretty welds with a flux core MIG, but it's quite possible to make good, strong welds with one.

[Manateeman]

Wind is not an issue with TIG welding stainless. All you need is a canvas tarp. Keeping argon on the back side ( inside a tube or pipe) is the key to weld strength.
How to do this and a million other tricks are on video at Welding Tips and Tricks .
The choice is simple. Let a professional do the job ( you can do the prep work as posted above) Or buy an aluminum argon tank, a professional inverted like Miller and practice. I’ll say it again. You don’t see cheap equipment in any professional shop. Good quality used equipment can be found through any professional equipment dealer or on welding blogs or welding schools.
Cheap equipment cannot give you full strength welds because you cannot control the welding parameters like you can with a quality machine...frequency, balance, pulse,
background amps...on and on. You are better off leaving the welding to a welder if you do not have the means to get the correct equipment and the time necessary to practice. Anyone can post an opinion. Show me any OEM boats welded with cheap equipment. Go ask any professional welder...what equipment, how many hours under the hood, what equipment should be used on aluminum or stainless. You’re not asking about building a backyard barbecue but yacht work.
Happy trails to you.
Captain Mark and his Miller Blue manatee crew.

[AKA-None]

Hmmm wind is an issue with tig hence the need to block it
Even stick welding gets difficult if it’s too windy.
The clot I’ve seen to wind resistance is submerged arc and even that gets to be a problem if it’s windy enough to blow the floc away

[Reefmagnet]

Anything using gas for shielding is going to be a PITA when used in an open area subject to draughts. It takes a lot more breeze to upset self shielded wires and a lot more again to effect stick electrodes. On the latter, you'd just about need to be welding outside during a hurricane because it's mainly the slag that protects the weld metal, not the gas generated by decomposition of the flux.

Not that welding in a confined area is a wise idea for an amateur at the best of times, but using a process that is flooding the space with an inert gas that can be heavier than air is probably not the smartest decision that could be made in the circumstance.

[carstendenmark]

For stick ss welding, only use an UNopened package of sticks.
You CAN re-dry them (if the type is meant for re-drying, usually with an "R" in the designation), but you'll need an oven capable of 250-300C for 2-10 hours. That may be a little expensive to run on a boat.

So - buy (small amount) unopened well sealed packages, if possible.
For other electrodes, the temperature and time are different.

Humid sticks are a cause of many welding troubles.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by carstendenmark

For stick ss welding, only use an UNopened package of sticks.
You CAN re-dry them (if the type is meant for re-drying, usually with an "R" in the designation), but you'll need an oven capable of 250-300C for 2-10 hours. That may be a little expensive to run on a boat.

So - buy (small amount) unopened well sealed packages, if possible.
For other electrodes, the temperature and time are different.

Humid sticks are a cause of many welding troubles.

That is only applicable to low hydrogen electrodes, and only if welding alloy steels because the moisture in the flux causes hydrogen embrittlement in medium and high carbon steels. Stainless and mild steel electrodes are fine. They may generate a bit more spatter, but the weld itself will be fine. In fact some cellulose coated electrodes nominally contain something like 5% (iirc) moisture out of the box.

And if you do need to weld alloy steel without low hydrogen electrodes the rod to use is either 309 or, preferably, 312 stainless steel (the latter is sometimes sold under a name similar to "weld-all" and is a popular choice for farm maintenance).