Best Coast Welding

Best Coast Welding 20+ years in the trade. TIG • MIG • Stick
Marine • Structural • Custom Fabrication
Boats, shipyards, aluminum, stainless & real shop talk.

By far the best quality and lowest rates in the lower mainland.

THE NEXT WELDER IN THE SHIPYARD MIGHT NOT BE HUMAN. 🤖Major shipbuilders are now developing humanoid robots built specifi...
09/01/2026

THE NEXT WELDER IN THE SHIPYARD MIGHT NOT BE HUMAN. 🤖

Major shipbuilders are now developing humanoid robots built specifically to weld ships. These are not stationary robotic arms bolted to a factory floor. They are human shaped machines designed to move through complex shipyards, monitor weld seams with artificial intelligence and work directly alongside tradespeople.

Italy’s Fincantieri plans to begin testing its humanoid welder inside a working shipyard before the end of 2026. HD Hyundai is also developing one, with prototypes targeted for this year and commercial deployment beginning in 2027.

At the same time, the American Welding Society says the United States will need 320,500 new welding professionals by 2029. The industry is running out of skilled hands, and some of the world’s biggest companies are betting robots can help fill the gap.

But here is what the polished demonstrations never show.

A shipyard is not a perfect production line. Fit up moves. Plate pulls. There is mill scale, paint, moisture, smoke, bad access, awkward positions and drawings that do not always match what is sitting in front of you. A real welder is constantly reading the puddle, listening to the arc, correcting the heat and deciding when something needs to be stopped.

That kind of judgment takes years to develop.

Recent investigations have found that humanoid robots still struggle when the lighting, angle, surface or equipment changes. Some currently perform basic industrial tasks at only a fraction of human speed.

My opinion after years of working in shipyards is that automation will eventually handle more repetitive and dangerous welding, but good welders are not becoming obsolete. The people who understand fabrication, metallurgy, distortion, troubleshooting and automated systems could become more valuable than ever.

A machine can run a bead. Knowing whether that bead is right, and knowing what to do when everything goes sideways, is still a trade.

Would you trust a humanoid robot to weld the ship carrying you across the ocean?

09/01/2026

I was probably making a damn good point too… not that anybody could hear it. 😂🔊

CAST IRON REPAIR: THE WELD IS THE EASY PART ⚡️Cast iron does not forgive shortcuts. A break like the one in this picture...
08/25/2026

CAST IRON REPAIR: THE WELD IS THE EASY PART ⚡️

Cast iron does not forgive shortcuts. A break like the one in this picture can absolutely be repaired, but whether it lasts depends far more on preparation and heat control than on how pretty the finished weld looks. If contaminated material, foundry sand, oil or porosity gets buried underneath the repair, the casting will usually tell on you before long.

The first step is getting back to clean, solid cast iron. That means removing rust, casting skin, oil, grease and every trace of loose or gritty material around the break. A regular hard grinding wheel rated for ferrous metal works well for the broad preparation, while a carbide burr gives better control in the tighter areas. The joint should be opened into a smooth U shaped groove without unnecessarily grinding away the original fit. Any dark, sandy, crumbly or porous pockets need to come completely out before welding begins.

For the heavier removal, I am using the Eagle 188 airless gouging electrode. A 1/8 inch Eagle 188 runs between 200 and 250 amps on DC straight polarity, meaning electrode negative. I generally start around 200 to 210 amps, lay the rod down at a shallow angle and use a short sawing motion to control the groove. Once the gouging is finished, the slag is removed and the groove receives a light final grind back to clean, uniform metal.

This is where polarity becomes important because these two rods run opposite from one another. After gouging with the Eagle 188 on electrode negative, the machine gets switched for the Eagle 180 cast iron electrode. The 1/8 inch Eagle 180 runs between 70 and 110 amps on DC reverse polarity, meaning electrode positive. Around 85 amps is a good starting point, using the lowest amperage that will maintain a stable arc.

The broken piece needs to be carefully aligned and secured before filling the joint. Cast iron is not something you attack with long, hot passes. I use short stringer beads, usually between half an inch and one inch, then immediately peen each bead lightly while it is still hot. The next bead is placed somewhere else on the joint, allowing the previous area to cool back toward hand warm before returning. This skip welding method spreads the heat, limits expansion and helps control the contraction stresses that cause cast iron to crack beside an otherwise good looking weld.

For this repair I am using the cold repair method, so there is no major full preheat. The casting should be dry and around room temperature before starting. A true hot repair is a completely different procedure that requires heating the entire casting evenly and controlling the cooling cycle. Blasting one small area with a torch can create another severe temperature difference and make the cracking problem worse.

Once the repair is complete, the casting should be protected from drafts and allowed to cool slowly under an insulating welding blanket. No water, no compressed air and no fan. After it reaches room temperature, the repair can be cleaned and carefully inspected. If any porosity appears, it gets removed back to sound metal and repaired properly instead of being covered by another pass.

A successful cast iron repair is not about piling weld onto a broken part. It is about removing every defect, controlling every bit of heat and having the patience to let the material dictate the pace.

What is your preferred method for cast iron repair: nickel rod, brazing, metal stitching or complete replacement?

Yeee
08/24/2026

Yeee

08/22/2026

One of those little tricks you pick up after enough time welding. 🔥 Multi-pass welds on heavy equipment, stacking one over the next and leaving the slag right where it is until the very end. That final break-off is the satisfying part. 👌

Back in action.
08/17/2026

Back in action.

Went outside my comfort zone today. 😂I’ve been a Stanley FatMax guy forever. If I’m buying a tape, that’s usually what I...
08/12/2026

Went outside my comfort zone today. 😂

I’ve been a Stanley FatMax guy forever. If I’m buying a tape, that’s usually what I grab without even thinking about it. Couldn’t find the one I wanted this time around, so I figured screw it and grabbed this Maximum 26-footer instead.

I’ve never owned a Maximum tape before, so I have absolutely no idea if I just found a new favourite or if I’m going to be throwing this thing across the shop by the end of the week. 😂 First impression, though, it actually feels pretty solid.

Anybody here use these regularly? How do they hold up compared to a FatMax? Did I make a decent choice, or am I going to regret betraying Stanley? 😂

08/04/2026

Back at it. The Porsche project isn’t finished yet. The metalwork is done, and now it’s time to lay down the paint. Looking forward to bringing this restoration one step closer to the finish line. Stay tuned. 👌

Soon as you start acting like you’re a better welder than everyone else… I’m listening
07/21/2026

Soon as you start acting like you’re a better welder than everyone else… I’m listening

07/13/2026

If you can’t TIG aluminum like this you need practice.

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