Practice practice practice

 

I think you gotta go with a smaller electrode also in order to run at even less amps than you're currently running.

 

There is a coating on the aluminum cans that needs to removed. Wire brushing alone will not remove all of it.

Razor blades (the small ones) can be done. IIRC I used 1/16th inch thoriated tungsten, and set my Dynasty to around 10 amps ( this is edge to edge). You have to start with your filler rod (.030 stainless mig wire) on the joint to begin with or the heat eats the edges really quick. Its been a few years since I have done it, but it is doable with a little practice.

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There is a coating on the aluminum cans that needs to removed. Wire brushing alone will not remove all of it.

Razor blades (the small ones) can be done. IIRC I used 1/16th inch thoriated tungsten, and set my Dynasty to around 10 amps ( this is edge to edge). You have to start with your filler rod (.030 stainless mig wire) on the joint to begin with or the heat eats the edges really quick. Its been a few years since I have done it, but it is doable with a little practice.

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A few years ago I tried welding these with my Tig, never had any luck. This must have been the reason. A clear coat I didn't get removed. Never had any luck with beer cans either, my hand seemed to wander bad.

 

I've welded razor blades together with my Alternator TIG. The blades are 0.035" thick and I used 0.035" MIG wire for filler. I clamped the blades to a thick piece of aluminum for a heat-sink, then I struck the arc(it's a scratch start) on the aluminum, the backed the pedal off as far as I could while still maintaining an arc, then I moved the arc over to the blades and began welding. No idea how many amps I was actually using, but it couldn't have been very many.

I've never tried welding pop cans because my Alternator TIG is DC only. Once I get my real welder I'll give the pop cans a shot.

 

To answer the OP's question. With lots of practice

 

You gotta damn near start the arc on the filler wire, get a cold puddle going and fly around as far as you can get. Practice it up taks time.

 

Setting the machine as far over to "Cleaning" helps too.

But trust me, it CAN be done

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1gWaGZ-nks[/ame]

 

Setting the machine as far over to "Cleaning" helps too.

But trust me, it CAN be done

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1gWaGZ-nks

That's what got me to try it again. My welder doesn't have balance setting

So I tried this again today using 25-30cfh, 1/16th ceriated tungsten and used a wire brush and acetone to clean the cans. I actually got a few welds on it, and it stuck together but it wasn't without it's fair share of holes. Far better than what I have previously done.
I started on one side of the can, puddle, added filler, went to the other side of the can, puddle, add filler, then joined the two together.
What I can't figure out is that when I was barley on the peddle (max was around 35-40 amps) it would make a hole a pretty quickly, but if I was moderately on the peddle it wouldn't. It seemed like it puddled easier with a few more amps vs a few less amps.

 

I did this back in college with either the lincon or the millers transformer machines Wp 20 torch ..3/32 thoriated tungsten

It is not all that hard but you have to practice to get good enough to do it

Then you create the stack by welding two sets of cans welded end to end then you weld the two set together side by side

This was a right of passage ....it meant you could now tig weld

Lanse tack them together in three places before you begin welding them together it's easier

 

What's the point...... I've never had to take " The soda can test " before.

 

You don't need lots of practice...

Theres a kind of a trick to it that I found, but I can't share it It was quite easy all 3 times I tried.
And no there's no weird coating that will mess up the weld. I just scotch brited the cans after rinsing them out very well and drying with compressed air. You also need to poke a hole in the bottom of one can so you can seal it up w/o it blowing out.

 

I welded these not too long ago.. I cannot remember the settings I used; welded via Miller Dynasty DX

CLICK FOR VIDEO

These were Roll welded.. I had 1 foot on he footpedal for the welding positioner and the other foot on the amperage footpedal from the dynasty.

Amperage, I used maybe 15 to 18.

I can't remember everything I did, I don't practice welding aluminum.

Keep your tungsten as close as possible to the puddle. If the arc jumps around, it will start poking holes in the popcan.

What I did was I butted the two popcans as close together as possible, then I took "Aluminum Metal tape" or that furnace tape - whatever the stuff is called, and I wrapped it around the popcan leaving a 1" spot to place a tack.

To put in a tack, lay the tig wire ontop of the gap and use your footpedal to heat up the wire so it just "globs" well, washes out onto the popcans and immediately stop the arc.

next, tear away 180 degrees around the popcan - tear away the alumium sticky tape for roughly an inch, then put in another tack.

The reason why you need the alumimum stick tape on, is because without it, the alumium will pull towards the tack, and you will have a large gap on the other side of the popcan which you dont want.

