I finally stopped chasing the perfect preheat on big jobs

Last month in Gary, Indiana, I was working a 48-inch drum repair and spent 45 minutes trying to dial in the preheat to exactly 250 degrees with a torch setup. My foreman walked over, saw me fussing, and said 'you're burning time, not metal. Get it close and start welding.' I was honestly embarrassed but he was right. The weld held fine within a 20-degree range, and I finished the job two hours earlier than expected. Has anyone else had a similar wake-up call about overthinking the prep?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant_torres4d ago

I've been there man. Your foreman gave you some real talk that most of us need to hear at some point.

janahenderson1d ago

Yeah @grant_torres, honestly I used to roll my eyes at advice like that. Changed my whole view though.