Foot or thumb

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Going to buy a used syncrowave 250 but it does not come with a foot pedal. The previous owner did not like them but the little Tig welding that I have done was with a pedal. I was wondering what the consensus was for a beginning Tig welder to start with, a foot pedal or thumb. Advantages and disadvantages for both. Thanks
Reply:deffinitally foot, more control and it lets you handle torch easily.
Reply:like most things related to welding there is no one best thing....footpedal is real nice when you are working on the table, not so good when you are  needing to move or stand or hang by your schwanss to reach the weld...
Reply:Originally Posted by roadkillbobbdeffinitally foot, more control and it lets you handle torch easily.
Reply:There are lots of thumb wheel styles too.  I've got an "east/west" wheel, and really don't like it.  I've heard that the sliders are better . . .I find that I prefer the foot pedal between my knees when out of position, over using the thumb wheel, but I'm sure that with practice, I could eventually get used to that thing.
Reply:"Previous owner did not like them."  Maybe if he had owned a foot pedal, he would not have sold the welding machine.Get a foot pedal. Absolutely. And DO NOT FORGET about the water cooler. You WILL need it for a Syncrowave 250. Absolutely.OR did the previous owner not like water coolers either? LOLThe only time you would need a hand control is when the weldment is down near the floor  and the weldment cannot be lifted up or turned around. EXTREMELY RARE.Some people these days strip things down into components so they can sell each and every part because they think they will get more money. Then you are supposed to go look for all the right parts for it? What a pain. Forget about it.Oh and think about this..... If you are TIG welding and you are controlling feeding the filler wire with one hand and controlling the torch angle and distance etc., with the other hand, you want to add on controlling a switch on the torch handle while you are doing all this other stuff too.? Even an experienced TIG welder would have difficulty.A Sycrowave 250 has to have a foot control and water cooler. End of story.Last edited by Donald Branscom; 02-08-2011 at 10:14 AM.AWS certified welding inspectorAWS certified welder
Reply:Originally Posted by Donald BranscomOh and think about this..... If you are TIG welding and you are controlling feeding the filler wire with one hand and controlling the torch angle and distance etc., with the other hand, you want to add on controlling a switch on the torch handle while you are doing all this other stuff too.? Even an experienced TIG welder would have difficulty.
Reply:I don't do much welding at a dedicated station and frequently find myself in other than a sitting position so I use the thumbwheel quite a bit. Guess it puts me on the odd side out. I do agree that having the foot pedal allows the torch to be held in a variety of ways. So far, I've been able to make do though. You can get used to things and get by.
Reply:Foot pedal. The only time I wanted a thumb wheel was when I had to climb feet first into a sliding aluminum drawer in the bed of an F350.  The awkwardness of the position made the foot pedal very difficult- so much so that it started out with a helper pressing the pedal as I said "more, more, less".  You can imagine how well that worked    so I reverted to pedal under the elbow.  A thumb-wheel would have been great, but so far in my limited experience, it's the ONLY time I found one to be useful.Lincoln AC225 & MigPak 140, Lincoln Magnum SpoolGun, Miller Spectrum 375-X Plasma, Syncrowave 200 TIG, Millermatic 252 MIG, Miller Digital Elite, General 7x12" horiz/vert bandsaw, 3' box/pan brake, 20 ton press, milling machine, 12x28 lathe, etc.
Reply:Thanks for the info. Which foot controls are better the Miller or the one from ssccontrols? I read that the quality of the units were poor on the Diversion series. Not sure if the same for the Syncrowave.In regards to the water cooler.....Necessary for light fabrication like building motorcycle gas tanks and small oil tanks? The welds are going to be  relatively short. I take it the water cooler is a separate device and the year of the Syncrowave (8 years) will not matter when trying to find one?Thanks again guys...you've been a lot of help
Reply:I got a TIG for my home shop and given that it's not a HUGE shop I generally can't put whatever I'm working on on my table.  I have a thumb control and while it was pretty awkward at first is pretty nice now.  I've used a foot pedal too (thats how I learned way back when I worked at a shop) and it was definitely nice but I found that you're having to balance more on 1 leg (gets tiring if you do it a lot - and is hard to contort your body and still have good balance).  It probably depends more on what you're TIG welding.  I TIG a lot of stuff I could do with stick or MIG because I like the challenge and it doesn't fill my garage up with smoke.  If all of your welding was on small stuff on your table where you were sitting I'd say foot pedal.  If you're like me and just welding all kinds of stuff (half of which doesn't fit on the table) a thumb control is not too bad once you get used to it.Millermatic 135Syncrowave 250
Reply:Originally Posted by ReinholdThanks for the info. Which foot controls are better the Miller or the one from ssccontrols? I read that the quality of the units were poor on the Diversion series. Not sure if the same for the Syncrowave.In regards to the water cooler.....Necessary for light fabrication like building motorcycle gas tanks and small oil tanks? The welds are going to be  relatively short. I take it the water cooler is a separate device and the year of the Syncrowave (8 years) will not matter when trying to find one?Thanks again guys...you've been a lot of help
Reply:Thanks for the info. Which foot controls are better the Miller or the one from ssccontrols? I read that the quality of the units were poor on the Diversion series. Not sure if the same for the Syncrowave.In regards to the water cooler.....Necessary for light fabrication like building motorcycle gas tanks and small oil tanks? The welds are going to be  relatively short. I take it the water cooler is a separate device and the year of the Syncrowave (8 years) will not matter when trying to find one?Thanks again guys...you've been a lot of help
Reply:Originally Posted by ReinholdWhich foot controls are better the Miller or the one from ssccontrols?
Reply:Im old school and will always prefer a foot control.
Reply:Originally Posted by ReinholdThanks for the info. Which foot controls are better the Miller or the one from ssccontrols? I read that the quality of the units were poor on the Diversion series. Not sure if the same for the Syncrowave.In regards to the water cooler.....Necessary for light fabrication like building motorcycle gas tanks and small oil tanks? The welds are going to be  relatively short. I take it the water cooler is a separate device and the year of the Syncrowave (8 years) will not matter when trying to find one?Thanks again guys...you've been a lot of help
Reply:In the shop, foot pedal, on pipe, no remote, hanging from your toe nails installing a T-top on a rocking boat, thumb control it is.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:I use them both. I perfer the foot ALOT!Ya gotta spend money to make money!
Reply:Originally Posted by Donald BranscomThe only time you would need a hand control is when the weldment is down near the floor  and the weldment cannot be lifted up or turned around. EXTREMELY RARE.......A Sycrowave 250 has to have a foot control and water cooler. End of story.
Reply:Foot pedal for most welds and a hand control when the foot pedal  just won't fit the bill .Vinnie
Reply:SCc pedals are fine. I have one and a momentary button. Each one in their place works fine. Don't think the momentary will work on your synk. Does it have 4T function?Have used a north south wheel which would be fine for steel. But I like pulsing the remote for alum. So that would be a lot of thumb work.G
Reply:I use both. Foot pedal for any aluminum that I weld at a table or standing up. I also have a button. I'm not a fan of the slide or rotary type controls. We use buttons on all our tig machines at work while welding boiler tube. A foot pedal would suck on the type of stuff I do at work.On the other hand aluminum sucks without the pedal.They all have there place and I have all them for my Dynasty.