The difference a proper pre-heat made on my last weld job

I was working on a 3/4 inch thick carbon steel plate for a pressure vessel repair. The first pass looked awful, with cracks starting at the edges. My foreman, Mike, told me to stop and actually check the metal temp with a crayon. I hadn't pre-heated it enough, maybe 150 degrees. I brought it up to the 400 degrees the spec called for, and the next weld went in smooth as butter, with a perfect bead profile. Has anyone else had a job go from bad to good just by nailing the pre-heat?

3 comments

3 Comments

xenam849d ago

My buddy had the same thing happen on a pipeline weld last year.

maryr439d ago

Ugh, that's rough. Seems like it's way more common than it should be. Hope your buddy got it sorted without too much trouble.

henry_anderson549d ago

Sounds about right for my luck too.