All About Gas Welding: w/ 87 Year Old Knife Maker Cy Swan 

If I make it 87 years old, I only hope I can be as active as Cy is. It's truly a blessing that RU-vid allows us to learn from men like Scott and Cy on a regular basis.

Every young person needs to spend a time with someone like Cy

Here’s what makes me want to listen to Cy and really appreciate him: he’s a polymath (a person with complete mastery of multiple disciplines) yet he can be filled with wonder when those disciplines are taken in new directions; and not merely wonder, but a longing to learn those new directions. And I think he get especially excited when he sees a relatively young person take one of his crafts in those new directions. Please post more Cy.

At 87 and can answer questions with perfect explanation.. WOW! Hats off to you my friend!

My HS welding teacher made us learn gas welding before anything else. Best way to learn to understand your puddle.

The blood pouring out his knuckle is just poetry in motion.

About the frog and his vision thereof, a sculptor was once asked “How do you create a horse from wood?” He responded “First you get a piece of wood, then remove anything that doesn’t look like a horse.”

Thanks for featuring Cy in this new video! He is a great man!

I, as probably everyone else watching this, wish they had a friend like this living nextdoor. I love this guy.

I love anything with cy ! Literally an entire lifetime of knowledge from back when if you didn’t have something that you needed you just made it . Best wishes and keep up the great work cy ,you are truly an inspiration.

if only we could see Cy in his prime! If he does all this at 87, we can only imagine the stuff he was doing 30 years ago!!

Who needs a superhero when you have Cy Swan and his trusty welding torch? Saving the day one custom knife at a time!

That’s a man who knows how to have fun alone.

Most all the men i grew up working with were of the Greatest Generation always passing down the techniques and little known secrets. Keep it up Cy. thank you

Wonderful to see Cy is still blessing this planet with his knowledge and story telling. I haven't seen him in a while and hoped the best. I say this every time and will say it again. I could listen and learn from that guy 24/7, what an amazing man.

Thank you EC for producing this highly educational content featuring Mr. Swan! A valuable lesson indeed.

Cy Swan is a treasure! Please make more content with him.

Video preserved is a great chance to not lose all of the valuable techniques and instruction embodied by men such as Cy. Essential Craftsman is providing an invaluable service to this world at large recording such practices and work habits. Keep up the good work!!!

Older gentlemen in your life are something to cherish. I’ve had several but most are gone now. Thankyou for sharing this man’s knowledge.

Cy is an American hero

One minute in - please show us more of this man.

Love seeing Cy's callused hands, from many years of manual work but still able to produce beautifully detailed pieces. A well rounded individual with worldly knowledge and great manual skills. Something rare these days of putting college educations before manual skills.

For information: The AWS definition of brazing and soldering is 840* F; brazing is above and soldering is below. Basically, both techniques are gluing with heat.

Cy is a wealth of knowledge and experience. Anything he wishes to share I'm listening!

Many comment already about the cheater lens in the hood, it really does help. If you get the right style goggles you can get the same lens for that process too. A little tip for the tungsten dipping problem. Get a 6 inch or so of 1/2 inch copper pipe and a couple of caps. Solder one end on and leave the other end so you can take it off and on. Break several pieces of tungsten in half and sharpen both ends and keep these in the copper tubing. When you have a dip, just turn the tungsten around or swap to a fresh piece. When you run out of good sharp ends, go sharpen them all. Saves a lot of walking back and forth to the grinder, and a lot of lost heat in the material. Good luck.

I know what Cy is talking about when he mentioned failing eyesight in regards to welding, and I can confirm that having lots of light on the weld makes all the difference. I found this counterintuitive, as the arc or flame is bright as heck, but it really does help. A LOT! I also improved my welding by getting a decent welding mask. I still don't see as well as when I was working (I am 74 now), but I can at least make decent welds again.

Cy should look into buying one of the newest auto darkening welding lenses. They are full color and tremendously improved for visibility and weld inspection as you weld instead of afterwards. Optrel made in Switzerland is an excellent choice, 3M also has a new high visibility. They aren't inexpensive but they could give him his welding eyes back

Thanks for this video featuring Cy......what a guy he is.

I always appreciate these videos with Cy. They are usually entertaining and very informative. I wish Cy was my next door neighbor.

Men like Cy are a treasure and a dying breed. My grandfather was much like him, and as these men pass, we will not be able to replace them. I love listening to old men speak, because there's so much information and knowledge to be gained there.

Cy is a true craftsman. We are so lucky to have these tutorials that you bring to us all . Cheers mate from Australia 🇦🇺

CY was especially patient in this interview. He must watch a lot of Scott

We need more men like Cy.

