How to weld with a regular nail

This life hack can help you out in a difficult situation when you don’t have regular electrodes at hand. Thanks to this method, you can quite reliably grab or temporarily weld metal workpieces.
A welding electrode is essentially a metal rod with a coating that protects the arc from oxygen.

Instead of an electrode, you can use a regular steel nail. Yes, of course, it will not be exactly welding, but rather surfacing. There will not be proper penetration, but it will work very well as a temporary solution.

Nail welding

Take the 150th nail. This is approximately the same as electrode 4. We set the current of the welding machine to 20-30 A more than with a conventional electrode. And weld like normal welding.

The nail will occasionally stick - this is normal, skill is required.

As a result, with the proper approach, you will get a completely reliable connection. In some places there is even penetration.

So the method is quite effective. They can even weld a pipe under pressure if necessary.
By the way, some “welders” weld worse with a conventional electrode than experienced ones with a nail.

Watch the video