The Most Requested TIG Process You'll Never Use

[@CapablePimento]

this skill is actually critical to me. I always weld my coke cans together before an outing. that way I only have to hold half as many cans. Obviously i follow this by welding on an extra long open ended koozie.

[@ypaulbrown]

what a great idea, thanks for the tip.....Paul

[@ai_university]

"open ended coozie"

[@IMKINDOFABIGDEAL13]

Well look who thinks they’ve got it all figured out… hahahahaha

[@donttalkjustplay4274]

😂🤣😂👌🏼

[@weirdmatter]

@@ypaulbrown did you just refer to yourself in the third 🤔🙄😒

[@XBOXTOPUS]

As a relatively green welder ( I've been welding for about 3 years now, with a focus in TIG for the last year), this is something that's always in the back of my mind. I work at a sheet metal fabrication shop, so I am routinely TIG-ing material all the way down to 0.040 aluminum. The welding of cans is something my boss always points to as a mark of a very capable welder and man lemme say you made it look easy. I think cans like that are around 0.040 thick which is not easy stuff to weld, not to mention all the way around a circumference. Awesome vid, made me wanna try it with my everlast in the garage.

[@AllenKll]

Coke cans are definitely thinner than .040; even thinner than .032. Cut one apart and you'll see what I mean. A quick google search says that in the US soda cans are .010, but I don't know how reliable that is, I don't have a micrometer handy.

[@kubeek]

0.04" is roughly 1mm thick which would hold a battle tank. A beer can is closer to 0.004" thick or 0.1 to 0.08mm.

[@liquidesnake2]

cans are .003" to 004". I used .045 or .030 wire and lots of preactice. It is not as hard as you think once you get a feel for it. Lots of guys use it for practice for aireospace certification tests. Tacking is the hardest part (fit is critical), second is moving fast enough to prevent warping. You will get there

[@ScarryMarian2012]

The main reason for your fail is not exposing the the aluminium properly...most times the succes of a weld is the preparation of the weld...that's the heart of the weld bro,here's a tip to get that cleaning better,get an abrasive sponge pad of a fine grit and buff the bottom edges of the cans you want to join,the clean that with acetone (also clean the filler rod with acetone),then start practicing from there,next step,fine tune the way the arc melt the puddle (you actually don't melt a puddle on the cans but on the filler rod) by tweaking the balance of the machine,have a start from the settings presented in the video,good luck there 🙂

[@HappyDragneels_page]

@@kubeek you are using the wall thickness for the middle of the can, that extruded ring on the bottom is much thicker

[@draaks1]

Pretty cool, I had a neighbor who was retired worked for Miller I think it was. He used to go out and do trade shows and whatnot. He was sent to "show what the welders were capable of" he would weld cans, razor blades, and by far the coolest that he even still had an example of was 2 sheets of tinfoil welded back together. Dude was unreal.

[@davidcraft4909]

This is probably by far the best practice, because I have 100s of cans/ coupons ready to go. to add to that just like steel too if you can weld super thin, then the thicker stuff is easy. not to mention if you can weld around a radius then flat becomes too easy, so go weld some cans and become a better welder

[@nickbesserer]

"Coupons" lmao

[@seanthebluesheep]

I know absolutely nothing about welding, so this sounds like almost nothing to me, but everyone in the comments seems very impressed. I think that shows the depth of the field in that something apparently simple can take huge amounts of knowledge and skill to achieve. Well done to everyone involved, even if I don't know well enough what I'm congratulating.

[@WoodcraftBySuman]

Super thin material. Very hard to weld and not melt into a puddle of cheese

[@lordrichard8184]

It’s a super thin material with a very low melting point (like 1200 degrees). Welding aluminum happens at 1100 degrees. So you have a very small temperature window to start with. Throw in the super thinness of the material and it makes the welding window super super small. It would be very easy to melt the can and turn it into a puddle of cheese. Or just have massive burn through all along the weld

[@2020HotShotTruckingLLC]

I have a lot to learn before even thinking about doing this. My trick with soda cans was from when I worked in a printed circuit factory, We would take some waste etchant, dilute it and set the can in it. It would dissolve the aluminum and if you diluted it properly you would have a perfect plastic can left. Soda is very corrosive and eats aluminum so there is a plastic coating inside the can. Etching the aluminum off leaves you with the plastic coating only.

