foot pedal in tough spots

[tnc110]

Just curious as to how some of you use your foot pedal when you cant sit on a stool and weld on the table. I recently had to repair a boat out drive and had to lay on the floor to get to where I needed to weld...foot pedal was tricky to use.

[Rodsmachineshop]

Mite sound corny but i put Velcro on the bottom of the foot pedal box and and glue the other Velcro to a concrete brick . lay the brick were i can get my foot to it and stick the foot box to it waa laaa works great

[jerky]

thats what lift arc is for

[Rodsmachineshop]

sorta dont under stand know what lift ark is but it dose not control amps when welding aluminum or controls amperage . i use the brick pedal method when welding upside down on pontoon boat pontoon couldn't weld them being so thin with out a foot pedal

[tnc110]

I had to use the remote control on the torch this weekend to weld up some Al brackets, It worked fine, but not my cup of tea...much rather have a pedal. (pedal is broke, waiting on a replacement)


Anybody squeeze it between their legs/knees?

[redbeard]

Practicality might depend on the size and shape of the pedal, but what about strapping it to your foot? Then you could just use any solid object in leg reach to press against.

[jakeru]

Anytime I'm out of position sitting or laying on the floor while welding, or on my knees, or just in a location where I can't conveniently drag and operate the footpedal, I use the torch switch. I can weld thin aluminum (like 1/16" thick) just fine with it. Even fill some pretty large diameter holes (you need good heat control for that.)

I set it up in 2T mode, with about 2 seconds of downslope, and then I set the peak current just a bit over the steady-state welding current I need for the weld joint, say about 20% over. Then pressing down continuously with the torch switch lets you quickly establish the aluminum puddle, and after that throttle the average power back by cycling the torch switch (and varying the duty cycle of how long you hold it down versus lifting up.) With this technique you have a fairly capable range of being able to throttle back the heat as approaching an edge, or as the workpiece warms up, etc.

It takes just a bit of extra effort, versus using a foot pedal, to dial in an appropriate peak current (sometimes a iterative adjustment or little trial and error is necessary to get it dialed in.)

You lose I suppose a tiny bit of maneuverability with the way you can hold the torch, because you need to extra finger on the torch switch (and able to move it.)

The torch switch style with the ziptied on "paddle" is pretty good for this because you can move it around on the torch for better access as needed.

[Rodsmachineshop]

what would be cool a squeeze handle you could use in your free hand to control amperage . been playing at my shop on a gismo like that. they have touch pads now that can tell how much pressure is being put on it to sense it, was even thinking a thing you could squeeze in your mouth to control amperage

[hooda]

what would be cool a squeeze handle you could use in your free hand to control amperage . been playing at my shop on a gismo like that. they have touch pads now that can tell how much pressure is being put on it to sense it, was even thinking a thing you could squeeze in your mouth to control amperage

I've SERIOUSLY thought that a mouthpiece type amp control would be awesome, but I don't have the knowledge to figure out how it would be done.

[Rodsmachineshop]

you know what would work instead of a foot pedal a slot car controller. all a foot pad is, is a rheostat with a gear on it and a cog belt the turns it

[jerky]

how are you supposed to hold your filler and that?

[Rodsmachineshop]

strap it to the side of the torch and use your thumb to push the plunger up and down plus holding the torch with palm over torch button would squeeze switch on, then your other hand is free to use for what ever