Welding magnets vs clamps

[I_Love_Plasma]

Really I'm surprised the the HH125 won't work on aluminum. We have a HH120 and it can with special wire and pure argon. Yep no joke, 20yo, thanks for the compliment! I grew up too fast, encourage any teenagers you know to slow down and enjoy it.

Hmm, yeah that could be a definite challenge getting the uniformity on 4 pieces. I can't remember what size your pieces will be. But I'm wondering if you could do some thing like this: using the rails and stringers to clamp against. This will hold it tight, and you should get good uniformity from frame to frame if you use the same rails and stringers for every piece.

ILP

[Trip59]

Ah, 20, it's been so long (can count in decades) since I've been carded for anything, I didn't know smokes weren't 18 anymore...

That's roughly what I'll be doing, I do have the pipe clamps the size to do that, it's mainly the corners I'm worried about though.

I think, now looking at your drawing, that the best thing may be to weld up the inside first, then the outer frame will have a structure to help hold it in place, welding the sides then the corners...

That's just about spot on, with the exception that there may be 1 or 2 divisions inside the long narrow sides... not sure yet.

Hobart welders won't push AL, you have to run a spool gun, and those only attach to the 185+ sizes. Probably has to do with the connections (small ones are hardwired) as well as the available power and DC only aspect of the small units. I rarely use AL for anything, even going forward all planned projects will be steel, stainless, brass, bronze, perhaps titanium. Never having had an issue with multiple passes, and budget being tight, the HH125 was a perfect fit at the time, and still is, MIG wise. I'll be adding a TIG and Plasma cutter before I even think about an upgrade on the MIG.

I suppose I could drop a pipe clamp diagonal to 'square it up' after welding, as I often do with carpentry projects such as boxes and cabinets. A little pull here or there squares it up nicely before attaching a back.

[I_Love_Plasma]

Oh okay I must be mistaken on the HH120 then. Good to know I can't use it...the I-MIG can

Sounds like you have a winning plan. Slop counts in pool billiards, but not in welding. Once you get your stringers and rails welded to the frame and all you have left is the corners; you could take a "L" shaped piece that you know is dead square and clamp it to the outside of the frame then weld. Remember to check you squares: Side "A" is 3", Side "B" is 4", the diagonal (hypotenuse) is 5". I was A+ student in geometry. Perfect 90 degree angles every time.

ILP

[MigPlazArc]

I think, now looking at your drawing, that the best thing may be to weld up the inside first, then the outer frame will have a structure to help hold it in place, welding the sides then the corners...

That's just about spot on, with the exception that there may be 1 or 2 divisions inside the long narrow sides... not sure yet.
I suppose I could drop a pipe clamp diagonal to 'square it up' after welding, as I often do with carpentry projects such as boxes and cabinets. A little pull here or there squares it up nicely before attaching a back.

I would use a square then clamp it...Then I would check the angles using the Pythagorean Theorem.

[welderdude]

The magnets have their place, but if it needs to actually be square, i use clamps and anything that looks useful at the time. The one thing I hate about magnets is that you really cant weld next to them, especially with a tig torch. The magnetic field screws up the arc.