Saw a guy tacking a tube wrong at the union hall in Cleveland

Last Tuesday I was at the hall for a refresher and this younger guy was tacking a 4-inch tube with his wire way too hot and blowing holes in it. He was trying to go fast and it just wasn't working out. I showed him to back the heat down and take a short pause between tacks so the weld puddle cools. Has anyone else noticed new guys rushing tack welds and making more work for themselves?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavine412mo ago

Tell me about it. I learned that lesson the hard way after spending an hour grinding out my own "speed tacks" on a job back in 2019.

jessicaw542mo ago

Man I made that exact mistake once. Spent a good 45 minutes sharpening some old roofing nails into these weird little cone shapes thinking I was being clever. First time I hit one with the hammer it just folded over and I sat there staring at my pile of ruined nails like I'd just wasted my whole lunch break. Now I just buy the proper ones and call it a day.

the_fiona18d ago

Twenty bucks and one bent framing nail was all it took for me to finally get it. I used to think grinding your own points was smarter because you could angle them however you wanted. Then I tried driving one into a pressure treated 4x4 and the tip just crumpled like tinfoil. The metallurgy is totally different on proper hardened nails, they're made to take that impact without mushrooming. Now I just grab a box of Grip Rite or whatever's on sale and move on with my day. Saves me from that sick feeling of ruining a bunch of stuff I worked on for nothing.