A guy on a job in Toledo told me my weld prep was a joke

He pointed at a boiler header I was about to weld and said, 'Your bevel is maybe 20 degrees, you need a full 37.5 for proper penetration on this steel.' I felt like an idiot but he was right. I bought a proper angle gauge that afternoon and now I check every single joint. Has anyone else had a veteran call them out on something basic like that?

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

oliverp566mo ago

Man, I gotta push back on this. Sometimes those old timers are just stuck in their ways. A 20 degree bevel can work just fine on plenty of jobs if you know how to run the rod. It's not always about the textbook number, it's about reading the puddle and adjusting your heat. That guy might have had his own way, but calling your prep a joke was out of line. You can get full penetration with different approaches, not just his one magic number. Buying a gauge is fine, but don't think his word is the only law.

3

the_ryan6mo ago

Exactly, experience beats a rigid rulebook every time.

1