@@fixitallpaul4847 oooof your x-rays getting busted is some of the most sensual shit that there is hahahha... I got this job right now where they, would detect a cunt hair in your welds and it is driving me crazy... This job requires very low initial education but once you get into it you will find out that you would quicker get a master's degree in medicine than learn all that is to be known in welding.
X-ray guy to a welding guy, I fully respect your reaction, thoughts and feelings on how you feel about the IP repair. In my opinion, we never want to call a repair on you guys. That just means we have to X-ray it again after you repair it. I would rather be sleeping and waiting for the next tie in weld.
I hear you. I'm a test engineer and spent 12 years doing testing and certification of building products. The worst call to make is to tell someone their product failed the test. The customer rarely handles it well and usually says I was just looking for a reason for them to fail. Couldn't be farther from the truth. The best scenario for me is if it passes with flying colors first try. That means the job is done, we're getting paid, and the client is happy. When it fails it's a pain in everyone's rear.
@@GoPetty43 Yep! The worst is when I’m told they haven’t failed in 15 years and then I come along and fail them for multiple things within an hour. That’s the worst!
Current job in a pipeshop just over a year. 6G tig 2"s80 on carbon and 316 stainless to start job, both fine. Had 1 repair for a dodgy stop/start on root of a weld on a an 8" elbow so far. The two others so far that busted completely were: a 6"schd80 6G fleet 5p+ root vodex 6013 for LOF for not grinding the root back far enough, and a 6"schd 80 tig root 7016 lowhy fill and cap, failed on porosity in a stop/start point halfway up one start. What a time to bomb out, hey!😂
Man this is a great topic to talk about , I believe that when you bust any type of test it’s is a wake up call to tighten you skilled, and like you said never get to relaxed in this craft . I’ve been welding for 19 years and every x-ray that I’ve busted I can remember like it was yesterday. I’ve learned from them and it’s made me a better welder for them
I Busted my 2nd test i had ever done, SMAW open root 7016 LoHi on 3.5" sch 40 carbon . they cut every strap and nick break on the restarts and ti ins. Was a learning experience in stick welding LoHi open root, clean and grind every thing to bright shiny metal !
@@grantrichardson2185 yes every one , but we have to take our test peaces into a grinding room to do so. You have to manage your time well, 3 hrs for 2G and 5G combined . i passed on the second try All straps bent clean and nick breaks were all good to.
Welder with 20 years experience, I was working in a shop building pressure vessels in drum right oklahoma and I was welding a 12 foot vessel, head to main body seam, 2 inch thick material, 0.35 solid wire root pass, 0.45 fluxcore fill pass, sub-arc the rest of the fill and cap, I had 2 slag inclusions when X-rayed out of around 44 feet of weld, not to shabby for that amount of weld on 2 inch thick material.
I really appreciate these videos. Im going to school right now for welding, not sure what direction Id like to take that in yet, but it helps to have this kind of insight as I learn the ropes
There is always someone out there better than you..... A lot of welders need to live by that. Part of the reason I got out of the profession and just started doing my own stuff. Way too many smartass young kids getting in the business thinking they are the best gift to the profession. I couldn't put up with those young mouthy assholes anymore who just wanted to run their cockholsters being mouthy to OGs trying to teach them something. It's them young mouthy ones making welders look bad.
Yes but just like any other industry, There comes times where a person says "I've been doing this 25 years this youngster can't outweld or outperform me," then gets put in his place. Just goes to show youngsters are men aswell just some have been taught morals and work ethic. I'm younger and optimistic and have no problem learning if you have something to teach, but just because someone is older or been doing a job for longer doesnt mean them old timers can't learn something aswell
Chris V The day that you stop learning is the day you should stop. I know truckers been truckin the roads for years and still call themselves rookie cause they learn everyday. Same as welders and whatever else.
When i first got out as a welder, i took a pipe welding test. It was a 6gr test with flux core on an 10inch heavy wall pipe. Only one of the pipes had a bevel. Man i busted that test faster than what a corvette does on a 1/4mile race track. That was my first time doing flux core on pipe.
Plant hand/combo welder. I've busted about 15 welds in 8 years. Only a couple have been within the last 5 years. Alot of stressful nights going home wondering if that shit you left in that pipe is gonna make it or not🤣 About 2 years in I was getting good, and started to get a little cocky, and what do you know... a 30 in about 2 inches thick, that I couldn't get a bead in the bottom of for nothing. I had to go tell the foreman to put somebody else on it, cause I had been up in the rack fighting it for 6 hours and hadn't gotten anywhere with it. So that shut that cocky shit down real quick, when ya gotta go tell the boss to put another welder on it! You got a good attitude bud! Love the videos, keep up the good work
Hey Austin, i'm not a pipeline welder but 25 years welding and repair of mining equipment and communication towers and antennas. Mainly lots of flux core MIG(you already bout to laugh) but quite a bit of 7018, 7024. Downhill welds were a good ass chewing if Bossman caught ya..Anyhow I like your videos and your attitude. Keep up the good work my man.
I failed on Aluminum bronze. The inspector showed me how to grind it after the root and I never failed again. I would have been more embarrassed, but no other welder was even given the chance to take the test. That insured my position as long as I wanted it.
If you haven’t busted an X-ray or a weld test you haven’t been welding very long. I’ve done it, every welder I know has done it. It sucks but it’s part of this life. I’m a combo hand and have busted tests I’ve taken that I’d never done before just pushing myself to see what I can and can’t do. Stay humble, stay honest, and keep going.
Something about the thought of taking a welding test used to drive me nuts! I'd get so nervous & have a million thoughts running through my mind along with second guessing myself.
I busted a 100% uphill weld test on 2 1/2” sch 160 pipe from mostly having the same attitude you mention in the video. Having never really done too many uphill root passes really got me on that one. They allowed only so much of a crack and I got exactly that much. I didn’t feel so bad at the end of the day though.... the other 3 welders didn’t pass either 🤷♂️
We had welding instructor here tell us he failed a test early in his career after driving 250 miles to test. He later found out that almost every candidate failed that day. The "inspector" was later fired from that job. I audited the welding course here and their were test coupons laying on the instructor's desk. I asked about them and he said the sate became concerned about the skill level of the instructors so they made all the instructors in the state take a pipe welding test--6G. He had passed and kept his coupons to show the students. I asked him how much pipe welding he had done. He said only a little at times--but welding is eliding and if you apply your techniques and concentrate--you will pass. Must work as he passed.
