{"id":270,"date":"2024-09-20T07:16:45","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T07:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/?p=270"},"modified":"2026-01-21T22:13:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T19:13:23","slug":"vetamalla-vai-tyontamalla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/vetamalla-vai-tyontamalla\/","title":{"rendered":"Push or pull?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Harjoitus<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

MIG\/MAG Welding basics for beginners and less experienced welders<\/em>.
Basics considering welding torch handling. Travel direction - push vs. pull.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let's start by defining the terms. When you weld, as the welding wire meets the steel being welded, an arc is created, which in turn forms weld pool. That would be the sparking area where the weld is formed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Pull<\/mark> – <\/em>means that, as the name suggests, you pull <\/em>the arc and weld pool behind the welding torch.
Push<\/mark> – <\/em>means that you push the arc and weld pool ahead of the welding torch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at the image below to get a better understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a technical welding perspective, and especially in terms of penetration, <\/em>direction of travel makes a difference. But since you're just beginning your practice, penetration doesn\u2019t matter at this stage. Forget about it. Try both methods<\/em> and go with the one that feels more natural to you. Both techniques will produce strong, durable welds, and at this stage in your welding journey, both are equally correct.<\/em> The right method is the one that gets you a functional result. You can focus on the finer details of penetration later as you progress beyond the beginner level.

When I am welding workpieces lying flat on a table (moving from right to left in my case), I prefer pushing <\/em>the torch forward. I like that it gives me a clear view of the joint ahead, so I can see where I\u2019m guiding the torch. When pulling, the torch is in my line of sight, blocking the view, which often makes it harder for me to maintain direction and overall control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we take the same welding scenario but rotate the workpieces to a vertical position (90 degrees, with one end pointing toward the ceiling and the other toward the floor), my preferred method also changes. In this case, the best approach is to weld from top to bottom using the pulling<\/em>pulling technique. While pulling in a horizontal weld can make visibility and direction control difficult, I don\u2019t have this issue in a vertical weld. The direction naturally stays within the joint, even without constantly seeing it, and it\u2019s actually very easy to control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, these are two slightly different situations. In one, pushing works best for me; in the other, pulling is the better option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vet\u00e4m\u00e4ll\u00e4
On the left, the welding torch travel angle at 0 degrees. On the right, travel angle is approximately 30 degrees.
On the right: moving in the direction of the red arrow means \"pushing,\" while moving in the direction of the yellow arrow means \"pulling.\"<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So once again\u2014experiment, experiment, and experiment. Don\u2019t get stuck on just one method unless it works absolutelly flawlessly for you. This way, you\u2019ll find the techniques that suit you best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between pushing and pulling, there\u2019s also a middle ground where the welding torch is held perfectly vertical. This isn\u2019t wrong either\u2014it might even be the right option in certain situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The angle of the welding torch also affects the welding process and the final result. In different situations, it\u2019s useful to take advantage of various angles. Don\u2019t just stick to the 30-degree example shown above\u2014be bold and try everything between 0 and 70 degrees to see how it influences the weld. The best way to learn is through hands-on experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closer you aim the welding torch toward 0 degrees, the deeper the penetration into the joint. However, keep in mind that on thin materials, this also increases the risk of burning through. As you increase the angle to 15, 30, or 45 degrees, penetration decreases, and the risk of burn-through is reduced. More horizontal travel is generally better for thin sheet metal, while a steeper angle works better for thicker materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

If you ended up here by accident and haven\u2019t taken the course yet\u2014but welding still interests you\u2014go check out our articles on welding basics. You\u2019ll find plenty of useful tips there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Articles:
Adjusting the welding machine<\/a>
Push or pull?<\/a>
Contact tip to workpiece distance<\/a>
Welding torch work angle<\/a>
How quickly can you learn welding?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Article written by Anssi Juvonen<\/strong>
Entrepreneur and owner of Ape\u2019s metalshop Oy<\/em>
Instructor and creator of Hitsauskurssi.fi\u00ae<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Koko profiili ja yhteystiedot t\u00e4st\u00e4<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/i><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Anssi<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Hitsauskurssi.fi<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MIG\/MAG-hitsauksen perusteet aloittelijalle ja satunnaisesti hitsaavalle.Perusteita hitsauspistoolin asennosta kuljettaessa vet\u00e4m\u00e4ll\u00e4 ja ty\u00f6nt\u00e4m\u00e4ll\u00e4. Selvitet\u00e4\u00e4n ensimm\u00e4isen\u00e4 termit. Kun hitsaat, hitsauslangan kohdatessa hitsattava ter\u00e4s, syntyy valokaari ja sen seurauksena hitsisulaa. Eli se kipin\u00f6iv\u00e4 osio josta syntyy saumaa. Vet\u00e4m\u00e4ll\u00e4 – tarkoittaa sit\u00e4 kun nimens\u00e4 mukaisesti ved\u00e4t valokaarta ja hitsisulaa hitsauspistoolin per\u00e4ss\u00e4.Ty\u00f6nt\u00e4m\u00e4ll\u00e4 – tarkoittaa sit\u00e4 kun ty\u00f6nn\u00e4t valokaarta ja hitsisulaa […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hitsauspistoolin-kasittely","category-mig-mag-hitsauksen-perusteet"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1377,"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270\/revisions\/1377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hitsauskurssi.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}