TIG/MIG Welding Arm Support

[poppa bird]

My first post here but I thought I would share this for anyone else who has struggled keeping their hand in the right place especially when TIG welding. I can't remember what I was actually looking for but I came across a commercial version of this for about £80. Not a lot of money but looking at it I thought I could:

1. Make it for less
2. Make it better

The details of the product were sketchy but from the pictures it looked unlikely it had any bearings to ease movement and it had a magnetic stand rather than one with holes to clamp to your welding table.

It was definitely cheap since it was made entirely out of garage "scrap" except for the linear ball joint, £9.39 for 5 off Amazon.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the support along with a set of drawings for making one if you fancy. Please let me know if you do and if there are any issues with the drawings so I can update if necessary