PSA: After 8 years I realized I was setting my bevel angles backwards on torch tips

Was watching a retired boilermaker at my local union hall in Gary last month and he pointed out my preheat holes were facing the wrong way on a 3/8 plate, has anyone else had that 'oh crap' moment where you've been doing something basic wrong for years and just never had anyone call you out on it?

3 comments

3 Comments

susansingh1mo ago

Wait, you sure it was the bevel angle and not just the preheat hole orientation? I mean, old timers will sometimes call things by different names, but setting the bevel angle backwards on a torch tip would mean your cut angle is totally off, not just the flame. Most guys I know say the real "oh crap" moment is realizing you've been running the oxygen lever too hard or not adjusting your travel speed for thicker plate. Still, I get the feeling - I spent a good two years using the wrong tip size for half-inch steel before someone pointed out my cuts were way too wide on the kerf. It's wild how long we can mess up something basic when no one corrects us.

gibson.morgan1mo ago

Forty years of cutting and I never checked my tip cleaning tool alignment.

king.val1mo ago

Lol wait what, you went four decades and never once thought about your tip alignment? That's like me bragging about selling houses for twenty years only to realize I've been using the wrong lockbox codes the whole time. I guess the real question is whether your cuts actually looked good anyway, or if everyone was just being polite about it.