While doing various DIY projects around your home, you may find that you need to join together two pieces of metal. Metal, unlike other materials, cannot be easily fastened with nails, screws or other go-to methods. There are, however, ways to join metal that will be secure and long-lasting and can be done at home.
- Welding
Welding gives you the strongest and most secure bond. Most types of welding use very high heat to melt a wire to two pieces of metal that will be securely joined the instant it begins to cool.
While this is certainly an effective way to join metal, it is also very dangerous if done incorrectly, with the primary injuries being severe burns and vision loss. There is another type of welding, ultrasonic welding, that uses high-frequency vibrations to meld materials together. Ultrasonic welding is more versatile as it can be used for more than just metal and there is a variety of ultrasonic tooling and horns that can be used, but great care is still required when practicing this type of welding.
- Gluing
There are many types of glue that are designed specifically for bonding metal together. The biggest advantage of glue is that it needs no additional tools or equipment to use, but it does tend to result in the weakest bond.
- Riveting
Riveting can also be a good way to join metal; however, it can typically only be done with thinner types of metal, like sheet metal. It also requires that there be holes in the metal, but it uses far less equipment than welding.
The best way to join two pieces of metal depends largely on the project you are doing and the types of metal you’re working with. No matter your project, you will no doubt be able to find a method that works for you.
