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**millermania** · 06-21-2006, 01:39 AM

I'm almost done building the cage for my racecar and had to do quite a bit of out of position welding. One thing I picked up from this site is putting the foot pedal between your legs and controlling it that way. Another thing I've had to do a lot of is kneeling on the pedal. By far, the hardest part is seeing around to the backside of a joint. Sometimes part of the car blocks the helmet just enough to not trip the auto-dark sensors so I have to find a weird position.

**tigman250** · 06-21-2006, 04:20 AM

i find the thumb controll to be a real PITA! my boss has one on his welder and i hate using it, it is impossible to get awesome looking beads because any temp change requires you to move your thumb wich moves your hand and results in a un-uniform looking weld. not to mention you can only hold the torch one way. on my setup i can hold the torch in any position while using the foot controll and for me results in a much smoother looking weld. i have ran my foot controll with my knee on countless ocasions, between my knees, i built a stand so i could run it while laying on my back, **** i even used my elbow of my filler arm one time LOL (didn't result in the best weld either but it got done)

if you still want to try one you just buy the thumb controll and strap it on the torch, you don't have to purchase a whole torch setup.

EDIT-here is a link to an eBay auction selling just the controll so you can see what they look like http://cgi.ebay.com/Miller-Tig-Remot...QQcmdZViewItem

**Sundown** · 06-21-2006, 06:28 AM

If you tig has the "Down slope with repeat" function then using a remote button on the torch is the easiest way I have found to to out of position work. I can get by fine with the floor remote but find it hard to deal with torch mounted remotes, neither the wheel or slide work well for me.

**Luna** · 06-21-2006, 07:27 AM

Originally posted by tigman250

i find the thumb controll to be a real PITA! my boss has one on his welder and i hate using it, it is impossible to get awesome looking beads because any temp change requires you to move your thumb wich moves your hand and results in a un-uniform looking weld.

Having made myself use a fingertip remote, I don't have any issues with it. Pulsed 2T works great. An on-off contactor would really suffice for me (though I might pull the contactor function from the remote I have so I can have discrete on off and amperage controls).

**OldSparks** · 06-21-2006, 09:22 AM

Please excuse my ignorance but isn't it practical to weld these auto parts without using an amptrol. Granted that I work around heavier wall tubing then you would be using but I have never seen a foot or torch control used in the field. Like tigman said, it's all important to have a steady hand and having to fiddle with buttons and wheels just seems like too much to ask. It seems to me that any concerns over not making a perfect bead without heat control would be a safe risk over accidently mishandling the torch and causing undercut or worse.

**JD in Socal** · 06-21-2006, 10:38 AM

M3P,

Those welds don't look bad, all things considered. I do have 2 quick suggestions. Make sure that your welds go all the way to the corner of the reinforcing plates, or even just around the corner. Ending the weld before the corner creates a likely cracking/breaking point where the corner meets the weld joint. Also, you will get a lot more strength out of those plates connecting the cage to the unibody if you weld in reinforcing plates on the body and connect to them. All of the load is now on that welded seam where the plate meets the body, and even a small plate to distribute the load would strengthen the connection quite a bit.

Looks like a fun project.

JD

**Terence638** · 06-21-2006, 04:33 PM

One suggestion
WEAR LONG SLEEVES
BUT ALL ELSE IS PRACTICE

**Engloid** · 06-21-2006, 06:59 PM

The welds look fine. Taper off heat at the end of welds to keep from getting the "fisheye" though.

Also, although you likely got great penetration, it looks like you ran so hot that the puddle was wandering around uncontrollably. Cool down the heat a bit and go a little slower. Granted, these are just tips for appearance. As for strength, the only thing that could really be improved is wrapping the corners as mentioned above.

**m3pedro** · 06-21-2006, 09:01 PM

more today,

Hi,

thanks for the tips guys!! I know that I should be wearing leather sleeves but it was sooo hot today. I did cover my legs with a leather blanket....

today I did my first ever overhead tig welds!

here some pics....

http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/...&nw=640&nh=480

my body position

http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/...&nw=640&nh=480

my first overhead welds...
http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/...&nw=640&nh=480

http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/...&nw=640&nh=480

my second overhead weld
http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/...&nw=640&nh=480

overall view of today's project
http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/...&nw=640&nh=480

my vertical welds got better
http://bmw1602.lostbrazilian.com/v1/...&nw=640&nh=480

I think I done!

thanks for the help! I think after all this weird body positions when I get back to sitting at my table my welds should looks awsome!

Announcement

Did some out of position tig today .....

Did some out of position tig today .....

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