Austin, watching your videos made me want to get my hands on welding and I got to speaking with a welder on a job site and we had a bit of free time and had a QC that worked with us walked up on me when I started my first weld ever and he said he doesn’t believe I was very new to welding but he said I had the steadiest hands and best technique he has seen from a newbie welder! If it wasn’t for you man I wouldn’t have started welding!
I know this video is a few years old but it's really interesting to hear what you had to say as a welder I remember failing a 6-in Arkansas Bell hole one time and losing a dollar an hour I was sick to my stomach. Other welders will even look at you like you're a golfer that hit a really bad shot what a terrible feeling
My dad owned a industrial x-ray buiesness Worked my first pipe line at 16,. 100 percent X-ray, 36 inch, 4 miles long , Granada hills, 74 I knew I wanted to be a pipeline welder, I learned from the best, it was great,
I'm an X-ray Technician and I try to be cool enough with the welders especially on tie ins, if I see something In a weld and they are still right there, I let them know what it is I'll mark it on the pipe and let them fix it and re-shoot it and ditch the first set of film so they don't get a repair on their name. (I am not trying to take anyones money, we are all there to do the same thing and that is to make money)
The only test I busted was my stainless Tig in the 6G position on XXH wall. And I know what you're talking about. I felt the same way, just wanted to find a corner to crawl into and hide until everyone has gone home. Passed on the second go, but damn. That sucked
I actually failed a test for a big company about 5 years ago. It was a very high paying job and I worked 12 hours the night before. And to be honest I’m glad I failed that test because I am very happy at the job I have now. So yeah if some one says oh I never failed a test is definitely not telling the truth or just haven’t taken enough
I am brand new to pipe welding and have not been on an x Ray job yet. I know a fail is coming, I just keep telling myself to make sure I can learn something from it.
@Austin Ross -- You ever see any older quys (40 - 60) in the field starting out as welders -- maybe starting as a welders helper and eventually rigging out. I am very curious.
I went back to fulltime welding/fabricating after losing a corporate job. I was 55 and had not welded fulltime for a couple decades. Dont hesitate. Just do it. Figure it out get it done and dont look back.
My company just bought a small mig welder, because I told them I could weld, and they couldn't get a real welder fast enough. To be fair, I told them I had never mig welded. I hadn't welded anything in 40 years (I'm an old engineer). I watched a bunch of TH-cam videos, and figured it out on my own. Made a few practice runs, seemed fine. Beads looked pretty, after the first 2 crappy ones, figuring out gas flows and voltages. Got on the actual piece that needed repair. In my defense, the part was dirty, rusty, and the shop help was unable to clean it. So I cleaned it up as best I could. Then I welded it. It was a massive ugly mess. It failed pressure test. Of the 5 original leaks, there were still 5. 😂😭 I had made jokes about the original work looking so ugly, even before it failed test. Humbling. It shook me to my core. I lost doubt in all of my abilities. I was always best in class, and learned to stick and gas weld when I was 14. I thought it was in my bones. Welding was something I had mastered as a kid, and I thought I was way past such simple tasks. I will go in tomorrow, Sunday, and cut everything out and start from scratch with new parts, my nickel. But no matter how pretty and perfect I make it, that first job will never escape my memory, and humility has been forced upon me. I really respect you guys, all you welders, who work in such harsh conditions. I spent my entire life in the air conditioning, and i sure appreciate the gift from God that allowed that, too. Thanks for the video!
I'm not a welder but as my homework to get better I watch videos like yourself. I'm a truck and trailer mechanic and have to weld tread plates and have had to repair scuff liners which are aluminum that have been punched threw and I get great advice and how to tips thanks for sharing 👍
Hi from Edmonton, Alberta. I am a non piper welding Journeyman. Aircraft, Marine, and structural. I became a CSA Certified Inspector, now to be an Welding Engineer. Alberta has the dirtiest oil, Bitumen. What some of the lax welders from Alberta do? use mud to pass X-ray testing.
I busted 4 times in the shop I work at, but management has no concept of a test. They thought you could do it in 10 minutes. So I did 4 of them the way they wanted. I aced the 5th one but I did it my way.
Worked for a good company for about a year and a half. Made tough welds in the rack, easy welds on the ground, 5 chrome, stainless, etc. Just caught a repair. They shot tracers. Tracers passed. Dug into the weld. Repaired it. Shot bad again. Down the road I went and I'm still looking.
The first test I busted was my 3rd time testing. I of course felt horrible. Long drive home. They let me retest, I busted it! Talk about reality check! Was hard to feel confident or comfortable to take another test. But a week later, got a test, it took me 11 hours to do a butt & branch. Cause I grinded the hell out of every pass. Unnecessary? Sure, but I passed. That was about 14 months ago.
@@randomchannel4886 on my 6g butt weld, nick break, I had big piece of slag. They let me retest 3 days later. On 6g butt weld again, on nick break again, I had a piece of slag 3/32, they busted me. I questioned it since tolerance should have been 1/8. They said since I busted 1st time, they cut tolerances in half and the slag was 1/32 too big. I said "u can even see a 1/32"!!! But they sent me out. But we're all gonna bust some tests. We're all gonna come up against some shit inspectors. Just gotta keep a positive attitude.
The last job I was at I got fired because I busted two welds from porosity but the job I'm at now I work at a shop I've got 62 x-rays and 0 bust. I think I'm doing alright
Same here. I hit 100 in a row once, tig all the way out on carbon and decided I didn't need to feather my starts and stops anymore. That ended that streak.... Now, I feather everything. LoL
I haven't welded pipe in over 7 years but I busted a few x-rays in my time. Part of me misses being on the road but after changing careers I am enjoying my time at home with my wife working at one of the chemical plants I used to work at as a contractor. Welding afforded me a great life when I was younger (started pipe welding at 20 years old), while most of my friends were still in college I was travelling the PNW to various mills and chemical plants mainly TIG welding but I did cert for stick welding as well.
Hell I just busted a 3 and 4G 1" plate test. Walked in thinking I had it in the bag. Got slapped in the face. Just like you said, got too comfortable. Always remember to run every bead better then your last.