Next, remove all the tape, and put a third tack somewhere on the popcan. This tack, it does not have to be position specific, its only purpose is that when you start welding, it is best to heat up a tack until it becomes really shiny, and then keep adding filler metal - adding filler metal will cool down the puddle. Keep an absolute constant foot on that amperage pedal but 1 or more amps could really effect the heat input into the popcan.

 

I welded these not too long ago.. I cannot remember the settings I used; welded via Miller Dynasty DX

CLICK FOR VIDEO

These were Roll welded.. I had 1 foot on he footpedal for the welding positioner and the other foot on the amperage footpedal from the dynasty.

Amperage, I used maybe 15 to 18.

I can't remember everything I did, I don't practice welding aluminum.

Keep your tungsten as close as possible to the puddle. If the arc jumps around, it will start poking holes in the popcan.

What I did was I butted the two popcans as close together as possible, then I took "Aluminum Metal tape" or that furnace tape - whatever the stuff is called, and I wrapped it around the popcan leaving a 1" spot to place a tack.

To put in a tack, lay the tig wire ontop of the gap and use your footpedal to heat up the wire so it just "globs" well, washes out onto the popcans and immediately stop the arc.

next, tear away 180 degrees around the popcan - tear away the alumium sticky tape for roughly an inch, then put in another tack.

The reason why you need the alumimum stick tape on, is because without it, the alumium will pull towards the tack, and you will have a large gap on the other side of the popcan which you dont want.

Next, remove all the tape, and put a third tack somewhere on the popcan. This tack, it does not have to be position specific, its only purpose is that when you start welding, it is best to heat up a tack until it becomes really shiny, and then keep adding filler metal - adding filler metal will cool down the puddle. Keep an absolute constant foot on that amperage pedal but 1 or more amps could really effect the heat input into the popcan.

You ought to take two new, full cans and poke small holes somewhere inconspicuous to drain them, then dry (using adsorbent, if needed), weld them together, refill them with water, close the small holes with silver-colored glue, and take them to a small store, a 7-11, or some similar place where the attendant is relatively young and where that brand drunk is sold. Pull the joined cans out of a small bag and explain to him that you recently bought them after asking for the jumbo size but had not paid attention to what you got, and now find it doesn't properly stay in the drink holder in your car....

Maybe for just a bit more fun, join them head to head so there's "no way to open it / them". :drinkup: :drinkup:

 

I have always wanted to try that. Never saw the razor blade one before.

 

Tried it again tonight. Used a 1/16th ceriated tungsten, 15cfh of argon and like 30amps. First attempt was a failure trying to get amperage about right. Once again it seemed if I barely touched the peddle it would put a hole but if I got on it a little harder it would puddle. Really strange.
So I tried to start on one can, puddle and add filler and move to the next then connect the two of them. It worked on a few spots but mostly left me with a huge hole at the bottom of the can.
This one I layed the filler between the two pieces and melted the fillter with the torch. Then I heated that up to a puddle and kept adding. It pretty well....at least this part of the can. The rest of the can...well it didn't make it haha.
Another thing I have a question about. Seems like majority of the holes were from the arc being pretty stable in the center then it would jump to one side or the other and put a hole in it. How do I prevent this from happening?

 

Tried to weld on a soda can today. Not the prettiest weld, but good practise. =)

 

Good looking bead there. Surprised how "plump" it is, for being on a can. Always fun to try and weld cans together. Makes for a good mental exercise, as well as good overall eye-hand coordination practice.

 

I know this is an old thread, but I figured I should revive it.

Tried this awhile ago and failed terribly as you could have guessed, but I'm curious if it can even be done with my machine. I've read that some people use 20-30amps.
I put two cans (bottoms together) wire brushed them, had a 3/32 electrode (red) and turned my machine on AC and turned the amperage as low as it would go which is 10 amps.
Got on the pedal maybe 1/4 of the way and it would pop a hole in a second. Do you need to pulse feature to get this done?

You don't need lots of practice...

Theres a kind of a trick to it that I found, but I can't share it It was quite easy all 3 times I tried.
And no there's no weird coating that will mess up the weld. I just scotch brited the cans after rinsing them out very well and drying with compressed air.

