Unusual welding (YouTube videos)

Thanks, that led me to a cool hydroforming video using a pressure washer. Others might like it too;

Hot stuff, Maynard!

Pretty cool. I liked the kitten crash link on that page, too.

and

I watched them do that very procedure from my office window in Beaverton, Oregon, back in the 1980's. Only they were a little more careful, the cross-ties were wooden.

Paul

Pretty neat, but I would expect railway workers to be wearing their safety glasses over their eyes, especially when performing an active procedure like in this video.

Jon

For unusual metal working, it is hard to beat cutting steel with bacon:

We had a litter of kittens that did that when I was growing up. Except they'd back off about 20 feet from each other and collide at full speed.

And I don't mean they did it once: it was one of their favorite games.

I'm not sure what a cat with Dementia pugilistica is like: we gave the kittens away.

That's friction stir welding. Driveshafts, half-axles and similar tubular components have been welded this way for many years, now. Once the process has been set up properly, it is a VERY reliable welding technology.

Jon

Except it's not friction stir welding. Friction stir welding is where, for example, two aluminum sheets are butted together and a hard spinning pin, like carbide, is pushed into the interface of the two sheets. It is then traversed along the interface and the spinning motion, the linear motion, and the friction all contribute to making the material plastic enough to flow. The material from both sheets is then stirred together making the bond. The material is not heated to the melting point. see this link:

I myself have done a type of friction stir welding more than once. Unintentionally. Sometimes the cutter that does the welding is ruined. Other metals, steel and brass among them, can be friction stir welded. Eric

Stir welding is something else, as others have noted. This is friction welding:

Joe Gwinn