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Vent: My old boss in Cleveland always said to skip the pre-heat on thick plate welds.
Last week, I was working on a 1.5 inch thick pressure vessel section and decided to actually follow code and pre-heat to 250F. Honestly, the weld penetration was way more consistent and I had zero cracking. Ngl, how many of you guys actually take the time for proper pre-heat on every job that calls for it?
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david_rivera41mo ago
Man, that old school "skip the pre-heat" advice is how you get callbacks for cracks six months later. It's pure laziness, not a shortcut. The code is written for a reason, and you just proved it. I've seen too many guys burn time grinding out bad welds because they couldn't wait for the metal to warm up. Your result is the only proof you need.
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sam171mo ago
Six months later is the real killer. I saw a structural beam fail after a year because someone skipped pre-heat on a cold day. The inspector found a crack you could fit a dime into.
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amy1541mo ago
That old advice is a good way to get a weld that looks fine but fails later. David_rivera4 is right about it being lazy, but sometimes it's just guys being rushed by a boss who doesn't get it. Following the code like you did is what keeps things from breaking.
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