Overheard a welder say gaps are your friend not your enemy

He was talking about leaving a 1/16 inch gap when tacking up metal, and after trying it on my gate repair I got way better penetration without blowing through, has anyone else found that leaving space actually helps?

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daniel8572mo ago

My very first welding project I tried to close up a gap on some thin tubing and ended up with a pile of melted metal that looked like a sad taco. I learned the hard way that chasing zero gap just means you're fighting the metal and the heat builds up way too fast. On a gate repair last month I left about a 1/16 gap like you said and got perfect root passes without the backside burning away. Still can't believe it took me ten years to figure out something that simple, but I guess that's why I'm not a professional. Your mileage might vary on thicker stuff but for thin metal that gap is basically a free pass to better welds.

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elizabethg182mo ago

Was that gap technique the main thing that finally clicked for your root passes?

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