Abstract: A welding station includes a weld shoe with a tube contact surface adjacent to a seam being welded to control the height and/or location of the tube at the seam. This facilitates alignment of the edges of the tube before, during and after the edges are welded together. The shoe provides a reduced contact surface area that may reduce heat build-up and friction, as well as reduce the build-up of any coatings, like zinc, or contaminants on the shoe contact surface. Among other things, this extends the useful life of a shoe and/or its contact surface, and reduces the need to clean the contact surfaces, all of which reduce the downtime of the weld station. Production rates may also be increased, and the rate of rejected parts may be decreased.