Abstract: On a contour welding machine with welding rollers), the workpiece is arranged on a holder that is freely rotatable during the welding operation. Its rotation by the driven welding rollers engaging the workpiece is compensated to a greater or lesser degree to suit the contour profile by shifting the position of the holder in relation to the welding rollers. This enables contours to be welded simply and inexpensively. With a driven check angle, a skip back to the starting point can be made in the case of open contours and/or friction rollers can be dispensed with.