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c/boilermakerselliot_patelelliot_patel4d agoMost Upvoted

Shoutout to the old timer who told me to stop chasing my filler rod

I was out on a job replacing a section of steam drum at a power plant near Baton Rouge last month. This veteran boilermaker walks past, watches me for a minute, and says "son, you're fighting that rod like it owes you money. Let it breathe." I was butt welding with E7018 and kept cranking my neck to follow the puddle. He showed me to settle into a steady rhythm and trust my prep work. Has anyone else had a simple piece of feedback completely change their groove?
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3 Comments
carr.lee
carr.lee1h ago
A year ago I would have argued back about that, but not anymore.
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patricialee
That old timer knew his stuff. A welder told me the same thing about letting the rod melt into the puddle instead of chasing it. Changed everything for my root passes. Just relax and let the arc do the work, right?
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rubysingh
rubysingh4d ago
Funny how chasing it less actually makes you cleaner on the cap pass too lol.
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