[Westcoaster]

In certain situations where there is no joint to follow it can be very difficult to weld in a straight line. I tried a soapstone line but found that it either burns or blows away when I weld next to it. My solution to making a long straight bead is to lay a piece of steel bar next to the intended weld line. For vertical or horizontal you can clamp it or tack it. With careful attention you can carry your puddle quite close to the bar as you run your bead. I have actually used this method with round bar rolled into an arc to serve as a guide for welding capping passes on circular plates on tug boat decks. I found that I could actually bump the welding rod up against the guide without welding to the guide. Hope this gives you some ideas.