[@evoxis1058]

Could you go i bit more in Detail? Sounds interesting

[@2020HotShotTruckingLLC]

@@evoxis1058 The etchant used was called Cupric Chloride, it was green colored. It had hydrochloric acid and chlorine in it as added ingredients but you started from a starter solution which is really just the same waste product which will have a certain amount of copper dissolved in it. the trick was to dilute it with water as the reaction with aluminum creates heat. If it's strong enough, it looks like a little flame around the edge of the line where the can is floating. Too much heat and the plastic melts. Too much water and it takes too long or won't work at all. So it's touch and go to find the right ratio. I'm sure there are plenty of acids that would work. I discovered this where there was a plastic tub used for draining the hoses used to pump out tanks into a semi and rain water had diluted it. Trial and error with many attempts and we would get a perfect plastic can.

[@macmaniacal]

but how do you learn a lot if you don't try!

[@FrenchCheeto016]

I got the 250ex last year to learn to tig weld. I’ll probably never need another machine. Love it

[@jodymiller9328]

Been almost 10 years since I got my 250ex and it's still kicking today. Paint is faded and she is showing some age but it's still going strong. Actually turned out to be pretty solid welder.

[@everlastgenerator]

You sound surprised lol

[@jamesh9678]

I tried this, just to see how hard it is. It’s very hard imo. I suppose the bigger filler rod and the lower melting point would help. I could make a little puddle on one can, but trying to fuse two together wasn’t even close. A big hole would appear immediately.

[@DAR10162]

That is the point of the exercise to teach better control in general

[@19mrscott69]

The BEST camera work of any channel I've seen

[@jessemccollum]

Ol camera guy is a certified pro, he comes up woth some really cool shots

[@1008chaz]

I love seeing trades people strutting there stuff. He makes all this sounds so easy and straight forward but it takes so much experience and skill.

[@James.Richter]

Dance monkey dance! Thanks for the video my 7year old and I both enjoyed it. He said "dad! That's your welder!" 👍 green machine!

[@jessemccollum]

Haha perfect! Thanks for the support man! Get that boy welding!

[@James.Richter]

@@jessemccollum I let them ( 12yr & 7yr ) play with the mig already👌 the 12 yr old is also running my paint guns occasionally. The trades won't be completely lost in the coming generation.

[@Bigdaddyweldz]

If you can weld cans together you can also repair tubes on radiators done it many times. it's a great skill to have.

[@billclark5943]

I like using the pyrex cup on aluminum too. Especially when welding around tubing . Being able to look through the cup as I near the end helps tie in consistency. There is some distortion looking through the glass but once you know what your looking for its not that bad

[@afsarmstrongfiresafety7460]

Even illumination without a shadow from the cup is another great reason.

[@tonymottram1396]

I love how casual you are about doing such an awesome weld I've watched other videos of yours thankyou for your time

[@declanthiele]

I learned how to weld with a flux core mig and 22gauge sheet steel. Tell you what, was an experience. Definitely teaches a guy to go slow and be patient to let the heat disperse in the steel

[@king_Perixus]

thx man. ill actually use this method to make a Summer-Time Heatblower (hard to explain whole concept) but this information is going to be put to use when i have to weld like 10 cans to each other and have like 5-7 rows of them. put them into a fram, attach a blower/motor to the buttom, place it in the hot sun. also tickering with trying to add water into the system, and then into our main water tank :s

[@yecodothings493]

My welding instructor has the same welding cap

[@Schralenberger]

You're mostly right. Most people will never need this. However, there are exceptions. Example: there is a government contract shop(in Bergen county NJ), that does jet engine components. Their interview weld test, has the invited candidate, welding a stainless steel alloy tubing not much thicker. Now yes indeed, stainless is different from welding aluminum. But this is a cheap practice piece still. For the rest of the world yes, no one is going to do this , for a practical application. But it is still a useful exercise, welding paper thin stock. There are applications for welding uber thin stock. However few, and far between they are.

[@DrCranberry]

to be fair, I feel like there'd be much better, cheaper tests then welding 2 cans together. Like for instance, literally just buying aluminum plates from Home Depot, or Lowes that just need to be cleaned/acetoned and then welded.

[@Schralenberger]

@@DrCranberry I didn't say that they had you weld 2 cans. I said that it(welding the cans) was cheap practice, for welding thin stock.

[@jeffclark5024]

I tried this, failed terribly and somehow took out the high frequency start board in a brand new Lincoln tig welder.. luckily they repaired it under warranty.

[@Patrone68]

Lol nice cans brother! I'm curious what you were using to get your shots of the actual weld, camera in a welding mask?lol

[@jessemccollum]

Sooooo thats a really fancy lens on a DSLR camera, with a filter basically meant to look at the sun. I'm doing a weekly live stream now and we are using a camera by MeltTools that is meant just for arc shots, mounted to my hood. We have a test video of the setup, and we just got done with the first live episode about an hour ago! The videos are posted under the everlast channel page

[@Patrone68]

@@jessemccollum That's really cool!

