| Walking the cup vs free hand Tig Welding Techniques | | | | good at that tig welding technique too. |
| explored. | | | | Walking the cup works great on pipe that is about 2 |
| Ever since I learned how to Tig weld pipe, I have heard | | | | inch and larger and also on most every socket welds |
| welders argue back and forth about which welding | | | | even as small as 1 inch in diameter. |
| technique is better, walking the cup? Or free hand? | | | | But for smaller diameter pipe and tubing, free hand is |
| So which welding technique is better? | | | | the best welding technique. |
| To me the answer is simple. Both have their place of | | | | Free hand tig welding is also necessary for welding all |
| course. It's Ford vs Chevy. | | | | kinds of things other than pipe. In fact, it is used for |
| You need to know how to tig weld using both of | | | | practically everything other than pipe welding whereas |
| these techniques. | | | | walking the cup is not very useful for much other than |
| Why? | | | | pipe welding. |
| Because there are times when walking the cup is | | | | But lets be clear about the term "free handing". It does |
| better, and there are times when free handing is better | | | | not mean holding the torch without propping on |
| For fab shop pipe welding, cup walking works great | | | | anything. It simply means that the ceramic cup is not |
| and can be very fast and easy. But what about all the | | | | resting on the metal. |
| tig welding done on the job site where there are all | | | | The hand is steadied by resting some part of the hand |
| kinds of things in your way? That's when the freehand | | | | against the metal being welded. That's the only way to |
| technique rules. | | | | be steady enough to make good precise tig welds. |
| If you are welding pipe and can walk the cup, then just | | | | Making a good looking tig weld means being able to |
| do it because there is nothing prettier than a tig weld | | | | maintain a tight arc. You can't do that unless your hand |
| on pipe done by an ace cup walker. But when the time | | | | is steady. |
| comes where you need to freehand, you need to be | | | | |