I've busted x-rays. Its embarrassing. I questioned whether or not I was good enough to be where I was at the time. I tucked my tail between my legs and went right back to it. You have to. Just make it a learning experience and show that you care about quality and you have a good attitude even when you fail. Do your best not to make the same mistake twice. Don't get complacent.
I guess the pipeline has slowed down for a while and this is now a year older. But we all bust an x-ray on occasion. It's been a long time for me but I haven't chased the pipeline since the oil prices dropped out the bottom back in 1986. That recession took a lot of my friends out and forced me to change trades for a while. It's nice to mix it up though. Here I am now, 66 and preparing to retire and building a replica of my very first welding rig! It was a 63 Chevy C30 that I built during my junior and senior years in high school. I couldn't find a 63 that I thought was salvageable but I did finally find a 65 that wasn't eaten up with rust and wasn't beat up. And unless you're a purist or someone obsessed with 60-66 Chevy pickups an trucks, you'll never know the difference. The double hump dash and the knee knocker windshield are not terms that most people even recognize as anything significant. But that's what I'm going to do as a retirement gift to myself. I'm in no hurry to finish, I just have the rest of my life. And when I'm finished with it I may just give it away to some young man or woman trying to get started in this business. And don't worry, it drives like a brand new truck! Because underneath, it is. Keep doing what you're doing Austin. We didn't have any of these tools when I was coming up and they are so damn valuable. You're helping others who are trying to get their feet wet and that's a damn good thing. Sorry that I don't ever comment on your posts but I'm usually reserved and kind of shy. But I wanted to drop a comment here and say that the person who's never failed a test or an x-ray is a person who's never done this kind of work. It happens to everybody and you just have to rise above it all and remember who you are and how hard you worked to get here. You're much more than that one test!
I love sitting around the bench talking about cut-outs and repairs lol. If you ain't failin, you ain't weldin. How about opening up the pipe to get rid of the defect, re-welding and the inspector re-shoots and brings back the same image talking about I don't think you went deep enough LOL. Ummm, Let's try 180 degrees and do this repair again inspector man. How about the seam weld from the pipe manufacturer has porosity in it but falls within the HAZ or your weld and fails on your number lol. Porosity in the cast fittings falling into your HAZ and failing under your number. I do a bunch of small pipe Tig/flux core dual shield shop alloy pressure vessel stuff with tight defect tolerances. The smaller the pipe the less you can get away with. Mad respect to the pipeline guys. It looks touch out there.
I got the same repair last week. Same situation. Was not a cut out. I didn’t think I was catching the hi-lo on a bore 20” 375 to 344 wall . I had my welding partner look in and everything he could see was fine but the top 4” that he could not see was a repair. Lesson learned don’t try to catch hi lo with a fingernail-ing rod. Stop sooner.
Out of 32 x-ray test for the DoD the one that gave me a fit was on .125 plate, double bevel, open root and wait for it . ..........flat. It was on carbon to stainless 309 rod 1/16th I busted bigger than ever, IP also. Needless to say I passed on the 2nd try. After all them test in every position a dern flat position got me.
Heck man I just busted one yesterday, for a anadarko job. The test was 8” 6g 5p+ bead all the way around, half down hill half uphill. And 2-2” 6g one down one up. Test started around 7:30 and time was called at 4:00 (don’t finish and it’s a bust) by the time I finished my 8” cut n cleaned and bent straps it was right before 3:00 so I had to rush through my 2” thinking no sweat right it’s 2”. Well I had one strap open up on me and I know exactly where too. On 2” when I weld the 9o clock side I light up pretty far in front of my key hole and re position to watch the bead from the inside of the pipe and all went well till I got to about 7o clock and I poked the rod through the pipe haha. I fixed it with out spending to much time on it but I was wrong haha. You win some and you loose some.
I only know of one guy who's never busted out on X-ray, and Ultrasound. He has welded since he was 5! He is remarkable, but been welding for 40 years ever day of the week 46 weeks a year, for the past 18 years. He welds both high and low-pressure pipes, uphill and downhill. He works in a shop when not on the pipeline, and teaches 3 nights a week. I watched him make a 17’ overhead weld with dual-shield without stopping. He was on a creeper and pushed himself with his toes. The weld was tested by Ultrasound and passed. There's a video somewhere. In high school, he could not pass a welding test to save his life. His nerves got to him when he knew it was a test. All his practice test passed, it took the instructor 3 years to get him to calm down. A good welder has bad days, do your best and if you bust out, move on and don't get down on yourself, it happens. Believe in yourself. Always start with clean base- metal, watch your rod angle, and 98% of the time you won't have a problem.
Retired Boilermaker, I had to test on every job each one a make or break. They stopped X-raying our coupons most test booths switch to a bend test, 3 coupons 3 side bends. Any cracks or breaks FAIL, go home . I failed my first welding test with an X-ray when I went to the Nuke plant, the Proctor did not like Boilermakers( he was a pipe fighter)he had me second guessing my self I had a half inch of IP at the 11oclock in the 6G.He sent me home , every time after I never failed another test, the old timers showed how to cheat better, LOL.
Both. Lol. I never had a cut out but it was close. I have failed a few test. I am willing to bet I'm the most nervous welder ever tested. Lol. Been welding for 20 years.
I have busted 2 weld test and 1 xray. Ive been welding fir 4 years and i was the cocky one my first year in. Was braggin about how i Havent busted a test yet then the next day i busted 6g
just busted the first weld of this job, first time ever welding chrome. Was Tig all the way out on some boiler tube, real tight shitty spot. and caught me on suck back. Been a while since a repair...but this one lead me into being sent on the plane home. Never a good time lol
Everyone busts an X-ray. Makes you gun shy for a while. Keeps you humble. Always room for improvement and having a good attitude about it is the most important thing.
my first xray was on 3/4" (yes 3/4) at a 45. small pipe is terrible hard to control anything on. i was young and cocky as hell and went into it showing off. the 1 to 2 o'clock was filled with black specs on xray. porosity. i had to grind, repair and retest. knocked me down to size in a hurry.
I went to test at a structural fab shop. The test was supposed to be a couple different MIG welds, a blueprint test and they said they wanted someone with "familiarity with TIG" the MIG welds went easy. The TIG portion was to run some fillets on thin gauge stainless. It was only the second time I'd ever lit up on stainless and "bust out" does not describe how bad I did. The blueprint test was Steeewwwpid too but I got that.
