Finally bit the bullet and bought a TIG welder

hahaha...

Double bass...

This welder only came with the torch mount full on/ all off trigger. So it sucks for pulse welding, which you want to do on everything, to limit heat soak. That's the entire advantage of a tig. If you shut it all off at once, you get craters, even with post flow gas.

I still want the hand trigger for awkward positions that won't allow me to use a pedal, so I'm making this pedal do the toggle between hand and foot control, automatically, and making the hand trigger velcro, on a wireless setup, so I can switch hands, not have more wire on the torch and remove it from the torch when I'm on the pedal.

For the price I paid with the CK silicone braid flex gas hose/ power cable, the wireless controller, the gears, pedal and everything else, I'm still coming in at 2/3 the cost of a mediocre, high foot profile pedal.

It would have only run me about $35 to make a pedal, but after thinking about it, the more flexable line, lighter weight on my hand, less crap on the floor and more versatility for tac welding is going to help me out. If I ever decide to run a water cooler and water cooled torch (if I ever do that much welding at once), I'll leave enough room for the two extra lines on the foot pedal and make a cheap, submersible fish tank power head pump and water cooler to put under the unit on the cart.

I'm thinking a heater core as an exchanger, mounted inside a submersible tank with no fan, or just run an aluminum tank full of of race alcohol coolant with no heat exchanger.

The only time I've seen guys really needing a water cooler, is if they're running the welder, non stop for hours on end. We'll see how it goes.