Old journeyman told me my weld prep was lazy, changed everything on my next job at the Con Ed plant in Astoria

He watched me wire brush a seam for like 30 seconds and just said 'you're gonna leave voids in there, kid.' I was rushing because the foreman was breathing down my neck, but he showed me how to hit it with a needle scaler first and then use a die grinder with a 60 grit disc. After that, my welds passed X-ray on the first try for the first time in 8 months. Has anyone else had an old hand call them out on something small that was actually a huge deal?

3 comments

3 Comments

reese_hayes7117d ago

Wait, hold up. Needle scaler before the die grinder? I've been a welder for twelve years and I've never once heard someone do it in that order. Most guys I know just hit it straight with the grinder and call it a day, so hearing that blows my mind a little bit. No wonder you were chasing X-ray failures for eight months if nobody told you about the scale and mill slag hiding under the surface. Your old journeyman must have been in the game since the Roosevelt administration if he knew that trick.

dixon.james16d ago

Old timer I worked with used to clean his driveway with a needle scaler before winter hit.

cooper.drew17d ago

My buddy skipped that step once and spent three days grinding out his own welds on a steam line.