I worked at a power plant welding pipes. One welder had to be reminded many times to speed up his work bc for every pipe he finished the other welders did two. Later the welding supervisor told me that this guy had busted a weld on a pipe once and ever since he'd weld, grind every last bit of slag before u made his next weld.
Cambridge, Ohio is close to me brother. Bout 10 minutes. I love your videos. My dads welded his whole life and pipelined for a few years until I came about, I just got into the trade 4 months ago in a fab shop
Bro I live right by cambridge. I'm oilfield. Been in it 7 almost 8 years. I couldnt do the pipeline I enjoy the frac more. But I hate this area, lived here my entire life.. considering going to texas right now cuz I've lost work yet again up here. And I'm just sick of always loosing work around winter.. but just wanted to say I've probably seen ur truck driving around cuz we had a yard in cambridge. Stay safe man.
"Don't be afraid to take chances", "there's a fine line there" !! A ha ha, good one 😃😃😃 Everytime I get comfortable I get a shock !! Great Video THANKS
Austin in College i was taken my certification test (4g) and pulled off my 7018 and trapped slag under my bead it was beautiful man but didn't pass my cert was depressed cause I know that I can do it
Hey it happens to the best of us you can make 1000 good ones but bust one and all those thata boys go out the window but your a master of your craft and me..I love your stuff
Really enjoy your videos,I 💯% agree with you getting complacent and letting someone decide on your nxt paycheck is absolutely a no -no I busted an x-ray ip on first 1" stainless for no transition then after 25 yrs,I felt like Sh#$, lastly at the plant where I tested for 1st time is where I ended my career i did 29 yrs,keep up your videos 👍😃👍
I had 3 bad out of 22 on my first vessel. 2 were porosity and 1 was slag line. Slag line was completely my fault for not squaring up my root in the high low and I’m right by a door so that prob explains the porosity. That was 2 years ago and it feels like yesterday the Radiographer was handing me the film and explaining how to lay it out to find the repair.
I arrived on site to a new job in Nevada being the 6th different CWI they’ve seen. After reviewing the weld log from the past 8 months, I saw one of the female welders had a 47% X-ray failure rate on her pipe welds. Worst part was she was still there welding and more than 1/4 of her total welds were made on a 2” line that was designated for pure oxygen service. I decided to X rayed all of her welds and she had more than 2 dozen fail and need to be cut out.!
I remember my first bust on an X-ray, 2” tie in in the winter with the wind blowing with 7018... My only test was my first branch, never even practiced one and got told oh btw you’re testing tomorrow. My bosses about shit when I made my 100% lohy test on the first go around. Last branch the inspector could have looked me out for a burn through, but said he wasn’t going to be a dick after the rest was great and my Arkansas Bell was good. He said shit happens and obviously you can weld, I’ve tested three other times.
Just ran across this video...... Quite a few years ago drove 12 hours to take a test. Took a half of a 20" on a 45. Then the inspector said a 12" on 12' inverted branch tee. I always listened to what any test was and repeated back to the inspector. To make sure exactly what they were looking for. On the 20" 45 he had questioned me on why I put a bead and hot pass in the whole weld. I said I did that and I would choose the best side to fill and cap. On the branch tee he said he wanted a hole cut with a 1/8" lip. 100 percent metal and don't burn the lip off. So I put a pencil lead bead in. He came back after I was finished and rolled the branch up. Said it wasn't going to make it. I said he wanted a 1/8"" lip and not burn the lip off correct? He said yes. So I pointed out everything he wanted. He said again the bead wasn't big enough. Now I am getting hot and repeated again and pointed out he got what he said he wanted. I could have made it bigger but I gave him what he wanted. Needless to say down the road I went. But I learnt something that day. With everything else I always did on any test. Ask how big of bead they were looking for....
I have never xrayed but I pop on bend test certification in college pulled my puddle off my plate to far and caught slag in the bead on 4G plate it was very humbling experience for me
I know how ya feel about busting x-ray. I was welding 10 years before I busted 1 and that was the only I made sure I busted in the 30 years I welded. I was the one that was always elected to fix the failed x-rays cause they know it would be done right. So I have repaired a lot of busted x-rays. Now I just tinker with weld and fab work that I don't have to worry about x-ray. Don't get me wrong I still make sure it is quality work , I just don't worry about x-rays anymore.
busted my 1st pipe job be&k 6g tig then 7081 cap never made it to xray was 19 yrs old casing the money it was weird they hired me did drug test on site etc then you did your weld test the inspector after i welded the pipe ask how old are u i was 19 he told me go home and practice this that etc come back on the next job cool dude wasnt rude or anything he helped me more by telling me you need to practice
finally got on my first distribution job had 2 20" welds to do, 1st one passed no problem, second joint was a rough fitup, super wide gap, and i did my best, i had burn through in 2 different spots, they walked me off the job after that, didnt even let me repair it. i felt like a complete idiot and im still bummed about it because they pulled my tickets and i cant retest for 1 year. shitty situation because i did 12 weld tests to get the job, but its the way shit goes, good learning experience and feel like im better because of it. that was my first failed xray. very discouraging because i wanna do pipeline jobs more often but im not gunna give up
I’ve did a job with shell that had around 1600 welds that was 100% X-ray. I had Zero repairs. I did another job for pioneer with around 4000 welds and had 10 repairs on the first 200 welds I made. You get a little complacent sometimes and shit happens. Especially when your doing the same thing over and over.
Little late to this video. First time I tested for an aerospace job the xray people came up to me actually laughing. They wanted to know exactly what I did because I had so many indications. They had never seen anything that looked like that also pass visual inspection
It was IPD, when you didn’t transition you failed to break down the toe of the 500 wall. You’re allowed 1” of IP in 12” of weld and 2” of solid IPD and 3” of IDP in 12” of its broken up. I never wanted to fail a weld, I hated running welders off. But none of them were ever willing to pay my salary for turning my heard. I never lost a minute of sleep for making calls.