I aint got time to watch all your great videos, but when i see Cy Swan I click right away! THX for the great content

Definitely the hands of a working man. Thanks for sharing

Cy is 10 years older than me, but I can sure identify with having trouble seeing the puddle! Though I learned gas welding in junion high school (that's middle school to you younger guys), I've never used it. I've been tempted to get back to it now, and this video sure provides additional inspiration to do so.

Thank you Cy and Nate What a great video and some great insights into gas welding and brazing Keep up the good work

I have never clicked on a video so quick great stuff from cy

Cy, don’t know if you know. But the inlay ‘glasses’ for inside the welding helmet. So in cooperation with your own glasses you can put extra magnifying strength in side the helmet.

I love the videos with Cy, do as many as you can!

So nice to get to know Mr. Swan a little better. And I learned some things too!

I feel like I am stealing time from a bigone era. I hope we as a society doesn't lose the history of men like him. So much to teach, and nobody to listen.

I've been a welder for 10 years now I'm 31 I can braze cast iron, gas weld, smaw, gmaw, gtaw, and fcaw in all positions I went to a trade school when I was 21 years old and I was taught by an amazing instructor full of knowledge and had tons of experience I love this trade

Wonderful visit with Cy. I'm no pro, but I do like to weld with a torch

Thanks for sharing this Nate. I absolutely LOVE everything you all put up about THE MAN Cy Swan!

Thank you Cy for sharing your knowledge with us

Love Cy, more of him please!

Hey Si, love these videos of this craftsman, a tip for tig welding when vision becomes difficult is to tuck your tungsten up inside your shroud so you cant stick it in the puddle, just have it 1mm protruding to the outside, would be perfect for what you do, you can get clear pyrex cups too so you can still make out where it is you are pointing at. it glows red until the very tip, so your eyes can pick it up like a brazing tip, which you can still see perfect. give it a try.

CY is always awesome to watch. Keep it up brother

Look at the close up of his working mans hands. 👍

An inspiration, for sure. They don't make them like that anymore. Thank you for bringing it to all of us.

gas welding was the start and is still the best

I learned to gas weld in aircraft mechanic school in the 70's. We built a complete airplane out of 4130 chromium molybdenum (chromoly).

Cy is a true craftsman/artist. I started out gas welding light gauge metal with coat hangar filler.

Holy Cow, that Octopus! wow

"Soldering and brazing are two things you just can't do with an arc welder" You can braze with a TIG welder.

Man Cy is incredible

Just built a small Blacksmith Forge for my grand's husband who makes knives all the outside casings are 1/16 plate all corner welds are welded without filler rods he watched and was amazed at how simple it was to weld corners with full penetration.

I too am an old man and have worked for years as a welder machinist fabricator. I can absolutely certify that EVERY word that old guy says is 100% true!! Art from Ohio

My grandfather taught me how to braze. I thought I was something because I could weld until that lesson. Brazing is definitely different but it's so useful. Brazed my vice back together after I cracked the jaw and didn't have money for a new one. I also get to work with my grandfather everyday....he's 80 and still works minimum 40 hrs a week. He says having something to do keeps you young. He's much like Cy.

Great camera work Nate, Cy is such a craftsman so much knowledge…

Thanks for another Cy video.

Even if it’s only a small window we get to peek through in Cy’s life it’s still very much appreciated. Cheers from Tokyo!

My dad welded a lot in his life, 87 now. Just not a good teacher, when I was a teenager he would get me grinding, only. Lol. But, as a licensed mechanic here in Canada, I've leaned more into welding, and with RU-vid, learned more then anytime in the past. My first welder anAC/DC miller thunderbolt, second a mig, thirdly Tig. Brasing and welding with gas, impossible to live without. Not enough being taught on this these days

I love this guy! Bless his heart. Welding is something I've always dreamt of doing. I not only watched until the end, but paid close attention to his detail and explanations. He and his work amaze me. Bless his heart. And that Dog, WOW. That Dog is very smart.

Nate, Very enjoyable welding video with Cy! I did buy a custom knife a few years ago from Cy and a custom sheath from his local leather craftsman as a form of support from your channel and videos! These videos will be enjoyable memories of Cy for years to come!

How amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and that of your friends it is absolutely priceless.

0:00 Yep, my dog is getting a private endorsement for refreshment retrieval now.

Question for EC: Will you (or are you) as good at anything at 65 years old as Cy is as good at everything at 87? I'm 30 and just now becoming broadly competent, but no where near crafting a steel octopus off the cuff. It's inspirational to see someone be at such peaks in their late 80s. My grandfather was the same way, very active, fit and competent at 89.

