Hot take: I actually stopped chasing the perfect bead on every pass

Had a convo with my uncle who's been fitting pipe since the 70s and he said 'pretty welds don't always hold, but ugly ones that penetrate do.' I was spending 10 minutes grinding and redoing joints on a boiler repair in Gary last month that looked fine but he showed me the root pass was way too cold. Now I care more about burn-in than how it looks and honestly my work passes hydro tests first try way more often. Any of you guys been burned by chasing looks over strength?

2 comments

2 Comments

williamd702d ago

Nah, pretty welds matter too if you know what you're doing.

parker_patel842d ago

Yep, been there myself. I had a job on a cooling tower line a few years back and spent half a day grinding caps smooth for a customer who wanted that "store bought" look. Pressure test blew a pinhole right at the tie-in because I'd been so focused on the face pass that I didn't get good fusion on the sides. Now I run a little hotter, watch the puddle wash into the edges, and only hit it with a flap disc if it's actually needed for fit-up. That uncle of yours knows what he's talking about.