Hillbillysmith Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Has anyone ever welded a Soda Pop can together?? If so, I want to see this and would like to know the procedure in which you had accomplished this. I am told that this can not be done, but on the other hand, I have been told that I CAN be done but have never seen this accomplished let alone seen the process myself. But I not only want confirmation, but PROOF and PROCEDURE. -Hillbilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Last soda can I welded was long enough ago that it had the pull off tab. It can be done, expect more failures that success till you get it all figured out. That was with an O/A rig. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcraigl Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 think TIG. only way I can imagine it being done routinely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmith Jim Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 I think I've heard of it being done with TIG, like mcraigl suggests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainsFire Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Ive done it.. not pretty by any means, but if your careful with a really small tig head.. and really gentle foot control, you can get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder19 Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 alum. ox/ac welding rods....and practice If I get some time I'll do one and post a pic. welder19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersenj20 Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Here you go.http://www.sergisonmachine.net/images/tig.jpg Not mine. I got it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainsFire Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 wow, thats really good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Patrick Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I was working at one of our customers shops about two years ago. Pretty small shop, specialized in stainless and aluminum sheet metal fab. All high end cosmetic work. That was the weld test for that end of their shop. You would show up, they would hand you pop can cut in half and point you in the direction of one of their TIG welders and wait. As a result, their weld shop was one of the best. I saw a bar top they made for a pub made of copper. Two 90 degree turns in it, absolutely perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habu68 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 A friend that worked in my brother's shop for a while is one of the top micro welders in the country, he specializes in repairing plastic injection molds by welding and machining what are sometimes multi-million dollar molds. He regularly tig welds under a 200 power microscope. I have watched him weld pop cans together and lay a bead along the edge of a razor blade. I have watched him heat treat(aneal) a 3000 lb mold made of h13 to prepare it for welding ,do a small weld, machine and re-heat treat. The weld took less than 15min to do, machining another 2 hrs with set up. But to heat treat the mold took a week bring it up to temp and cooling so the tool did not warp. For a guy like me who can barely stick two pieces of 1/4 inch stock together with the buz box it was a humbling experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paragon Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Sheesh.. All I know is that they melt nicely with my #0 OA tip. AHve not tried welding yet. I don't see how you can get a small and cold enough flame with OA. The bottom of the can will be the thickest part.. no clue as to how much thicker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLOB Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 A friend that worked in my brother's shop for a while is one of the top micro welders in the country, he specializes in repairing plastic injection molds by welding and machining what are sometimes multi-million dollar molds. He regularly tig welds under a 200 power microscope. I have watched him weld pop cans together and lay a bead along the edge of a razor blade. I have watched him heat treat(aneal) a 3000 lb mold made of h13 to prepare it for welding ,do a small weld, machine and re-heat treat. The weld took less than 15min to do, machining another 2 hrs with set up. But to heat treat the mold took a week bring it up to temp and cooling so the tool did not warp. For a guy like me who can barely stick two pieces of 1/4 inch stock together with the buz box it was a humbling experience. I used to work with a guy that specialised in microwelding. its absolutly amazing to see someone weld under a microscope. even more amazing is when its a 500lb mold thats preheated to about 600 degrees. He later went off and started his own shop. some of his work can be seen here (New England Tool & Microweld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis Covington Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I don't think i could keep my hand that steady. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcraigl Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 The picture of the dew cans welded bottom to bottom... That's a completely different beast than cutting one in half then welding it together. I tig'd aluminum for a few years proffesionally, but all my Al was between .100 and .250 thick. I'm sure there's guys out there that can do it, and I'd love to watch them do it. Never heard of "Micro-welding" as a specialty. That sounds pretty cool to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habu68 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Slob, Just about the time you think you know something about some thing, you see someone that does that kind of work and you realize you don't know noth'n.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe H Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Welding two cans together like that isn't too hard. Cutting a can in half and welding it back together is a whole different story. First you have to cut the can in half and get it clean inside and out without deforming it. A perfect fitup is mandatory for welding thin materials like that. My machine will not drop low enough in amperage, maybe 2-4 amps. If I get a chance at work monday I'll see what I can do. (probably make a mess) BTW, it definately CAN be done. I've seen aluminum foil welded together before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
habu68 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Fun with cans: remove the top of pop can inside the lip and cut the bottom off about 3/4s the way down. If you toss the can like a foot ball with a spin with the top as the leading edge it will fly like a Frisbee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petersenj20 Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 Fun with cans: remove the top of pop can inside the lip and cut the bottom off about 3/4s the way down. If you toss the can like a foot ball with a spin with the top as the leading edge it will fly like a Frisbee. You can do that with a roll of tape too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbillysmith Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 After seeing all of the pics of the welds that everyone had put up on here, I tried to weld a pop can the other day at school. Well, I did it!! I not only welded a bead on the bottom edge, I welded a bead on the side material as well. I blew a couple of small holes in it, but this is the first ever piece of aluminum that I have ever welded before. No practice, just I just went for it. :cool: Not bad for a first aluminum weld, if I do say so myself. Here's a couple of pics: What does everyone think? The next time I get to TIG weld, I'm going to weld two can together and, if successful, I'm going to try aluminum foil. When i finish, I'll post pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Has anyone ever welded a Soda Pop can together?? Just 18 posts and 20 days later he was able to just that !! Thank you to all those that make IForgeIron such a wonderful resource, and take the time to encourage others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Amazing ....... First weld, fantastic, can't wait to see your future welds. Do you have any welding equipment of your own, or do you only get to weld at school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbillysmith Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share Posted January 27, 2008 I only get to weld at school. I am going to a vocational school to learn welding as a trade. That is my first ALUMINUM weld. I have MANY others. I do plan on practicing much more in the future on pop cans and hopefully aluminum foil. But so far, the class in general is still doing steel with MIG,stick,TIG. With Stick and MIG, we have done every position for plate in fillet and lap joints with E6010 and E7018. TIG, we are still on horizontal lap and fillet. But moving forward nonetheless!! P.S. If people here want to see my welds, I can put pictures up. Just let me know. Thanks for the inspiration to do more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I love pictures, post away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Dean Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Ok Hillbilly smith now that you have welded on the pop can without cheating (cheating is welding 2 together at the ends). How about welding 2 razor blades together by the sharp edge. I am going to admit that I've never tried it myself. I also don't have the equipment to weld aluminum. Now that I've thrown out a new challenge good work! I've gotta go get some razor blades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Pep Gomez used to use two razor blades welded edge to edge as his business card for his welding business. He's a smith in Las Cruces NM and teaches welding at the local community college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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