How to Weld Tin Foil

OK, first I gotta get this out of the way - I usually call it tin foil, lots of other people also call it tin foil, but it's actually aluminum foil. Even the dictionary says tin foil can be made from aluminum https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tinfoil... Why do we do this? Was it actually made of tin at some point?!

Huh, turns out it was originally made from tin! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium_foil

OK, that's out of the way (whew!) lets get back to business!

So, welding aluminum foil huh?

#1, are you kidding me? How is it possible to weld something that thin?

Not kidding! You can totally weld it, but there are a few tricks we'll go into in the next steps.

#2, what purpose does this serve?

Now we can make 2-ply tinfoil! (Insert witty 2-ply TP joke...)

What purpose - well for starters it's just plain fun! I've been working on becoming a better Tig welder and this was a unique way to play around a little and breakup the typical welding practice routine. Plus, imagine all the bets we can win with our new unique skill... Hmmm....😏

More numbers later...

This section contains affiliate links to the products I used in this instructable:

Tools

• Tig welder -Pretty much any Tig welder should work (more info later). I am using a PrimeWeld Tig225X
• Razor blade - I really like the folding utility knives, I find when I get in "maker mind" I don't leave the blade out like I sometimes do with the standard grey utility knives.
• Clamping device - C clamps or vice grip clamps will work perfect.
• Non flammable surface to weld on - This could be your garage floor (I've done it many times!) or a workbench with a plate on it. In the pictures I'm using the Klutch welding table, it's a great bang for the buck IMO.

Materials

• Aluminum foil - I am using Reynolds Heavy Duty Foil but any uncoated aluminum foil will work.
• 1/8" or thicker steel plates - We want steel because the aluminum won't weld itself to it. I'm using stainless steel coupons from Weld Metals Online because I had them handy. Mild steel will also work fine.
• Denatured alcohol or Acetone - All the surfaces need to be clean. I wiped down the steel plates but didn't wipe the foil.
• Paper towels -A clean rag will also work. I prefer paper towels over rags for cleaning metals in my shop because it helps avoid cross contamination of things.
• Heat sink -Not required. In the pictures you will see me welding on top of a big chunk of aluminum. I like welding on top of it when doing smaller tasks and practicing but it is not needed to weld tinfoil.

Safety

• Welding helmet - Use what you have, a fixed shade helmet works just fine and won't flutter at low amps like some of the auto darkening hoods. If you're interested, I recently started using a Viking 3350 hood and really, really, really like it compared to my old helmet.
• Welding gloves - No we're not generating a ton of heat with this weld but you have gloves, wear them. I'm wearing these Tilman gloves. Use what you're comfortable with.
• Long sleeves - Welding can give you a bad sunburn, cover your arms. You can get just welding sleeves too if you like.

1. Pants -

• I felt this was an important safety concern in our new era of Zoom meetings! 😁

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OK, this Instructable assumes you are familiar-ish with welding. There are also a ton of good Instructables on how to weld if you'd like to check them out! https://www.instructables.com/howto/how+to+weld/

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Sooo, typically you'd try to run a weld bead between the two things you're trying to join right? Right.

OK, get your two pieces of foil and fire up the welder. Here I am attempting to weld a lap joint on the lowest amperage setting my machine would do. I picked a lap joint because it seemed like it would have the most amount of the two pieces of foil in contact with each other and give us the best chance at a successful weld.

I started with AC like you're supposed to for aluminum and then tried DC just for funzies.

This turned out to be an overcomplicated way to make holes in aluminum foil. But we kinda thought that would be the case since it's so thin.

Alright, since we're committed here (and kinda having fun!) what about if we double fold the edges to make the foil thicker (effectively 8 layers)? Can we get a weld or at least get it not to melt as bad?

Yeah, no. Full burninate.

OK, control sample out of the way lets get onto how to make it actually work!

Alrighty, here's the setup that works!

Get your two foil pieces together and make a clean cut along the edges so they line up nicely.

Set the foil on the first steel coupon with about 1/16" to 1/8" (1.5mm-3mm) of foil sticking out.

Place the other steel coupon on top and clamp the two pieces of foil tightly between your pieces of steel.

Get your welder ready to go:

• For my second go I've got the machine pugged into a 110v 20a outlet.
  • I'm using AC current at about 25 amps.
  • 3/32" chartreuse "LaYZr" tungsten. Just re-sharpened.
    • I think any standard tungsten color will work fine.
  • #6 cup with standard gas collet.
  • Pure argon gas about about 15-20 psig.
    • (Previously I was welding 1/8" aluminum with this setup pretty much all I did was turn down the amps. Yes I could probably get away with a smaller cup and less gas.)

Get your gloves and hood (I'm assuming you've got your pants and long sleeves on here 😅).

Strike your arc, it's OK to strike on the top or bottom pieces of metal we're using for a clamp. Then direct the arc toward the aluminum foil sticking out.

Move pretty quick, the video is in realtime. Move fast enough to melt the aluminum and keep as much heat out of everything else.

And voila, it worked! For curiosity, lets try it on DC current. All the other settings are the same.

• It also worked! Weld all the things!
• Since this works on AC and DC, pretty much any tig welding machine can do this!

You'll see I got the hang of it more at the end, or at least I fiddled around less getting things setup... Anyhoo, checkout the next step to see the aluminum foil pouch I made!

OK, I don't quite know why but that was super fun! I made a foil pouch and it held water (until I touched it too much...)!

So why does this work?

As I understand it the arc from the welder is essentially creating enough heat to fusion weld the aluminum but not melt the metal used to clamp the pieces of foil. This would explain why it works with either type of current.

Alrighty, that's about it for this one. Thank you to Instructables Tinfoil Speed Challenge for giving me an excuse to tinker! I enjoyed taking a little time to just have fun and experiment with things I wouldn't have otherwise. And it's possible this exercise kinda helps us think outside the box. There's almost always another way to do something, so if you're running into problems don't be afraid to reset and start over. Maybe I'm reaching here, maybe not?!?! You be the judge!

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Credit due - This was my first time attempting to weld aluminum foil. I first learned it was possible by watching Ron Covell do it. Checkout how he does it here!

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