Left/right handers

[steeo]

Just a quick question about which hand is best to use ???

I am left handed and am in the middle of doing a welding course which includes Tig. The teacher is left handed aswell and he is teaching me to use the tig gun in my right hand and the filler rod on my left which I am finding awkard, is it just getting use to using my right hand or can the tig be used in my left aswell.

The machine is a Lincolin Precision Tig 275 without a pedel.

 

[Hitch]

I hold the torch in my right, i am right handed.

Sometimes its not possible, so you need to use it the other way around.

Id be inclined to use it whichever way you feel more comfortable with while you are learning. As long as you keep the angles and techniques the same, but mirrored, it sholdn make an ounce of difference to him or you.

 

[bawjaws]

as above use whatevers most comfortable, ive never done tig but with oxy acetalene welding i have the torch in my left hand and the filler in the right, and im right handed, but tig torches are smaller than oxy ones so i could be different with them,

 

[runnach]

I'm left handed, torch hand is my left, filler right..............I'm now getting used to this welding lark, maybe there is some merit in your instructors view

 

[Shox Dr]

It doesn't matter which you use, you'll find the best hand to weld with when you have easy access, but you really need to be able to weld with both hands, for occasions when you haven't, got easy access

 

[madkayaker]

if you can weld with the "wrong" hand when you can use the "right" hand it will be easier

 

[runnach]

you really need to be able to weld with both hands, for occasions when you haven't, got easy access

When I was on the tools and access difficult, I would bring some other idgit in to nail the job up

 

[Shox Dr]

Nowt like working where you cant see the weld, so you need a mate to feed for you, while you use a mirror to see the weld pool. I haven't done any work like that but one of the lads I work with has

 

[dannyweld]

he sounds like from the old'n days when they used to make leftys use there right hand. the guy is having a laugh, if he persists bring em to court, personaly i'd smack em one. have done a few courses myself, these guys are a joke.

 

[steeo]

Thanks for the replies.

Next class is tuesday so i'll try it with my left hand and see what the story is, thought it might have been a tig thing to weld with your right hand.

 

[runnach]

I've actually had situations where a lad claims he can produce better test welds using his opposite hand for holding torch. If an individual can meet the criteria using whatever hand he/she is most comfortable with, then so beit. Forcing them to use a method that suits the trainer is not the way to go in my oppinion.

 

[gavuk]

I'm right handed ,and hold a tig in right hand,i can weld arc left handed ,but could never maintain a close enough arc for tig using my left hand ,use which ever hand You prefer not your instructor,its not like a torch is handed....Gav

 

[dannyweld]

if your in bolton street take what they say with a pince of salt.

 

[steeo]

Tried welding with my left hand tonight and feeding with my right and i found it much easier and the welds are alot neater (still far from perfect) and then I tried using the torch without a glove and it was easier still.

Cheers for all the help, will post up a few photo's tomorrow and give ye all a good laugh.

 

[gavuk]

I confess i don't wear a glove for my torch hand,on tig ,and most of the time on the filler hand either,do for arc and mig ,just not tig ...Gav

 

[runnach]

I confess i don't wear a glove for my torch hand,on tig ,and most of the time on the filler hand either,do for arc and mig ,just not tig ...Gav

Gav, I was a frequent no glove on filler hand for too many years, I ended up drying out all the oils in my hand, winters were a bad time, although enhanced with plunging deep into salt water, right hand would crack between fingers and around the sides also, varied a bit. It was very painful at times, hand was handy (excuse the pun) in the kitchen tho, when really bad it was akin to a cheese grater, no kidding it was that bad and rough.

Eventually paid a visit to my doc, took over 2 year using steroid cream to get my hand back to some kind of normality, sometimes when hand was really dry/cracked, I would smother with cream and, you know the plastic gloves you get at a petrol station to wear when filling motor with derv, fit glove and tape the end for an over night cream soak.

I know the above reads a tad surreal, it is very true ladies and gents, always wear full ppe when there is the potential for skin to be exposed to UV. With hindsight, all those critical tig welds are not as important as the welders wellbeing.

 

[gavuk]

Sounds like you had a rough time there Runnach,i should have said i never welded tig for long periods of time and i would recommend everybody ,wear all the appropriate ppe at all times,........i have always used gloves for mig unfortunatley my employer at the time did not supply the thinner tig gloves ,in fact i used my own gloves for the 6 years i was employed by him,and they were the thicker arc/mig kind and not ideal for tig.Most of the tig i did was blending rather than adding filler,i only used filler when i cocked up,which thankfully became less the more i did.....I now do very little tig unfortunatley ,but at least where i work now we have got a set,but because i'm on the maintenance team we don't get much call for welding ....Gav