type of welding machine ?

[capttoghog]

Hello to all, I am new to boat building,I have been a welder for 35 yre and thus explains the use of metal instead of wood.
I am going to build a 23' aluminum skiff I have the plans and material. I just am not sure if I want to use a suitcase setup or a spool gun .
Any thoughts on the subject would be appreciated.

Tnx capt jack

[stonebreaker]

Read Stephen Pollard's "Boatbuilding with Aluminum". Lots of good info on weld techniques. He likes the Millermatic 251 with a spoolgun.

[capttoghog]

Dosen't the 251 have a push /pull gear setup inside the machine ?

and if it does do you still reccomend using the spoolmatic in conjunction with the 251. My main concern is the wire hanging up.

someone suggested using the xmt / suitcase but I am trying to keep within a budget. Tnx for your advice.

Also The spoolmatic looks like it might be bulky and hard to get in tight places.
Can the nozzles be changed on the spool matic to the other type of designs etc slightly curved.

I am trying to find the nicest,easiest setup, tnx for all advice. capt jack

[Eagle Boats]

Cap, check out the Miller, millerwelds.com website. They have a forum where you can get answers to these type of questions.

[stonebreaker]

Pollard says that the welders he's worked with like the spool gun because the 25 ft. cable makes it a lot easier to crawl all over the boat without having to drag the machine around so much, and only use the push-pull setup when the spool gun won't fit.

[openboater]

There is a flexible tip available for the spoolamtic's. As I recall I saw it listed in brwelder.com for $139

I'm planning on picking one up soon.

A mm251 is a lot of machine. unless you need to do greater than 1/4 inch a MM210 should be suffecient. I'm happy with my Hobart HH175 and spoolate 3035, although , I wish I had the extra voltage taps of the HH187 or the MM210. I think some of my sweetspots are in between the 4 taps I have, and the 7 taps of those machines would dial in the arc just perfect.

[Ike]

I suggest you also join the forum at the Metal Boat Society. http://www.metalboatsociety.org/. It's all about metal boat building, and I have seen this question asked several times.