I've got a Lincoln Invertec Tig setup with a foot pedal and am increasingly running into situations where the foot pedal is a pain to use. My plan is to get a hand amptrol -- the guys at the welding store recommended a velcro-on type. How hard are these hand amptrols to use? Are they at least better than using the foot pedal "bagpipe style" under my arm? Any tips?
Thanks,
Chris
I use the Lincoln also and have a CK amptrol that works best for me and I have tried many different ones. CK has the fore and aft slider that can be built into the handle, or attached to your existing torch with clips or velcro. The clip on is nice because it can be turned to different locations as needed and doesn't melt like velcro. CK has a new amptrol that I have yet to use, and it may have some advantages, but I've been using this setup now for 5 or 6 years and don't want to retrain my hand to a different motion. www.ckworldwide.com
Good luck, Scott.
Can't say more than this.
CK has a great line of hand current controls. Check them out.
Good Luck
brande
You might want to consider a button control,and use the upslope/downslope on the machine.I had the ck,and the Lincoln slider,and It's not for me.I think CK makes the Lincoln one? It looks the same.I also think the new CK Worldwide style could be a good answer for me.
Thanks for all the info, everyone.
I got a CK slider and it's OK but sometimes hard to use without dropping the torch into the puddle, etc. I want one I can control with my jaw -- like a bulb I bite down on or something. Seems crazy to try to keep a steady hand while messing with the amptrol.
Cheers,
Chris
This thread motivated me to get my hand control out again. Mine is a Miller with a small wheel that is oriented perpendicular to the torch handle and the unit is velcroed to the torch handle. Have not really used it except to see if it worked. It did but I had a very hard time controlling the current. Adjusting the wheel made the torch move excessively and the whole unit is bulky, especially on an air cooled torch.
So, I got clever -- so I thought. I removed the torch handle and attached the unit to the tube/hoses underneath. Less bulky but bad idea. Had a "lightning strike" on the web between my thumb and index finger. I've had a high freq tingle before but this left me with a pin point burn (and I was wearing a glove) and even after applying ice, a blister.
Next, (I'm persistent) I replaced the handle and tinkered with the current setting on the machine. I determined that the wheel moves about 3/4 turn. I turned the amps up to about 160 (was sq groove welding12ga SS). That resulted in much less wheel rotation required and a steadier torch. With a foot control, I would have set the current more conventionally. Since I could hold the torch steadier, the bulkiness did not bother me as much.
Don't know if this helps anyone but for what it's worth...
Ken
Forum