[@ThrashingBuddha]

Man, that's beautifully filmed, though!

[@jrcll7856]

i usually have a welded pop can on my work bench for people to see.... it gets peoples attention, especially for those who don`t weld

[@thecarl168]

what was the actual welding current. ? the machine was set at 43A but you were using the foot pedal as control

[@jonboro2000]

Can you do this with a 255EXT? I'm thinking about buying one, but I would like confirmation that the 255EXT also starts up nice and soft and doesn't blow holes in the cans. This actually really truly is important to me as I do work on stuff this thin.

[@everlastgenerator]

255EXT would be even better choice for doing something like this, more exact control of variables. Part of the reason we used the 250EX was just to highlight how good our analog machines are as well.

[@metalbill]

This is how I've gotten a job before. Brought in cans I welded together as my calling card.

[@everlastgenerator]

Touche! I've heard razors, but cans is a good one too.

[@fuzzzeballs]

I will try that when I go for the interview Wednesday at the Amazon warehouse

[@arrowphillips6902]

Back in the day in my early twenties almost all tig welders would weld the cans so I spent some time and was eventually able to weld two cans side by side long ways...I’m not a production welder anymore. I have been in management and have been a owner of a sheet metal manufacturing, Arospace, and structural steel fab and install company for years so I can weld almost anything but probably couldn’t weld the cans today but I remember how blown away new hires used to be and they would have instant respect after seeing me do it😂😂😂 good old days

[@stevegriffin2626]

Not that anyone cares but the bottom of the cans have a coating of varnish on the very rim. It’s put on there to make them slide easier on a conveyor belt during manufacturing and filling.

[@NemesisRTCW]

Nowadays with aluminium cans it is, but in the old days with steel cans it was also there to protect the rim from abrasion by the conveyors and in the stores, as the bottom would rust out from the outside as the bottom was left uncoated steel.

[@jamesmartin3914]

education doesn't come cheap, thank you

[@Mk6GTIMike]

I got an automatic A in my TIG class for welding 2 cans together

[@juanignaciocaino]

bwahahahaha the tone in your voice when you said "how'd ya like my cans" dropped to 30 hz. Heat input baby!

[@russellstephan6844]

This past Fall I cut up a set-at-the-curb-for-trash-day water heater to be used as stock sheet steel for a beefy DIY snow shovel. The finished shovel out rather nice. We're still waiting on enough show to test its functionality, though. My Everlast 70 amp plasma cutter makes quick work of disassembling such scavenged source metal.

[@donaldcarter1206]

Did that once in the 80's with a 110 volt mig welder. I think it was a hobart handler on 030 wire. Did the bottom fine without blowing through but could never get the sides to weld.

[@ecleveland1]

I was told that this was a test when my cousin went to school for welding. I don't know if they had to weld them together as you did or if they cut the can in half at its thinnest point and had to weld that back together. He passed the test whatever it was. He was supposed to be a very good welder before he got hurt on the job at a Shell Oil refinery.

[@benjaminboyden4739]

Butt welding the middle of the can would almost be impossible.

[@HappyDragneels_page]

@@benjaminboyden4739 steel yes, aluminium no. aluminium transfers hear insanely fast, so when your welding on super thin aluminium with low power its harder to blow through than steel, you can weld aluminium foil and that is certainly thinner than a can

[@benjaminboyden4739]

@@HappyDragneels_page You post a video butt welding a beer can back together I'll Venmo you a bill.

[@gregwilliams1054]

I've been waiting for 40 years and I Have done that with A torch

[@charlesgraham9954]

i work at Bass Tracker Boats. iv welded two cans together many of times to win a bet.

[@yeoldepirate783]

Happy New Year friend !

[@vernacular1483]

Technique-wise, what if you had two objects that formed a cavity like these cans, and you needed to weld them together, but could not punch a vent hole? How would you manage or mitigate the outgassing pressure?

[@everlastgenerator]

weld them up, leave a small gap at the end, let the parts cool, preflow some argon into cavity.... hit the last little bit hard and fast.

[@paulkurilecz4209]

Having a good ground is also important as there is a thin plastic film on the cans in addition to the ink/paint for the label. Scuffing the tops of the cans is also good for getting a good ground.

[@Eyore82]

0:58 I friggin love that sticker inside your hood!

[@jessemccollum]

Dang.... It finally made an appearance.... I tried to keep it off video

[@jurrien541]

love your cans !!!!!

