In this paper a method for controlling the velocity of a welding wire at the tip of the handle is described. The method is an alternative to the traditional welding apparatus control system where the wire velocity is controlled internal in the welding machine implying a poor disturbance reduction. To obtain the tip velocity a dynamic model of the wire/liner system is developed and verified.  In the wire/liner system it turned out that backlash and reflections are influential factors. An idea for handling the backlash has been suggested. In addition an optical sensor for measuring the wire velocity at the tip has been constructed. The optical sensor may be used but some problems due to focusing cause noise in the control loop demanding a more precise mechanical wire feed system or an optical sensor with better focusing characteristics.