Cy, you are a true LEGEND!!!!

Thank you, always a pleasure to watch.

Loved hearing the nuances of welding. Especially from Cy! Keep em coming!

Great job guys. Thank you 😊

Brazing was always described to me as bronze wood glue

Cy, you may want to try ordering a magnifier for inside of your helmet like a 3.0 and then wear strong reading glasses, this way you can make the tungsten look like the size of a baseball bat ….

Thanks Nate. A great video. How special that you get to know & interact with a mate of your dad’s but get to know him as adult to adult. His journey reminds me a lot of my own ( but I’m only the same age as your dad). Got an Oxy Acetylene kit for my 21st birthday & set about teaching myself to cut & weld (no You Tube back then).

I first learned to weld with gas, and it's still my go-to for delicate work.

brazing, is basically like soldering, but with brass instead of lead, or silver.

Cy is the guy😃 It’s funny how he pulls out a Damascus knife and says it’s a simple design! It looks complicated as hell! He does very good work but I can’t afford his knives. 😢

I’m having similar eyesight issues. Taping a plastic “cheater” lens inside my helmet helps a lot. Thanks for a great video. Fun to see a shop that’s almost as messy as mine.

i bought the Vulcan 220 - I like it, does nice welds

I enjoy listening to him, reminds me of my father.

Cy and I would definitely get along welding up some artwork

I weld with Acetelene most of the time now because my pacemaker does not allow me to weld with arc welders when I weld 1/8 by 1 inch to 1/8 x 1-inch corner weld into a 1-inch angle, I gap the two edges with a 1/16 gap and get full penetration welds every time with a small bead on the back side, also do not use a sharp oxidizing flame but a slightly carburizing flame maes a full penetration weld every time. Smaller plate corners welding without a filler rod makes a nice clean weld filler rod only if by accident burns or melts a hole. Also welding Aluminum using a carburizing flame makes it black with soot then heating aluminum with a short carburizing flame once the soot disappears it is close to melting welding time as the flux starts liquefying and then starts with filler rod welding.

Cy might really benefit from some big glass gas lenses on the TIG torch. It really helps with visibilityby allowing you to stick out the tungsten farther and illuminating the area better.

Can you please do as many biographical style videos as you can with cy swan? I could listen to him talk about his life for hours.

What a living national treasure!

Best video on RU-vid!

Interesting Man, thanks for sharing !

Amazing !!!

By the Way, I am 92 years old going to be 93 in August, and still swing my 10-pound hammer at times.

They use to make what my dad called cheater lens they are magnifying lenses, my dad had bad eyesight and he was a welder also!

I have seen aircraft trained gas welders do wonderful work in aluminium alloys

Nice.

Cy is state of the art in his thinking and doing, his experience tells him what works and what doesn't not a book or degree on the wall. I saw his PHD on his finger tip as he was wiping the flux on that blade/guard! Awesome video and I love Cy.

@CY SWAN.. i believe you could find welding easier if you use a TRUECOLOR autodarkening lens along with extra lighting.. it should make A MASSIVE difference and even allow you to TIG weld with proficiency.. trust me it will make a difference..

I was taught to braze at school, with natural gas & compressed air, borax flux and spelter rods. You get a pretty strong joint. I noticed that French plumbers tend to braze their pipework together,very odd to me !

nice guy

Who wouldn't want to have a mortar at home😂😂😂

Well, I saw the thing comin' out of the sky It had the one long horn, one big eye I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee" It looks like a purple eater to me It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater (One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater) A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater Sure looks strange to me (one eye?) Well he came down to earth and he lit in a tree I said Mr. Purple People Eater, don't eat me I heard him say in a voice so gruff "I wouldn't eat you 'cause you're so tough" It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater One-eyed, one-horned flyin' purple people eater One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater Sure looks strange to me (one horn?) I said Mr. Purple People Eater, what's your line? He said "eatin' purple people and it sure is fine But that's not the reason that I came to land I want to get a job in a rock and roll band" Well bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin' purple people eater Pigeon-toed, under-growed, flyin' purple people eater (We wear short shorts) friendly little people eater What a sight to see (oh!) And then he swung from the tree and he lit on the ground And he started to rock, really rockin' around It was a crazy ditty with a swingin' tune (Sing a boop-boop, a-boopa lopa lum bam boom) Well, bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin' purple people eater Pigeon-toed, under growed, flyin' purple people eater "I like short shorts!" flyin' purple people eater What a sight to see (purple people?) Well, he went on his way, and then what do ya know? I saw him last night on a TV show He was blowing it out, really knockin' em dead Playin' rock and roll music through the horn in his head "Tequila!"