[@mjlmbl]

Anything but a broken heart or the Crack of dawn. Super cool!

[@ypaulbrown]

Jessie, wonderful video, cheers, Paul

[@therebelrobot4691]

"He is good with my help he could be the best." Do it while the cans are full and unopened!

[@davidholmes5220]

To add more, back then i welded artificial hart valves, I've been retired 7yrs ,last 10 i was welding aircraft parts. I loved my work till my body said you can't do it anymore.

[@mustafanhtl]

What wire model did you use?

[@michaelbarefoot6334]

That IS a nice set of cans!

[@elaineevander]

what tungsten u used for this?

[@thzzzt]

I've always wondered why you can't get a truly tiny bead with aluminum. I guess molten aluminum just has a minimum viscosity.

[@NanashiSC2]

So you're telling me this isn't The captain of the Canterbury

[@littlewarlock9361]

Good day, we have an Everlast STI 221, I love it but no matter how low I go with the amp settings (20 amps) I can not weld thin aluminum, period. If it is not thicker than .80" then it just blows through. I am using 1/16" tungsten with a 15 degree sharpened end. It still blows through. I know it is me but do you have any recommendations? Other than thin aluminum this thing welds like a dream.

[@jessemccollum937]

Hit me up on Instagram or Facebook and lets see if we can get that sorted out!

[@metalheartmachine]

You should be getting lower amps than that. At 1amp per .001”, at 20 amps. That is limited to .020.

[@billarroo1]

A main problem I had was Not keeping the rod right there, Keeping the rod always at the edge of the puddle guarantees filler metal taking most of the heat and not the thin can. Plus don't lag, move fast enough, keep the rod ALWAYS right at the puddle so you have instant filler metal.

[@metalheartmachine]

This might help; I upgraded my stock pedal and my amps dropped from 10 ish to 7. It could be the pedal. I have occasional found bum pedals at work.

[@littlewarlock9361]

I just barely touched the pedal at 20 amps and it still blew right through, I often wondered about that pedal. Thanks!!!

[@lv2keepfit493]

What did you use for tungsten and it's diameter if you can remember?

[@norelation5344]

Shure got a nice set of cans

[@RAWRMotorsports]

How u keep the top of that table looking so fresh 😍

[@jessemccollum]

I never even think about mig or stick welding on it! I keep a pretty nice coat of linseed oil on it as well... Its a tog only table and she gets buffed down every few weels

[@richardhaen]

Jesse, that is very good, u did a very good job. Thanks

[@randellgribben9772]

great work, fun to watch...thanks

[@moblirankar8401]

It was great, I had never seen metal welded so thin 👍👍😊

[@Jerryhayes2]

"Here's a nice set of cans" - I see what you did there

[@checkoutthatthing]

Rocking that dixxon though🤘

[@jessemccollum]

They are my jam. I have too many haha

[@davidholmes5220]

I did this 40yrs ago to really test yourshelf cut one can in half turn 90 degrees weld back together, go slow . We didn't have the machines then as we do today.

[@Gkitchens1]

Wait you're telling me no one else welds their sodas together before drinking them? Dammit I've been wasting so much time lol

[@callumglasgow3105]

I used to TIG weld a 315 degree outside corner on 25 SWG 0.020" aluminium regularly at between 18-24 amps, but that's aerospace defence contracts for you.

[@joelyounger]

Nice set of cans!

[@James.Richter]

Perfect handfuls

[@everlastgenerator]

Jesse's cans are unmatched

[@ricolorenz7307]

Nice cans, Bro

[@dennisyoung4631]

Might work for .025 - .050 sheet and tubing?

[@bigbaderek1978]

if you had to weld without a relief hole how do you do that?

[@DzDzDzzzz146]

let it cool down before closing the last small gap

[@1963SMITTY]

What cup is that?

[@outdoorzone]

Great demo!! Thx

[@everlastgenerator]

very welcome

[@Mafia2637]

I want to learn how to weld soooo badly.

[@MegaGzusTube]

Amazing.

[@patdexter9188]

I did that years ago. Use small tungsten a keep adding rod to absorb the heat

[@2020HotShotTruckingLLC]

My welder is a Lincoln Idealarc 300 tig / stick transformer type welder. Weighs in at nearly 1000 lbs. I have a couple of foot pedals and a torch mounted control as well. What range of material thickness do you think this machine should handle? And I said machine, not me as the operator because I am WAY out of practice. I do pretty good with the stick welds on 1/8 - 3/8 steel which satisfies my typical welding needs. In the past I have made many tools and jigs out of stainless that I tig welded together, as well as some titanium and aluminum repairs. That's where I want to concentrate on building my skills back up, especially the thinner stainless.

