c/boilermakers

Learned a weld test trick at the Local 374 hall in Gary

Went in for a bend test last month and the instructor showed me how to read the puddle better by turning my hood angle down. I had been fighting root pass for three years and that one tip cleaned it up. He said most guys rush the arc and don't watch it burn in. Anyone else pick up a small trick that fixed a big problem?

3 comments

the_daniel•21h ago

Hot take: you don't need to grind every weld flush on pressure vessels

I keep seeing guys spend an hour grinding down welds that are perfectly code-compliant. My old foreman at the Shell refinery in Houston showed me that ASME Section VIII only requires a smooth blend if it's over 1/16 inch. We did a leak test on a 300-psi vessel last month where we left the caps on and passed no problem. Saves a ton of disk wear and arm fatigue. Am I missing something or are we just chasing looks?

3 comments

ray_burns•3d ago

Took me 5 years to figure out I was wrapping my insulation too tight

I used to pull my insulation wrap super tight around every pipe joint thinking that was the right way to do it. Then an old timer on a job in Detroit pointed out that I was actually creating air gaps and reducing the efficiency. He showed me how a little bit of loose wrap lets the material settle and seal better. Have any of you guys been taught a basic thing years into the trade that made you feel dumb?

3 comments

faith27•3d ago

Burned up a $400 torch tip because I was in a hurry on a job in Gary last month

I was working on a 6-inch steam drum patch up near the old US Steel yard. Rushed the preheat and didn't let the tip cool between passes. That thing started sputtering and then just died. Cost me half a day driving to the supply house and $400 out of pocket. Ever make a dumb mistake that cost you real money on a job?

3 comments

ward.diana•4d ago

Hot take: I actually prefer 7018 rods over 6010 for most field work now

I know everyone says 6010 is the go to for dirty rusty pipe and that's what I used for years. But about 4 months ago on a job in Gary Indiana I got stuck with a whole box of 7018 and had to make it work on some real beat up steel. I tried running it a little hotter than usual around 130 amps and it actually tied in better than I expected. The slag came off cleaner and I didn't have to grind near as much. Now I grab 7018 first unless I'm dealing with thick scale or really heavy rust. Has anyone else tried this or am I just getting lucky with my prep work?

3 comments

tessap97•4d ago

Hot take: I was dead wrong about digital welding helmets

Back in 2010 I swore I'd never use a battery powered hood. Old timers at the Local 374 hall said it was just another thing to break. Then I borrowed a Jackson NexGen at a Union job in Peoria and my neck pain went away after a week. Has anyone else had a change of heart about something they hated for years?

3 comments

nancyramirez•6d ago

Can we talk about those firebox door hinges that always sag...

I had to rehang a boiler door on a 40-year-old Cleaver-Brooks last week and the hinge pins were so bent they barely slid out. Why don't more guys just replace the pins instead of shimming the whole assembly with washers?

3 comments

cora813•6d ago

Old apprentice trick I nearly forgot until last month saved my back

I was working a job at a refinery in Gary, Indiana last month and my helper kept asking why I was squatting down so much. 3 years ago my old journeyman taught me to keep my spine straight and use my legs for every bend, even when the pipe is light. Last week I caught myself hunching over a 2 inch flange and my lower back reminded me all day why that's a bad idea. The helper laughed at me for wrapping my arms around my knees to get low but I wasn't sore the next morning and he was. I mean it's just little stuff like that which adds up over 20 years in the trade. Has anyone else had some old-timer tip come back to them out of nowhere on a job?

3 comments

williams.luna•6d ago

Nicked a steam line this morning and my whole day went sideways

Was taking out a section of old 4-inch pipe near a drum and my bevel grinder caught the edge of a live line. Had to shut down half the plant for 3 hours while we patched it up. Anyone else ever get caught by hidden lines when you think you've got the layout mapped?

3 comments

shane_wilson•7d ago

The old boilermaker who kept a stump grinder bit in his locker for 15 years

I was working a shutdown at a paper mill outside of Savannah a few years back, and this older boilermaker named Chuck had a beat up stump grinder bit sitting in his locker. Not a tool you'd ever need on a boiler, right? I asked him why he kept it and he said "you never know when you'll have to grind something down to nothing." I laughed it off until we got a tube sheet that was warped bad. He pulled that bit out, rigged it to a die grinder, and smoothed out a 4 inch section in like 10 minutes. The foreman was standing there with his mouth open. Has anyone else run into a guy with some random tool stash that saved the day out of nowhere?

3 comments

paige_bell81•8d ago

Old timer told me my preheat on a 2-inch plate was way too low

He said I was gonna crack the weld running at 150 degrees on a cold morning in Chicago. Switched to 250 and sure enough, the bead laid way smoother and no cracking after hydro test. Has anyone else had an old-timer save them from a rookie mistake like that?

3 comments

adam186•25d ago

Old foreman told me to quit using my grinder for everything, took me 3 months to get it

I was out on a job in Gary last month, cutting down some rusty bolts with my 4.5 inch grinder like always. This old foreman named Hank walks over and says, "You're making more work for yourself, grab a chisel and a hammer." I laughed it off but after 3 months of trying his way, I shaved 20 minutes off each flange prep. Anyone else ever get advice from an old timer that felt wrong but turned out right?

