Old timer named Hank at the Local 74 hall gave me some welding advice I should have ignored

About 8 years ago at the union hall in Hammond, this retired boilermaker named Hank told me to always run my root pass hot and fast on tube sheets. Said it would save time and still pass inspection. Well, I tried it on a job at the BP refinery in Whiting and blew through three tubes before I realized I was creating porosity every time. Has anyone else had to unlearn advice from a veteran that just doesn't hold up with modern materials?

2 comments

2 Comments

riverreed14d ago

Man, that hurts to read. I get where the old guy was coming from with the speed thing but those tube sheet materials are way different now, especially with the alloys they use in refineries. Ive had to unlearn the "crank the heat and send it" approach too after blowing out a couple welds on stainless tube sheets at a chemical plant. Its tough because you want to respect the old timers but sometimes their tricks just dont translate to modern code or materials.

jenny_coleman14d ago

Good advice right there.