I was fortunate to make a ton of clean welds,but stress can cause some really stupid mistakes,I got on a long new refinery addition,like 3 years of work,after a few months a couple guys made enough money to head home,these guys were downhill hands,I had to test for downhill on a 12",passed it,well I got an iso (drawing) for a bypass tie in,they need that line charged,I got it all set up did the weld,had the xray,the company came in after 13 hours to pull the blinds and realized I did a downhill on a 10x12 bell,gasoline going to tank farm,well let's just say "it" hit the fan,it was if I had shot Lincoln,I didn't pay attention to the specs on the iso,I took it for granted I took the downhill test for that weld.The next day and about a pound of rollaids,I cut the beautiful out,ground it perfect,sewed it up,xray and the gas flowing,they estimated that mistake cost 50k in 84,so you have to suck up mistakes,own it up,fix it follow the spec's never think you know,my big disaster.
I've done so many tests that I got complacent and was like "oh this isn't a big deal" but all it takes is one bust befor it opened my eyes. But if you are known for welding, most just looked at it as an off day. Everyone has them
I have some kiln's to go weld in about a week and they asked my skills with stick. My reply was I'm good enough to weld it and it should pass but over head I'm not very good at, I'm human but there are much much better welders than I am. They simply appreciated the fact I was honest. I still have the job and leave out next week. The more mistakes I make the better I get. It's important to make mistakes so that you can learn how to repair as well.
Welding ain’t that fun no more. I’m young still but just seeing the puddle flow gets boring. I’d rather be climbing beams taking measurements doing layouts. I find having a perfect fit from patience and triple checking is more satisfying than doing a 9chrome weld or having a nice uniform stainless root to cap. Keeping it simple on welding I’d prefer 6010 downhill and LH cap way more. Less prep. Less fill. And socket welds line me up for them. I haven’t done every weld in every corner but I’ve done enough to not do them anymore. Well great story I hear you we’ve all been there. Don’t just weld. Help your fitter and rigger. And be safe y’all.
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I have never busted an xray weld. Then again I have never welded no clue why I watched this video but very interesting.
lmaooooo aint this the truest shit!
You really should learn to weld.
You wont regret it.
@@fixitallpaul4847 i might learn soldering but atm i got waaay too much to learn with my job to pick up that skill. I know how much work that is
hahaha
@@fixitallpaul4847 oooof your x-rays getting busted is some of the most sensual shit that there is hahahha...
I got this job right now where they, would detect a cunt hair in your welds and it is driving me crazy...
This job requires very low initial education but once you get into it you will find out that you would quicker get a master's degree in medicine than learn all that is to be known in welding.
X-ray guy to a welding guy, I fully respect your reaction, thoughts and feelings on how you feel about the IP repair. In my opinion, we never want to call a repair on you guys. That just means we have to X-ray it again after you repair it. I would rather be sleeping and waiting for the next tie in weld.
Lol ya more paperwork.. 🙄 I know what you mean 👌😎
Spoken like a true X-ray hand!!!
I hear you. I'm a test engineer and spent 12 years doing testing and certification of building products. The worst call to make is to tell someone their product failed the test. The customer rarely handles it well and usually says I was just looking for a reason for them to fail. Couldn't be farther from the truth. The best scenario for me is if it passes with flying colors first try. That means the job is done, we're getting paid, and the client is happy. When it fails it's a pain in everyone's rear.
@@GoPetty43 Yep! The worst is when I’m told they haven’t failed in 15 years and then I come along and fail them for multiple things within an hour. That’s the worst!
Iv busted a few in 25 years of welding an if someone tells you they never busted an x-ray is a liar
Jeremy Rob amen brother
Current job in a pipeshop just over a year. 6G tig 2"s80 on carbon and 316 stainless to start job, both fine. Had 1 repair for a dodgy stop/start on root of a weld on a an 8" elbow so far.
The two others so far that busted completely were:
a 6"schd80 6G fleet 5p+ root vodex 6013 for LOF for not grinding the root back far enough, and
a 6"schd 80 tig root 7016 lowhy fill and cap, failed on porosity in a stop/start point halfway up one start.
What a time to bomb out, hey!😂
Yes they are.Or they haven't welded x-ray pipe.
Almost didn't get hired by a pipe outfit.The boss asked me if i ever busted a x-ray i said yes and gave some bull shit excuse and they hired me.
Met some baby boomer know it all's who claim they never failed a test. Truth is everyone young and old messes up.
You ain’t welded enough if you haven’t busted an X-ray or test....happens to the best of us
20 year old welders be like: "I've been welding for 30 years and never had a repair! "
Austin I'm just an old retired truck driver that couldn't weld anything even though I've tried. Just wanted to say, really enjoy your video's.
I’m glad you enjoy the videos! We enjoy makin them!
Not only is this very very good advice for someone in the welding field, but its also great everyday life advice!!!
Tip: Don't let others (like fitters or helpers) make the decision on fitment. You are ultimately responsible for entire work, tacks to caps.
I couldn’t agree more
This, right here.
Definitely. I always say, if you fail that weld nobody sees "yeah the fitter really fucked that weld up". Its always your ass on the line
@@vangoghsseveredear yeah you would say that the welder can see a bad fit up,, and would know the outcome of it,,
Man this is a great topic to talk about , I believe that when you bust any type of test it’s is a wake up call to tighten you skilled, and like you said never get to relaxed in this craft . I’ve been welding for 19 years and every x-ray that I’ve busted I can remember like it was yesterday. I’ve learned from them and it’s made me a better welder for them
I Busted my 2nd test i had ever done, SMAW open root 7016 LoHi on 3.5" sch 40 carbon . they cut every strap and nick break on the restarts and ti ins.
Was a learning experience in stick welding LoHi open root, clean and grind every thing to bright shiny metal !
Are you guys allowed to feather your tie ins?
@@grantrichardson2185 yes every one , but we have to take our test peaces into a grinding room to do so.
You have to manage your time well, 3 hrs for 2G and 5G combined .
i passed on the second try All straps bent clean and nick breaks were all good to.
Welder with 20 years experience, I was working in a shop building pressure vessels in drum right oklahoma and I was welding a 12 foot vessel, head to main body seam, 2 inch thick material, 0.35 solid wire root pass, 0.45 fluxcore fill pass, sub-arc the rest of the fill and cap, I had 2 slag inclusions when X-rayed out of around 44 feet of weld, not to shabby for that amount of weld on 2 inch thick material.
