# DIY Poling Platform - Question About Tools



## stevenstewart (May 15, 2009)

i have that exact same welder and it isnt a great welder but it will weld thinner metal ok. it doesnt run quite hot enought to weld thicker medals like a trailer. it would work for a polling platform if it isnt to thick and you have to really move the gun in a wide motion to work the puddle. i am used to much better welders so i always get really anoyed with the fact you only have two settings for the heat and two for the wire speed. if i were looking to buy a welder i would spend a little more to get variable heat settings.


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## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

After looking closely at the coupon picture and website's pictures, it's the first link up there. So disregard the rest.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Check the specs, I think those are for welding steel, not aluminum.


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## noeettica (Sep 23, 2007)

Unfourtanatly You get What You pay for with welders ...

Tig would probibly Be better ...

You Definatly want to Use Shielding Gas for aluminum 

a good heiliarc rig Does NOT come Cheap :-(

But with all the Companys Going Tits Up Look for a deal ...

Dave


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

Those welders are for steel, and they are garbage. If you want to weld aluminum, ideally you'd want a tig welder. Or you can use a MIG welder with a spool gun, and 100% Argon gas. I have a 220 amp Hobart MIG welder that says I can weld aluminum with it. But it's a real pain to do it without a spool gun. They sell a kit for it that's like $200 but I'm skeptical about it. I rather just buy a spool gun. Even though those can range from $500-$1200. And that's that I spent $950 on my welder alone. Then another $100 on the big tank. I don't know the mixture of my gas, but I know it's not pure Argon like needed to weld aluminum.

Anyway, most welders have quoted me at $50-$100 to weld up a platform. I've had some quote me as cheap as $35 dollars to weld it up. I had done a deal with a guy that I would paint his car for him if he made both my poling and casting platform. He went and got all the material and cut it up to all the dimensions but he never finished it. 


Locally, the aluminum tubing or piping I don't remember which is was, was costing me $32 for the 20 ft pole. And $45 at another place. That was in 1.25". Now I know that I need 1" so it might be even cheaper. I plan on doing everything myself and having someone weld it up. Maybe "WelderPat". It all depends on how much of a hassle it would be to take it over to him. Might be easier finding someone locally to do it.


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## rkmurphy (Nov 2, 2008)

Well...scratch that idea...

Haha I should have figured it wouldn't be that simple. So I'd just be better off drafting up a design and asking a local guy to do it for me? I would bet I'm still going to be in the $500-$600 range...


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

> Well...scratch that idea...
> 
> Haha I should have figured it wouldn't be that simple.  So I'd just be better off drafting up a design and asking a local guy to do it for me?  I would bet I'm still going to be in the $500-$600 range...



No. I say you do the same thing that you had planned on doing. But instead of paying $89.99 plus tax to buy a cheap garbage welder that only welds steel, you spend $100 on paying a professional to do the welding for you. lol


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## PatKent (Mar 29, 2009)

In the spirit of friendship over spam let me give you both some good advice.
Most of your comunity colleges have welding classes where guys are sitting there welding little pieces of scrap in to big pieces of scrap.
They would love to have a project.
They arn't as good as me but they may be better than you.


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## mark_gardner (Mar 18, 2009)

i have fabbed a few using 1 1/2" sq aluminum tubing, the stock cost somewhere around $100 and that was close to 10 years ago, paid a welder somewhere around $100 to weld it up for me then bolted it all on myself. for the lid i used some marine grade plywood then painted it olive drab green to match the boat it was going on. it all looked kinda primative but worked. if you want something that doesnt look homemade your probably gonna want to spend the dough on having one built, the one i had built for the mud minnow ran about $500. right now might be your best time to strike up a cash deal with a local shop with the economy as slow as it is


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## paint it black (Nov 3, 2007)

> In the spirit of friendship over spam let me give you both some good advice.
> Most of your comunity colleges have welding classes where guys are sitting there welding little pieces of scrap in to big pieces of scrap.
> They would love to have a project.
> *They arn't as good as me but they may be better than you.*




I never said I can't weld.  I'm just not equipped to weld aluminum.


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