My uncle said to always pre-heat the plate before a full weld, and I finally listened.

He told me that three years ago on a job in Spokane, and I thought it was just extra work for no reason. Last month, I was working on a 3/4 inch thick pressure vessel repair and skipped the step, which led to a nasty crack right down the seam after the first pass. I went back, used a rosebud torch to get the area to about 300 degrees F as he said, and the next weld laid in perfect with no issues. Has anyone else had a specific pre-heat tip save their bacon on a tricky job?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_wendy2mo ago

I mean, it's like that with a lot of old-school advice. People figure out the hard way why it stuck around.

noah7532mo ago

Yeah, I learned that lesson the hard way too. What finally clicked for you?