I really appreciate these videos. Im going to school right now for welding, not sure what direction Id like to take that in yet, but it helps to have this kind of insight as I learn the ropes
You bet. I’m glad the videos are helpful
I try to bust at least one test a year, just to keep myself humble..
Go test for Oryx lol
😂😂😂😂
Hahahahaha
Lmao!!
That's a good one
Ole timer once told me " You are only as good as your last weld"
There is always someone out there better than you..... A lot of welders need to live by that. Part of the reason I got out of the profession and just started doing my own stuff. Way too many smartass young kids getting in the business thinking they are the best gift to the profession. I couldn't put up with those young mouthy assholes anymore who just wanted to run their cockholsters being mouthy to OGs trying to teach them something. It's them young mouthy ones making welders look bad.
david crumrine it’s like that with any industry.
Yes but just like any other industry, There comes times where a person says "I've been doing this 25 years this youngster can't outweld or outperform me," then gets put in his place. Just goes to show youngsters are men aswell just some have been taught morals and work ethic. I'm younger and optimistic and have no problem learning if you have something to teach, but just because someone is older or been doing a job for longer doesnt mean them old timers can't learn something aswell
Chris V The day that you stop learning is the day you should stop. I know truckers been truckin the roads for years and still call themselves rookie cause they learn everyday. Same as welders and whatever else.
As a welder you are only as good as your repair! Guys who never busted in my eyes are rubbish and have no skills to make a repair.
You have them bust in your eyes? XD
When i first got out as a welder, i took a pipe welding test. It was a 6gr test with flux core on an 10inch heavy wall pipe. Only one of the pipes had a bevel. Man i busted that test faster than what a corvette does on a 1/4mile race track. That was my first time doing flux core on pipe.
Lol never heard that analogy. It happens.
@@arosswelding lol yeah
It happens to us all. Man it really hurts your pride. I believe it makes you better in the long run.
Plant hand/combo welder. I've busted about 15 welds in 8 years. Only a couple have been within the last 5 years. Alot of stressful nights going home wondering if that shit you left in that pipe is gonna make it or not🤣 About 2 years in I was getting good, and started to get a little cocky, and what do you know... a 30 in about 2 inches thick, that I couldn't get a bead in the bottom of for nothing. I had to go tell the foreman to put somebody else on it, cause I had been up in the rack fighting it for 6 hours and hadn't gotten anywhere with it. So that shut that cocky shit down real quick, when ya gotta go tell the boss to put another welder on it! You got a good attitude bud! Love the videos, keep up the good work
Hey Austin, i'm not a pipeline welder but 25 years welding and repair of mining equipment and communication towers and antennas. Mainly lots of flux core MIG(you already bout to laugh) but quite a bit of 7018, 7024. Downhill welds were a good ass chewing if Bossman caught ya..Anyhow I like your videos and your attitude. Keep up the good work my man.
I failed on Aluminum bronze. The inspector showed me how to grind it after the root and I never failed again. I would have been more embarrassed, but no other welder was even given the chance to take the test. That insured my position as long as I wanted it.
If you haven’t busted an X-ray or a weld test you haven’t been welding very long. I’ve done it, every welder I know has done it. It sucks but it’s part of this life. I’m a combo hand and have busted tests I’ve taken that I’d never done before just pushing myself to see what I can and can’t do. Stay humble, stay honest, and keep going.
I agree with you totally.
Something about the thought of taking a welding test used to drive me nuts! I'd get so nervous & have a million thoughts running through my mind along with second guessing myself.
I busted a 100% uphill weld test on 2 1/2” sch 160 pipe from mostly having the same attitude you mention in the video. Having never really done too many uphill root passes really got me on that one. They allowed only so much of a crack and I got exactly that much. I didn’t feel so bad at the end of the day though.... the other 3 welders didn’t pass either 🤷♂️
Ya that always makes a guy feel better when you’re not the only one lol.
You "busted"--what did you bust?? You mean you failed?
@@robertwatson818 yes, I failed the test since it had an 1/8 “crack” when they bent the root strap
We had welding instructor here tell us he failed a test early in his career after driving 250 miles to test. He later found out that almost every candidate failed that day. The "inspector" was later fired from that job. I audited the welding course here and their were test coupons laying on the instructor's desk. I asked about them and he said the sate became concerned about the skill level of the instructors so they made all the instructors in the state take a pipe welding test--6G. He had passed and kept his coupons to show the students. I asked him how much pipe welding he had done. He said only a little at times--but welding is eliding and if you apply your techniques and concentrate--you will pass. Must work as he passed.
Austin, watching your videos made me want to get my hands on welding and I got to speaking with a welder on a job site and we had a bit of free time and had a QC that worked with us walked up on me when I started my first weld ever and he said he doesn’t believe I was very new to welding but he said I had the steadiest hands and best technique he has seen from a newbie welder! If it wasn’t for you man I wouldn’t have started welding!
I know this video is a few years old but it's really interesting to hear what you had to say as a welder I remember failing a 6-in Arkansas Bell hole one time and losing a dollar an hour I was sick to my stomach.
Other welders will even look at you like you're a golfer that hit a really bad shot what a terrible feeling
My dad owned a industrial x-ray buiesness
Worked my first pipe line at 16,. 100 percent
X-ray, 36 inch, 4 miles long , Granada hills, 74
I knew I wanted to be a pipeline welder,
I learned from the best, it was great,
I'm an X-ray Technician and I try to be cool enough with the welders especially on tie ins, if I see something In a weld and they are still right there, I let them know what it is I'll mark it on the pipe and let them fix it and re-shoot it and ditch the first set of film so they don't get a repair on their name. (I am not trying to take anyones money, we are all there to do the same thing and that is to make money)
Nice
What if you get audited
@@randomchannel4886 the film is there that shows nothing is wrong and the report doesn't say anything is wrong so audit away
Being cool like that with welders makes them abuse that helping hand a lot of the time, more trouble then it's worth.
Wow I busted one of two on a qualifier and i was done. Honestly I very rarely fail RT pipe welds. It's all about the fit up.
I remember my first cut out lol my second day welding🤦♂️ live and learn haha
The only test I busted was my stainless Tig in the 6G position on XXH wall. And I know what you're talking about. I felt the same way, just wanted to find a corner to crawl into and hide until everyone has gone home. Passed on the second go, but damn. That sucked
I actually failed a test for a big company about 5 years ago. It was a very high paying job and I worked 12 hours the night before. And to be honest I’m glad I failed that test because I am very happy at the job I have now. So yeah if some one says oh I never failed a test is definitely not telling the truth or just haven’t taken enough
I am brand new to pipe welding and have not been on an x Ray job yet. I know a fail is coming, I just keep telling myself to make sure I can learn something from it.
