Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey guys, new to the forum here. I have been an aluminum fitter for 17 years. Grew up in my dads aluminum boat building shop and I am gearing myself towards being a mobile welder. Lots of work in the ship yard here. I am putting a flat bed on my truck and want to setup for welding aluminum, steel and stainless, out of the back of my truck. Was wondering what other mobile welding trucks out there had for a setup for aluminum. Welders being used will be Miller 350p and 350mpa. What power source are you guys using? Any recommendations for my machines? Will also be using air compressor, plasma, air arc, tig, stick. Thanks for your time!

I'd scrap the idea of dragging around a shop welder and get a good engine drive like a miller bobcat or trailblazer or a lincoln ranger. These will be the most economical. Then if you want miggability get an LN25 from lincoln. As far as welding aluminum you can get a module and spool gun that will do a lot of what you want to do. If you HAVE to tig aluminum you can come up with a smaller tig like an Invertec 205 T. I'm just rattling off what I have which seems to serve me quite well. But I'm not working in shipyards either. But I do also have a broad customer base that I work with from aluminum to heavy and light duty steel to sanitary stainless. Take it for what it's worth.

nickn372 wrote:I'd scrap the idea of dragging around a shop welder and get a good engine drive like a miller bobcat or trailblazer or a lincoln ranger. These will be the most economical. Then if you want miggability get an LN25 from lincoln. As far as welding aluminum you can get a module and spool gun that will do a lot of what you want to do. If you HAVE to tig aluminum you can come up with a smaller tig like an Invertec 205 T. I'm just rattling off what I have which seems to serve me quite well. But I'm not working in shipyards either. But I do also have a broad customer base that I work with from aluminum to heavy and light duty steel to sanitary stainless. Take it for what it's worth.

Hey thanks for the reply. That is what I had in mind was a Miller trail blazer. I'll look into the LN25. I definitely need a mig machine for aluminum. Tig not so much. I have tons of work coming up and I'm without a welder that isn't in the shop. I need a designated setup for my truck. The trailblazer will be permanent in the truck and I will haul the mig machine in and out as needed. I have very little time using Lincoln machines. Mostly all Miller. I'm not a fan of spool guns. Especially in the marine field. There's a lot of tight spot work I do undernieth decks and in cabin space. And the convenience of having a Miller xr gun is the only option I would want in a personal setup. That is why I am leaning towards the Miller 350p for the designated mobile Machine. When I get more stable in work and can afford the alumapro 350mpa I would like to have that for my shop welder

You can get a push pull gun to work on the LN25. My trailblazer is the only miller machine I've ever been able to get along with. But trust me that LN25 will be a huge plus for you verses dragging a shop style welder around. Drag your leads in to where you need, carry in the LN25 and hammer down. The only other thing you might want is a remote amp control if you will be working a long way off from your trailblazer.

Good point. I was thinking I could nail two birds with one stone and buy the 350p and have a shop welder and a mobile welder. And also I was just sticking with what I know and am familiar most with. But having the mobility of that LN 25 would be really nice. I do a lot of 3/8-3/4" aluminum welding for marine rigging and booms. So I would need a pretty decent setup. A lot of 1/4" plate too. I just looked up the magnum pro xl push pull gun and it looks very similar to the Xr. So if I got the LN and the magnum Push pull, the gun will hook up to the LN?

Talk to a lincoln dealer to make sure you get the exact parts you need but yes it can because I have seen it.

nickn372 wrote:Talk to a lincoln dealer to make sure you get the exact parts you need but yes it can because I have seen it.

Alright thanks for all the helpful info. I appreciate it. Ill let you know what the verdict is

My new rig is a 305g, an ln25, a spool gun module and gun, hypertherm pm30 air, and my htp 221. I can weld anything except the crack of dawn.

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TigMonster wrote:My new rig is a 305g, an ln25, a spool gun module and gun, hypertherm pm30 air, and my htp 221. I can weld anything except the crack of dawn.

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Nice setup. I want to give Lincoln a try. I have always been a Miller guy. My main shop welder I have used the most are the 350p and the XMT . What is a similar push pull Lincoln welder to the 350p? Maybe I'll call their customer service. I need to get a new machine and power pack coming, getting swamped with work

5thGearFab wrote:

TigMonster wrote:My new rig is a 305g, an ln25, a spool gun module and gun, hypertherm pm30 air, and my htp 221. I can weld anything except the crack of dawn.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

Nice setup. I want to give Lincoln a try. I have always been a Miller guy. My main shop welder I have used the most are the 350p and the XMT . What is a similar push pull Lincoln welder to the 350p? Maybe I'll call their customer service. I need to get a new machine and power pack coming, getting swamped with work

https://weldingsupply.com/cgi-bin/einst ... :X:K4023-1

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The comparable machine to the Miller 350P is the Lincoln 350MP. I have one with a python push pull gun. It's a sweetheart machine. Worth every penny. Jody has done several videos with it.

I agree with Nick, go for a suitcase welder of your preferred brand over dragging a shoo welder in the field. You will much happier.

One area of concern. You mentioned welding 3/8"-3/4" alum that is structural in nature. I have been in a few shop and tried to advise them that were using Miller 350P's that were struggling to weld 1/2" alum. The welds kept cracking due to both the design being bad and a serious lack of fusion. If that thickness will be your bread and butter I would like to see you step up to a much larger machine. Helium will help but that gets expensive. Just a few thoughts.
Jonathan