Since the guy above won't share his "secret", here's my take on how to get the best results:

In order to avoid popping a hole through the can on initial startup, you need to lay the filler rod in the joint and start the arc on the filler rod, then increase amperage until it flows into each can. Then, for the best results on welding the cans, use the "lay wire" technique:

You don't need to clean out the inside of the cans or scuff the outside as stated above. Just wipe the weld joint clean with a paper towel and acetone or brake cleaner. I used 1/8" Lanthanated tungsten (sharpened to a point) and 3/32" filler rod. And yes, it does take lots of practice. It took me at least 30 tries to get repeatable quality.
Read the full description in this Youtube video for the full explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq6ENYc55H4

 

I know this is an old thread, but I figured I should revive it.





Since the guy above won't share his "secret", here's my take on how to get the best results:

In order to avoid popping a hole through the can on initial startup, you need to lay the filler rod in the joint and start the arc on the filler rod, then increase amperage until it flows into each can. Then, for the best results on welding the cans, use the "lay wire" technique:

You don't need to clean out the inside of the cans or scuff the outside as stated above. Just wipe the weld joint clean with a paper towel and acetone or brake cleaner. I used 1/8" Lanthanated tungsten (sharpened to a point) and 3/32" filler rod. And yes, it does take lots of practice. It took me at least 30 tries to get repeatable quality.
Read the full description in this Youtube video for the full explanation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq6ENYc55H4

These welds are beautiful! You make it look easy.

 

Don't use brake cleaner!

 

That's what they all say, but I've been using it for 10 years. Just don't breathe it in or get it on your skin. It cleans parts VERY well and evaporates quickly.

EDIT: Make sure it is NON-CHLORINATED brake cleaner. You'll run out of the room coughing if it is chlorinated.

 

@ Aaron@6061 - stunning control, arc shots, and fusion. Your technique, pointers on {minimally} preparing the aluminum, and machine/filler settings are helpful. Thx. And the welds shown on your website are robotic. Can tell you work in aluminum, a lot. Nice work bro.

 

The cans in the first pictures were welded with the pulser on.

Below is a set of cans welded up without using the pulser, and very basic settings to show it can be done without a fancy welder:

Standard 60hz frequency
75% wave balance
40 amps electrode positive
40 amps electrode negative
square wave setting

It took a second to get in a good rhythm. The first of the weld (on the far left) is pretty irregular:

 

What welder do you use? Dynasty 280?

 

not the best looking bead here but this weld was made with a Lincoln 250GXT engine drive welder with a high frequency module. No pedal. Scratch start on the filler metal.

 

Looks like you'd give BC a run for his money, haven't seen him around lately. If ur using a old can u deffineltly needs to wash out the inside with warm water. And the "trick" is .040 tungsten and good can fit up and not letting it open on you. I use around 50 amps welding these

 

Trust me, you don't need to wash out the cans. If you burn the inside stuff into the puddle, you are too hot. There is a coating inside the cans anyways that would contaminate the weld if you go too hot. And the trick is not .040 tungsten. I'm using 1/8" (.125") tungsten.

You can also do it 'open root', with about a 1/16" gap if you like. That's good practice. It's almost as easy once you get the hang of it.

The trick (for me) is the "lay wire technique".

Here's a very thorough video about can production:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUhisi2FBuw

 

Just about everything is dangerous. Burning brake cleaner can be same day fatal in a large enough dose.

 

Yes it was a serious question. I've been a mechanic for so long, but welding was never present. The last three years of welding has been structural bridge work and manufacturing, so brake clean has never been present. But lot's of galv present, so I am used to wearing a respirator while welding.

The MSDS sheets for both Acetone and brake cleaner have all the same warnings, and all the same levels of toxicity and flammability.

Brake cleaner evaporates much faster than Acetone. Acetone evaporation rate is 5.8 compared to BuAC=1. Brake cleaner is at a rate of 2.8 where Ether=1. But Ether has an evaporation rate of 37.5 where BuAC=1. So that leaves brake cleaner with an evaporation rate of 105 to BuAC=1

 

Very cool pics of technique!
How about a pic of the weld inside the cans?


Eric

 

It doesn't matter if it evaporates faster. Welding over acetone doesn't release deadly gas. Brake clean does.
You want to be stupid and risk your life; knock yourself out.

 

Please don't turn this thread into a brake cleaner argument. If you are "welding over" brake cleaner, you are doing it wrong. I clean my parts with brake cleaner and paper towels. Any residual brake cleaner has evaporated long before I weld any parts. The parts are clean and DRY.

Again, this is non-chlorinated brake cleaner. I'm not even sure if the old chlorinated stuff is available. All your arguments seem to be referring to Chlorinated.

I use a Dynasty 350.