Yea buddy, that’s my kind of project there bud.

Try putting a dab of filler at the end of your weld and at the beginning, let it cool just a second the retry your welds. This is a practice plate of course, but what it will do is show you what your problem is. To me it appears that maybe your not adding enough filler wire at the beginning and end of your welds. It takes practice and some patience. Aluminum can be frustrating to say the least. Hang in there bro. We have all been there.

That’s awesome bud. Always great to hear success stories.

Aaron Laughlin yea that metal bucket probably not the best thing. I bought a simple drummers stool at first until I could upgrade. Now I have a Vyper chair. Had it about 2yrs or so and I love it.

Aaron Laughlin no the purpose is heat input. I never let the previous puddle solidify. I back off the pedal just enough to keep the puddle flowing in its molten form. When I add filler, I give it more pedal to flow the puddle out to the desired size.

Joey

Practice practice practice.

I’ve had that happen multiple times. Mine always seemed to be due to sweating and propping my bare arms on the table. Electricity always takes the path of least resistance. I started wearing sleeves and I don’t seem to have that problem anymore.

I have a small slip roll in my shop that I use to make small rolled patches for Aluminum fuel tanks. Besides that I have little experience with them. Cut off wheels are your best option if you don’t have access to a small plasma. Can’t wait to see the end product.

Your off to a great start, go check out some of my videos on Aluminum and see if any of it helps. Glad to have you on the site.