Aluminum Welding & Fabrication
Aluminum is less forgiving than steel — it conducts heat away fast, doesn't glow before it melts, and cracks if the technique is wrong. It's worth taking to someone who welds it regularly.
Aluminum work we take on
From one-off repairs to fabricated assemblies, in sheet, plate, and structural stock.
- Repairs — cracked castings, boat fittings, ladders, racks, framing
- Fabrication — brackets, frames, enclosures, custom assemblies
- Sheet and plate work — cutting, forming, welding to spec
- Structural aluminum — load-bearing assemblies built to drawing
- Polished and finished work where appearance matters
Stainless and copper too
The same specialty-metal setup covers stainless steel and copper — food-service and marine stainless, decorative copper, and mixed-material assemblies that most general shops turn away.
Working from your drawing, or from the part
Bring a drawing, a sketch on a napkin, or the broken piece itself. Most jobs start as someone describing the problem rather than handing over a spec, and that's fine.
Common questions
Why is aluminum so hard to weld?
Three things make it unforgiving. Aluminum pulls heat away from the weld far faster than steel, so it needs more amperage and a quicker travel speed. It doesn't glow before it melts, so there's no visual warning — it goes from looking fine to collapsing. And it forms an oxide skin that melts at roughly three times the temperature of the metal underneath, so that layer has to be cleaned off or broken up by the arc before anything will fuse properly. Get any of those wrong and you get porosity, cracking, or a weld that looks acceptable and isn't.
What type of welder is best for aluminum?
TIG for anything where appearance or precision matters — thin material, tight fit-up, visible welds. It's slower but gives full control over heat. MIG with a spool gun or push-pull setup is better on thicker material and production work, where speed matters more than the look of the bead. Most shop jobs use one or the other depending on the part; some use both on the same assembly.
Can a beginner weld aluminum?
It can be learned, but it's a poor first material. Steel is forgiving — it tells you what it's doing and tolerates mistakes. Aluminum punishes small errors in heat control, cleanliness, and travel speed, and the failures often aren't visible until the part is loaded. If the piece is structural, holds weight, or matters to you, it's worth having someone weld it who does it regularly.
What is the cheapest way to weld aluminum?
For a one-off repair, taking it to a shop is almost always cheaper than buying equipment. A capable aluminum setup — machine, spool gun or TIG torch, argon, consumables — runs well into the thousands before you've made a single weld, and there's a learning curve on top. Aluminum brazing rods sold for home use work on some non-structural repairs but are much weaker than a proper weld, and they aren't a substitute on anything that bears load.
Do you weld cast aluminum?
Sometimes, but it depends on the casting. Cast aluminum often contains porosity and contaminants that bleed out when heated, and some alloys crack no matter how carefully they're welded. Send a photo and we'll tell you honestly whether it's likely to hold — there are castings that aren't worth attempting, and it's better to know that before paying for the attempt.
Describe the aluminum job and we'll quote it.