3 comments

the_laura•25d ago

The difference between a 6010 root pass and a 7018 fill rod is night and day since I switched 3 years ago.

I always fought with slag inclusion until a foreman outside Pittsburgh showed me how to run the 6010 hot and fast. Anyone else see a huge change when they stopped babying their root pass?

3 comments

aaronroberts•26d ago

Ran into an old tube sheet that took me 3 full days to drill out

I had this job last month at a power plant outside of Gary, Indiana that should've been a two day pull. We hit a tube sheet that must have been original from the 1970s, that alloy steel was way harder than anything modern. My carbide tipped drills were smoking after 20 holes, had to switch to an annular cutter setup which I hardly ever use. Took me 72 hours of straight labor for what I quoted at 12. Anyone else hit a wall like that where the material just fights back way harder than expected?

3 comments

owens.laura•26d ago

PSA: Check your regulator gauge before every shift

Last Wednesday I was on a tube job at a refinery in Baton Rouge. I slapped my 12 gauge needle scaler on an old header and it barely chattered. I spent 20 minutes checking the compressor, hoses, and fittings before I realized my regulator gauge was stuck at 90 psi but the actual output was maybe 50. I swapped the regulator out for one I keep in my truck and the scaler worked like a champ the rest of the day. That little hiccup cost me almost an hour of billable time. How often do you guys actually check your gauges against a second reading?

3 comments

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jackson.max•27d ago

Hit 500 hours of stick welding on my own today

I just finished up a job in Houston and realized I've got 500 hours under my hood since I started running my own rig. Didnt think I'd make it this far without a major screw up. Anybody else keep track of their weld time like this?

3 comments

tessalane•28d ago

Unpopular take: those pre-built scaffolding kits are overpriced junk for most jobs

I keep seeing guys on here raving about those premade aluminum scaffolding kits, but I had a bad experience with one last month on a job in Cleveland. We were doing a boiler stack repair about 30 feet up, and the thing wobbled way more than I was comfortable with. My crew ended up having to brace it with extra lumber we brought anyway, which kind of defeats the purpose. Three years ago I built my own scaffolding from steel pipe and fittings for under $600, and that setup has been rock solid ever since. I mean, maybe the kits work for smaller residential stuff, but for industrial boiler work where you're hauling heavy tools up, I just don't trust them. Any other guys out there stick with custom built scaffolding for the big jobs?

3 comments

schmidt.iris•28d ago

TIL I used to clean my boiler tubes with a wire brush like a caveman

For years I'd spend half a shift scrubbing each tube by hand, but last month I tried that spiral tube cleaner from McMaster-Carr and finished the whole job in 40 minutes. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize you've been making simple work way harder than it needed to be?

3 comments

kai839•29d ago

PSA: Stick with fire brick, not that castable refractory mix

Tried patching my forge with that $50 bag of castable refractory last weekend and it cracked after three heats. Anyone else had better luck with the preformed fire brick?

3 comments

sagejackson•1mo ago

Wasted $200 on a welder from a pawn shop that lasted two weeks

Found a Miller 130i at a pawn shop in Nashville for $200. Looked clean and fired up fine in the lot, so I figured it was a steal. Got it home and ran maybe 10 hours of work before the drive motor locked up and the wire feed started chattering. Opened it up and found a circuit board that looked like someone had sprayed it with soda. Live and learn, I guess. Has anyone here had luck fixing those older Miller boards or is it just scrap?

3 comments

zarag17•1mo ago

Just hit 500 welds on the same flange without a single reject

I'm working a job down in Port Arthur right now and finally crossed 500 welds on this one massive flange. No leaks, no grind-outs, no rework. It's just a number but it makes me feel like all that time burning rod in my 20s actually paid off. How many welds do you guys track before you call it a milestone?

3 comments

jesse_smith10•1mo ago

Tightened a leaking steam flange with a washer trick I learned from a guy in Baton Rouge

I was working on a 150 psi line at a chemical plant in Lake Charles last winter and a old-timer showed me to stack two thin washers instead of one thick one to get a better seal on a warped flange face, has anyone else tried that on high-temp lines?

3 comments

webb.hannah•1mo ago

That brand new needle gun seized up on me after 20 minutes on a job in Gary

Had to crack it open right there on the tank and found a burr in the piston sleeve, so now I carry a spare set of guts for every power tool I own-anyone else had a new tool fail that fast?

3 comments

mila_murphy•1mo ago

The day a crane operator in St. Louis taught me a better way to rig

Back in 2016 I was on a job at the Anheuser-Busch plant, and this old-timer showed me how to tie a double-wrap choker hitch instead of my usual basket. It saved me from a load shift that would have been real bad. Anyone else pick up a trick from a random guy on site that stuck with you?

3 comments

the_jessica•1mo ago

That air arc gouging job that turned into a 4 hour mess

I had to do a simple gouging repair on a 2 inch fillet weld down at the Port of Tacoma last Wednesday. Figured it would be maybe 45 minutes tops, but the compressed air line kept freezing up every 10 minutes. Took me over 4 hours to finish because I kept stopping to thaw the lines. Has anyone else dealt with moisture freezing in their air lines during winter jobs?

4 comments