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Old timer told me to stop sanding so much and I laughed at him
Guy with 40 years in the trade, Bill, watched me grinding a boiler tube joint down to glass smooth and said I was wasting time. I kept at it anyway, smug about my finish. Next pressure test, that joint leaked because I burned through the bevel. He was right, proper fit-up beats pretty sanding every time. Anyone else learn that lesson the hard way?
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king.eric1mo ago
Yeah exactly, Bill knew what he was talking about. Overpolishing is a rookie mistake I see all the time at the shop. You burn through that bevel and it's game over, no amount of pretty finish saves you. I've had guys spend an hour sanding a weld only to fail a simple air test because they shaved off too much material. Stick to a clean pass, don't chase a mirror finish, and save yourself the headache.
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rileygarcia1mo ago
Funny how nobody's talking about the filler rod itself. Switch to a different alloy and you might not even need to polish that heavy.
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