I'm in the same boat
Always clean your welds and never “burn it out”.
@Austin Ross -- You ever see any older quys (40 - 60) in the field starting out as welders -- maybe starting as a welders helper and eventually rigging out. I am very curious.
Yes and I support them too. Even into commercial diving too.
Yeah i just met one, broke out at 40... pretty good straight forward dude
I went back to fulltime welding/fabricating after losing a corporate job.
I was 55 and had not welded fulltime for a couple decades.
Dont hesitate. Just do it.
Figure it out get it done and dont look back.
@@fixitallpaul4847 Thanks for the encouragement Paul. Greatly appreciated.
@@bjen2005 I may not make quite the money I used to but I actually like what I do now.
My company just bought a small mig welder, because I told them I could weld, and they couldn't get a real welder fast enough. To be fair, I told them I had never mig welded. I hadn't welded anything in 40 years (I'm an old engineer).
I watched a bunch of TH-cam videos, and figured it out on my own. Made a few practice runs, seemed fine. Beads looked pretty, after the first 2 crappy ones, figuring out gas flows and voltages.
Got on the actual piece that needed repair. In my defense, the part was dirty, rusty, and the shop help was unable to clean it. So I cleaned it up as best I could. Then I welded it. It was a massive ugly mess. It failed pressure test. Of the 5 original leaks, there were still 5. 😂😭
I had made jokes about the original work looking so ugly, even before it failed test.
Humbling. It shook me to my core. I lost doubt in all of my abilities. I was always best in class, and learned to stick and gas weld when I was 14. I thought it was in my bones. Welding was something I had mastered as a kid, and I thought I was way past such simple tasks.
I will go in tomorrow, Sunday, and cut everything out and start from scratch with new parts, my nickel.
But no matter how pretty and perfect I make it, that first job will never escape my memory, and humility has been forced upon me.
I really respect you guys, all you welders, who work in such harsh conditions. I spent my entire life in the air conditioning, and i sure appreciate the gift from God that allowed that, too.
Thanks for the video!
I'm not a welder but as my homework to get better I watch videos like yourself. I'm a truck and trailer mechanic and have to weld tread plates and have had to repair scuff liners which are aluminum that have been punched threw and I get great advice and how to tips thanks for sharing 👍
Hi from Edmonton, Alberta. I am a non piper welding Journeyman. Aircraft, Marine, and structural. I became a CSA Certified Inspector, now to be an Welding Engineer. Alberta has the dirtiest oil, Bitumen. What some of the lax welders from Alberta do? use mud to pass X-ray testing.
PLEASE do a video where you call/chat with Andy, I want to hear more of his funny stories. You can't buy experience like he has.
Lol I know what you mean.
I busted 4 times in the shop I work at, but management has no concept of a test. They thought you could do it in 10 minutes. So I did 4 of them the way they wanted. I aced the 5th one but I did it my way.
Worked for a good company for about a year and a half. Made tough welds in the rack, easy welds on the ground, 5 chrome, stainless, etc. Just caught a repair. They shot tracers. Tracers passed. Dug into the weld. Repaired it. Shot bad again. Down the road I went and I'm still looking.
You bet I have failed, it happens. That's why welding is one of the most controlled jobs on earth beacose it's hard.
Great vid man. We all have busted a test and X-ray. It happens. Be safe out there.
Thanks! You bet!
The first test I busted was my 3rd time testing. I of course felt horrible. Long drive home. They let me retest, I busted it! Talk about reality check! Was hard to feel confident or comfortable to take another test. But a week later, got a test, it took me 11 hours to do a butt & branch. Cause I grinded the hell out of every pass. Unnecessary? Sure, but I passed. That was about 14 months ago.
What they bust you for? Slag in nick breaks? Root bend? face bend?
@@randomchannel4886 on my 6g butt weld, nick break, I had big piece of slag. They let me retest 3 days later. On 6g butt weld again, on nick break again, I had a piece of slag 3/32, they busted me. I questioned it since tolerance should have been 1/8. They said since I busted 1st time, they cut tolerances in half and the slag was 1/32 too big. I said "u can even see a 1/32"!!! But they sent me out. But we're all gonna bust some tests. We're all gonna come up against some shit inspectors. Just gotta keep a positive attitude.
I felt the same way, I was like, dont pay for the day, it was a 12 , schedule 160, felt like dragging up. lol
Ya I totally get it haha
The last job I was at I got fired because I busted two welds from porosity but the job I'm at now I work at a shop I've got 62 x-rays and 0 bust. I think I'm doing alright
I hope you dont get too comfortable! Seems whenever i realize im doing well i get a swift reminder that im not perfect lol!
Same here. I hit 100 in a row once, tig all the way out on carbon and decided I didn't need to feather my starts and stops anymore. That ended that streak.... Now, I feather everything. LoL
@@markcampbell5039 hey Mark you wouldnt happen to be from Hawaii would you?
@@LPJMagicmusic No, I live in Maine. But,I'll be wishing I lived in Hawaii come about February. LoL
I went 3 years at Suncor refinery in Denver with out busting a x-ray or repair.But i couldn't weld sockets had too many leaks.
I haven't welded pipe in over 7 years but I busted a few x-rays in my time. Part of me misses being on the road but after changing careers I am enjoying my time at home with my wife working at one of the chemical plants I used to work at as a contractor. Welding afforded me a great life when I was younger (started pipe welding at 20 years old), while most of my friends were still in college I was travelling the PNW to various mills and chemical plants mainly TIG welding but I did cert for stick welding as well.
I never understand the "thumbs down" on an informative video that is completely non offensive or explicit.
Maybe, from the guys who have to grind out the welds :)
Hell I just busted a 3 and 4G 1" plate test. Walked in thinking I had it in the bag. Got slapped in the face. Just like you said, got too comfortable. Always remember to run every bead better then your last.
That’s right.
