Which alloy aluminum pipe for casting platform

by Bruce Caldwell
(Brazoria, Tx.)

Hey Jody!, First off, Cool little corner of the welding world you got here. I've already gotten a lot of good tips & info.
Now to my question. I recently bought a little Miller 211 & a Spoolmate 100 so I can do the occasional aluminum project. My brother wants me to build him a casting platform for his 17 ft. boat. We're talkin saltwater sport fishing here so do I need to use anodized material or some other alloy & then have everything anodized after it's fabbed & welded? If you use anodized material do you have to grind off the anodized coating first? Also, what alloy mig wire? I figured i'd build it from 1" sch. 40 pipe & by the way, I wont be bending it cause I don't have a bender. I've done one alum. job with the 211 so far & that was a kids soccer goal made from 3"x3"x1/8" tubing & it went real well. It was actually my first ever attempt at migging alum. Anyway, thanks for your time & really appreciate the site. Bruce


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Bruce,
I havent done any migging on anodized but Tigging it is pretty tricky.

I am going to guess the only way to make it work will be to clean the coating before welding.

most forums that talk about welding anodized aluminum dont recommend mig welding it at all.

so you might be in for some issues. I would say try to get a few pieces of scrap like some drops from the metal supply and see what happens before you buy all your tubing.

Most tig welders cant even do a good job on anodized unless someone shows them some tricks.

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