Weld prep order finally clicked after 14 jobs

Always cleaned my plate edges first, then beveled. Thought it was the standard way. A veteran from Local 85 in Gary watched me set up and asked why I was making extra work. He showed me bevel first, then brush and clean. The dirt and scale don't get pushed back into the joint that way. Way less grinding after. Anyone else have a basic sequence they had backwards for a long time?

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barbaraw4718d ago

My uncle Fred spent 20 years in the same local up there and he'd probably call me out too. I had the exact same backwards habit with my prep work until a job in Joliet where my foreman just stood there shaking his head at me. He said I was basically polishing the dirt before shoving it back into the seam, which is the most accurate burn I've ever gotten on a site. Now I bevel first, hit it with the brush, and my fitter actually stopped complaining about my joints for a whole week. Funny how you can do something 14 times and still have it completely wrong, but those old guys always know some trick that saves your back and your wire wheels.