Talking to a framebuilder about tube butting changed how I prep repairs

I mean, this old guy in Austin who builds frames by hand mentioned he can feel how thick the metal is just by tapping a tube with a wrench, and now I spend way more time checking for thin spots before I weld, has anyone else run into a bike where the butting made your usual repair method useless?

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wendyprice2d ago

Had a 90s Bridgestone come in where the butting was so uneven near the seat tube I couldn't get a clean tig bead, ended up having to back-brace it with a sleeve I cut myself. Yeah, that tapping trick is real, I do it on every frame now before I even touch the grinder.