Aluminum welding in Meridian, Idaho

Why aluminum is different

Aluminum forms an oxide skin that melts at three times the temperature of the metal under it. If you don't get through that skin, you get a weld that looks fine and holds nothing. Aluminum also pulls heat away from the weld fast, so thin parts burn through while thick parts won't fuse. And some alloys crack as they cool no matter how good the weld looked. That's why a lot of "welders" won't touch it, and why the ones who do ask more questions first.

TIG or MIG

TIG is for thin material, clean work and anything you'll look at: trailer skins, toolboxes, boat parts, brackets. It's slower and it needs to be out of the wind, so it's usually a shop job or a calm-day driveway job.

MIG with a spool gun is for thicker structural aluminum: trailer frames, ramps, racks, wheel-line pipe. It's fast and it works on site. Most aluminum trailer repairs are spool gun work.

What I weld in aluminum

• Aluminum trailers: frames, tongues, fenders, ramps, door hinges, tie-down rings.
• Ramps and loading gates, including the diamond plate ones that crack at the hinge.
• Irrigation: wheel lines, hand lines, risers and fittings. See farm equipment repair.
• Truck toolboxes, headache racks, ladder racks.
• Boat parts: T-tops, rails, brackets, and hull cracks above the waterline on welded-hull boats. I don't weld below the waterline.
• New parts. Brackets, frames and racks built from aluminum through custom fabrication.

What I won't promise

• Cast aluminum. Engine cases, transmission housings, some wheels. It can sometimes be welded. It's often full of oil and porosity, and I'll only quote it after I see it.
• Unknown alloys. If a part cracked next to a factory weld, it might be a heat-treated alloy that loses strength when welded. I'll tell you what I think it is and what that means.
• Structural parts that have been welded twice already. At some point it's a new part.

Prep

Clean aluminum welds. Dirty aluminum doesn't. I'll grind the paint and oxide back and wipe it with solvent before I strike an arc. If you can pressure wash the mud off a trailer or the manure off a stock trailer before I get there, the weld will be better and the visit will be shorter.

Send a photo first

With aluminum the photo matters more than with steel. I want to see the whole part, the crack up close, and any stamping or label that says what alloy it is. Text it to (503) 710-1564. I'll tell you whether it's a driveway job with the spool gun, a shop job with the TIG, or a part that should be replaced. On-site visits start at $95, and it's all part of the mobile welding service.