By Randall M. Rueff
Welding Instructor
Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana
Columbus Campus

When my brother Brent and I were small kids, my parents decided it was time to buy a new car. They bought what I thought was the ugliest brown car I had ever seen. But it had one neat feature…at least I thought so at first. The first two rows of seats faced forward, but the third (back) row of seats faced toward the rear. A lot of times, especially when we had other family members with us, Brent and I would end up in the back seat getting a very good view of where we had already been! It was a very neat experience at first, but quickly became annoying. As it turns out, it is far more interesting and better to see where you are going as compared to where you have already been. This is true of driving, but is also true of welding.

THE WHO
I, Randall M. Rueff, have always been told…whether it was in my high school days at Columbus North High School (Indiana) by my welding teacher, Mr. Malcolm R. Stalcup in the Columbus Area Vocation Program, or by my many instructors at the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology… that pushing a weld is far better than pulling it. Pushing the weld is the general “rule of thumb” and is the preferred method that should be implemented whenever and wherever possible.

THE WHAT
What, you may ask, is the difference between pushing and pulling? Pushing is when you point the rod and/or electrode in the direction of travel… the place you have yet to weld. Pulling, on the other hand, is when you are welding and the rod is pointing in the direction of the place you have already been… where the weld, for better or for worse, has been deposited.

THE WHEN
The “when” is very simple… whenever you have the chance or opportunity to weld, where quality, precision, and great-looking welds are of the utmost importance.

THE WHERE
Wherever welding occurs!

THE WHY
For some, it’s better penetration. For those “in the know”, it’s because it is vastly more important to see where you are going to weld as compared to where you have already welded. There is also the not-so-small fact that pushing, as compared to pulling, allows you to better see how deep your weld is penetrating. This is especially important in butt and seam welds where you need to see how much your puddle is building up because you don’t want to cold lap any part of your weld, as well as to see if your arc length appropriate for the length of weld you are creating. Knowing how much farther you have to go and when and where we need to stop is just as important as choosing the correct electrode, amperage, arc length, travel speed and travel angle.

As a person who has sat in both the back, middle, and front seats, as well as driving a lot, it is always best… and yes, more interesting… to see where you are going because we all know and remember, for the most part, where we have been. So let’s all get going and push forward!