TIG Welding Overhead Tube to Plate - Walking the cup vs Freehand

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Video on How to TIG weld Overhead on a socket weld with Andrew Cardin

Watch this video of Brad Goodman aka @deepsouthdimestacker on IG glide along an outside corner joint on an aluminum dog feeder.

This video on TIG welding overhead demonstrates 2 TIG welding techniques:

1. Walking the cup
2. Freehand

Walking the cup is a great technique for tig welding overhead but has its limitations.

First obvious one is that for welds on structural shapes, you cant really start off walking the cup because there is no place to prop the cup for the first inch or so.

Another limitation to walking the cup is that sometimes there is limited access to the weld and not enough space to effectively walk the cup.

That is when its good to be able to freehand.

For TIG welding overhead, Freehand does not mean no prop at all, It just means you are not walking the cup.

How to prop when TIG welding overhead

You can always hold the torch way back on the handle to avoid getting burned but you might not be as steady as you would by being able to prop right next to the weld.

A TIG finger® allows you to prop right next to the weld on really hot metal without burning your fingers.

Another benefit to using a TIG finger® is being able to glide along smoother than you can using only a TIG glove.