Rant: old timer at the union hall in Gary told me to stop chasing root gaps with bigger wire

Sean Gibson · 2026-11-12T20:35:05.027561+00:00

Struck up a chat with a guy who's been on the tools 30 years while we were waiting on a hall call in Gary last month, and he goes "if you're reaching for a bigger wire, you already lost the fight, fix your fit first." I've been running 1/8 inch root gaps on tube sheet work for years mostly out of habit, and it got me wondering if I'm just burning time filling gaps I shouldn't have. Curious what root gap you all actually run on boiler tube sheet, is 1/8 just what I got taught or is that normal everywhere?

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Rant: old timer at the union hall in Gary told me to stop chasing root gaps with bigger wire | Boilermakers - The Community Guide