Took me 5 years to realize I was holding my stinger wrong on vert welds

Been doing this for about 8 years now. For the first 5, I was always fighting gravity on vertical up welds, getting mad drip through and spending forever grinding. One day a pipefitter buddy at the Port of Tacoma job watched me for like 30 seconds and goes "you're holding the rod like a pencil, try a fist grip." Switched to choking up on the stinger with my thumb on top, and suddenly I could control the puddle way better. Felt like an idiot but it fixed my vert welds overnight. Any of you guys have a simple grip change that made a big difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_smith7d ago

I heard a guy say "thumb on top changed everything" and I tried it, total game changer.

janaw117d ago

@harper_smith wait did you try it with a reverse grip or standard? i feel like that makes a huge difference