Update, the weld broke while he was taking it to a lake. Sigh. If he asks me to do it again, I'd have to tell him that the wood has to come out.

thanks for the warm welcomes. a friend for mine who is a pipe fitter, told me about the fish plate. for sure, i always try to find advice when I don't know something…which is quite often. ha

Thanks a million for all the responses. Here is what I have taken away from this discussion…please let me know if I missed anything.. 1. Clean Clean Clean! Do not let any of the paint remain anywhere within 3 or 4 inches of the joint. And clean both sides of the joint. Also, do not clean with emery....

when i'm in a booth on nice clean metal, my beads actually look pretty good….to be honest i'm kind of embarrassed about this work. I know I can do better.

One thing I've noted since January….in the field, everything is out of position. ha

I don't know how to add pictures!!!!

Today I repaired an aluminum john boat and would like for someone to help me fine tune my welding. There was a ton of porosity and my arc was very unstable. Crappy beads. But in the end it was welded. We'll see if it lasts. Here is what I did. 1. Cleaned the crack with emory cloth. 2. Cleaned with p...

Hello everyone, I've been tig welding since Jan. of this year (2015). That makes me a beginner. I have logged in about 200 hours since Jan. and still have a lot to learn. Today I repaired an aluminum John boat. It was outside with wind. I think had it been inside, the weld would have looked a lot be...