New Old foot pedal

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I helped a friend move a few years back & he gave me a 135cf argon tank, some old tig torches, and an old foot pedal, 'Arctrol' brand. The welders & stuff were his fathers. The welders were like refrigerators. He uses them for stick welding.It had a large ceramic variable resistor for amp control, about 12 contacts range. The ceramic was cracked badly. I removed the guts & made my own innards for use with my TA 185.The 'micro' switch is original to the unit, works fine.The white 1/2 plastic gear is from an old vcr, I cut it in half & attached the halves together for more gear contact.The gear assy is attached to a bronze part from an old water regulator. (I dont throw anything away, I eventually seem to find a use for everything!)It looks flimsy, but the most tension in the unit is the spring seen in the center (closeup). The spring takes up all slack except in the gear meshing which is negligable.There are two 'stop' screws on the pedal itself, one for 'foot off the pedal' & one for 'full pedal', cant go too far & screw things up there.Got the 8 pin connector through another thread here, Thanks!, Got it a few days ago, got 16 of the connector pins. The first was a PITA to solder, I made a jig to hold them & it was smooth sailing then. Nine pins left over.When I first attached the wiring to the micro switch, I was thinking, 'foot off, switch open', so I connected to the 'normally open' post on the micro, but but with 'foot off' that was now 'contact closed'. first time I tried it, got a "4" code(?) on the welders display. After a few seconds, I realized the argon was flowing. When I stepped on the pedal, the gas went 'off' & I fried the tungsten when the arc started. (thats when I realized the gas was now off) Turned welder off, & switched one wire on the micro & all was/is good.The big diagonal arm tripping the micro with the two holes originally had the contact arm for the old ceramic resistor, is above my setup, and the geometry of the workings makes it move quickly out of the way of my stuff.That sucker weighs almost 8 lbs. & dosent slide around on the floor <- what I dont like about the 185's pedal. (the only thing I dont like about the welder)Its all cast aluminium & steel, & you could drive a truck over it & no damage.-corne-(sorry - the pics are in no particular order)
Reply:Good job making that a current and operational tool!I really have no idea what I am doing.Two Shop Cats (not Bobcats...real cats)Miller DialArc 250 AC/DCScratch-Start TIG SetupMIG 175Plasma CutterO/A
Reply:Clever job reworking the innards! I try to tell my wife there's a reason I never throw anything away...
Reply:Frankenpedal - its alive   wow thats old school coolmig,tig,oxy,plasma,lathe,mill,bender,vise,grinder
Reply:Cool idea. They are heavy enough that they do not move, yet you can kick them across the floor.                       Sincerely,                            William McCormick
Reply:Very nice. Are you just making it functional or are you gonna repaint it and stuff?I ask because, and I have asked here before, where do you get new nameplates made or restored?Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Originally Posted by Joker11Are you just making it functional or are you gonna repaint it and stuff?
Reply:That is really really awesome!!!!!
Reply:looks like the same pedal that came with a Hobart tig......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Cool re-do on the pedal. My favorite part of the deal: The white 1/2 plastic gear is from an old vcr, I cut it in half & attached the halves together for more gear contact.The gear assy is attached to a bronze part from an old water regulator. (I dont throw anything away, I eventually seem to find a use for everything!)
Reply:That's awesome. I've always had this idea about taking an old Wah pedal for guitar and turning it into a TIG pedal...someday...Millermatic 211 Miller Blue Fire 140@swiftwelding on Instagram