[@nn2s2u]

Somewhere, you should be able to find the minimum amperage your machine can put out. That'll dictate how thin you can go. I'd guess he was giving it about 20 via the pedal in this vid.

[@nathandean1687]

just buy the sheets of various thinness. and try them all. youill figure out wat thinness your gear can / cant do.

[@55afishead]

Oh wow! You are so cool!

[@michaelshortridge6379]

Cut the cans in half and weld them together. A friend of mine welded them together. He welded for Mc Donald- Douglas in Long Beach.

[@ExtraSockProductions]

Could you weld that out like a pipe and add multiple layers of welds and even a cap?

[@everlastgenerator]

we had this come up on our tiktok channel, we posted a video of Jesse running out the joint

[@MrFunkinPure]

Mad skills. Hat doffed to ya.

[@greengoat5654]

You did it wrong, they have to be two Budweiser cans, and you have to chug them beforehand

[@everlastgenerator]

Jesse tends to gravitate toward Coors Banquet!

[@A-sq2dy]

Love your cans 😳😂

[@xavierdeabreu1991]

Hi thanks great vid, quick question where can i get replacement parts like a motherboard? Thanks.

[@jessemccollum]

Directly from everlast.... They have new stock of parts going back to machines from 2009.

[@xavierdeabreu1991]

@@jessemccollum Thank you very much your messeage is very helpful💪🙏

[@flipfloptanlines926]

The cans teach you heat control, and you dont havta go to the scrap bin or use raw material to learn. Granted this is expert level now, but you can always find a couple cans to practice on

[@sk22ng]

Pretty Awesome.

[@rich1953]

How did you ground them, I did not see a ground clamp on painted cans..

[@DzDzDzzzz146]

table grounded and the can's rim are touching the support so.. everything grounded

[@mobiussquadron]

Bought my first welder last week, and I'm hoping to lay my first ever bead tommorow. Aside from sticking some stuff together to make a welding table, I'm starting with aluminum. I don't have the ability to dedicate myself to an official class due to a random work schedule, so I'm just gonna use youtube videos to teach myself. Definitely gonna try and stick some cans together tommorow though just for fun :D

[@flipfloptanlines926]

Starting with aluminum....Good luck with the new plasma cutter 😆

[@benjaminbarton2629]

Good luck, don’t quit practicing.

[@TheDragonfriday]

Aluminum... Well good luck with it, I don't like aluminum it's so wierd how to weld. Haha

[@nathandean1687]

go to a locol scrap yard and buy some scrap metal to learn on. if theres a harbor frieght near u buy the tools there. thier good quality stuff. that way u can learn on thans screwing up the good welding.

[@mobiussquadron]

@@nathandean1687 Yes sir, decided to go big and buy a protig 205. Local scrap yards refuse to sell anything brought in unfortuneatly. Burnt about a lb of 6011 on some rotors, but from what i hear cast iron isn't the best starting material :D

[@russia_winner]

Can you welding two filled cans?

[@goatsinker347]

How about a coke can welded to an aluminum ladder?😆

[@jpbsv]

How about a coke can welded to an engine block?

[@lead5s]

35 years ago my welding teacher in high school did this with a oxygen acetylene torch

[@tssteelx]

Can you weld to two cans of ravioli, with out damaging the labels or cooking the contents?

[@Rocksolidhandyman]

Love the title!😳🤣🔥🙌🥫

[@valuepurposemission7517]

mmmm love me a nice set of cans, pressed together just waiting for that filler rod to laydown a nice smooth puddle. ..... Semper Fi

[@timobatana6705]

This video is the perfect length

[@gomesgarage6537]

Muito bom parabéns 👏👏👏🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@Franisboche]

That's so easy! Do both open ends or for more challenging, cut both tops off and weld the aluminum sides together!

[@datboisxe]

4:06 you were saving that for the whole video XD

[@james10739]

But can you stick 2 aluminum soda cans

[@angelfigueroa310]

Got my everlast , I love it

[@stevebrown6215]

Great job! Great skill.

[@adam-bf8li]

My life is changed forever.

[@jamescaneda9515]

Very nice technique looks good. Back in the ‘80s I was a sheet metal worker for ten years. I witnessed a true artist weld the foil off a cigarette pack. Butt welded with the TIG and all that witnessed this feat, lost $20 bet. That was magic.

[@michaelgarrow3239]

Lol Nice set of cans!

[@JackManic1984]

If I'm not mistaken they have a layer of plastic on the can.