I've busted x-rays. Its embarrassing. I questioned whether or not I was good enough to be where I was at the time. I tucked my tail between my legs and went right back to it. You have to. Just make it a learning experience and show that you care about quality and you have a good attitude even when you fail. Do your best not to make the same mistake twice. Don't get complacent.
I guess the pipeline has slowed down for a while and this is now a year older. But we all bust an x-ray on occasion. It's been a long time for me but I haven't chased the pipeline since the oil prices dropped out the bottom back in 1986. That recession took a lot of my friends out and forced me to change trades for a while. It's nice to mix it up though. Here I am now, 66 and preparing to retire and building a replica of my very first welding rig! It was a 63 Chevy C30 that I built during my junior and senior years in high school. I couldn't find a 63 that I thought was salvageable but I did finally find a 65 that wasn't eaten up with rust and wasn't beat up. And unless you're a purist or someone obsessed with 60-66 Chevy pickups an trucks, you'll never know the difference. The double hump dash and the knee knocker windshield are not terms that most people even recognize as anything significant. But that's what I'm going to do as a retirement gift to myself. I'm in no hurry to finish, I just have the rest of my life. And when I'm finished with it I may just give it away to some young man or woman trying to get started in this business. And don't worry, it drives like a brand new truck! Because underneath, it is.
Keep doing what you're doing Austin. We didn't have any of these tools when I was coming up and they are so damn valuable. You're helping others who are trying to get their feet wet and that's a damn good thing. Sorry that I don't ever comment on your posts but I'm usually reserved and kind of shy. But I wanted to drop a comment here and say that the person who's never failed a test or an x-ray is a person who's never done this kind of work. It happens to everybody and you just have to rise above it all and remember who you are and how hard you worked to get here. You're much more than that one test!
I love sitting around the bench talking about cut-outs and repairs lol. If you ain't failin, you ain't weldin.
How about opening up the pipe to get rid of the defect, re-welding and the inspector re-shoots and brings back the same image talking about I don't think you went deep enough LOL. Ummm, Let's try 180 degrees and do this repair again inspector man.
How about the seam weld from the pipe manufacturer has porosity in it but falls within the HAZ or your weld and fails on your number lol.
Porosity in the cast fittings falling into your HAZ and failing under your number.
I do a bunch of small pipe Tig/flux core dual shield shop alloy pressure vessel stuff with tight defect tolerances. The smaller the pipe the less you can get away with.
Mad respect to the pipeline guys. It looks touch out there.
I got the same repair last week. Same situation. Was not a cut out. I didn’t think I was catching the hi-lo on a bore 20” 375 to 344 wall . I had my welding partner look in and everything he could see was fine but the top 4” that he could not see was a repair. Lesson learned don’t try to catch hi lo with a fingernail-ing rod. Stop sooner.
That’s right, long as we learn from it, that’s what counts. 👌😎
Out of 32 x-ray test for the DoD the one that gave me a fit was on .125 plate, double bevel, open root and wait for it . ..........flat. It was on carbon to stainless 309 rod 1/16th I busted bigger than ever, IP also. Needless to say I passed on the 2nd try. After all them test in every position a dern flat position got me.
Heck man I just busted one yesterday, for a anadarko job. The test was 8” 6g 5p+ bead all the way around, half down hill half uphill. And 2-2” 6g one down one up. Test started around 7:30 and time was called at 4:00 (don’t finish and it’s a bust) by the time I finished my 8” cut n cleaned and bent straps it was right before 3:00 so I had to rush through my 2” thinking no sweat right it’s 2”. Well I had one strap open up on me and I know exactly where too. On 2” when I weld the 9o clock side I light up pretty far in front of my key hole and re position to watch the bead from the inside of the pipe and all went well till I got to about 7o clock and I poked the rod through the pipe haha. I fixed it with out spending to much time on it but I was wrong haha. You win some and you loose some.
BigdaddyRogers1916 8 hours on one 8" 6G. Weld ?
@@bustersmith5569 Stick weld, probably over sch 40.
@@stevennoyb4595 still not 8 hours,,,,,,
@@bustersmith5569 If it was sch 160 it could definitely take that long.
@@stevennoyb4595 well we wouldn't be on the same job then,,,,,,,
If you ain’t busted a X-ray or test you ain’t welding enough!!
That’s right!
I only know of one guy who's never busted out on X-ray, and Ultrasound. He has welded since he was 5! He is remarkable, but been welding for 40 years ever day of the week 46 weeks a year, for the past 18 years. He welds both high and low-pressure pipes, uphill and downhill. He works in a shop when not on the pipeline, and teaches 3 nights a week. I watched him make a 17’ overhead weld with dual-shield without stopping. He was on a creeper and pushed himself with his toes. The weld was tested by Ultrasound and passed. There's a video somewhere. In high school, he could not pass a welding test to save his life. His nerves got to him when he knew it was a test. All his practice test passed, it took the instructor 3 years to get him to calm down. A good welder has bad days, do your best and if you bust out, move on and don't get down on yourself, it happens. Believe in yourself.
Always start with clean base- metal, watch your rod angle, and 98% of the time you won't have a problem.
Havent failed one in a very long time...matter of pride...whole shop knows when you fail one and snickers
I've worked in a pipe shop where some of the guys would get multiple bangers per shift more often than not on mig roots.
Retired Boilermaker, I had to test on every job each one a make or break. They stopped X-raying our coupons most test booths switch to a bend test, 3 coupons 3 side bends. Any cracks or breaks FAIL, go home . I failed my first welding test with an X-ray when I went to the Nuke plant, the Proctor did not like Boilermakers( he was a pipe fighter)he had me second guessing my self I had a half inch of IP at the 11oclock in the 6G.He sent me home , every time after I never failed another test, the old timers showed how to cheat better, LOL.
Both. Lol. I never had a cut out but it was close. I have failed a few test. I am willing to bet I'm the most nervous welder ever tested. Lol. Been welding for 20 years.
Cambridge, Ohio that's close to where I live! I'm also a self taught welder on oxy and now mig and hopefully stick soon.
I have busted 2 weld test and 1 xray. Ive been welding fir 4 years and i was the cocky one my first year in. Was braggin about how i Havent busted a test yet then the next day i busted 6g
It hurts when you care about your work and what you do 👍🏻 live & learn
just busted the first weld of this job, first time ever welding chrome. Was Tig all the way out on some boiler tube, real tight shitty spot. and caught me on suck back. Been a while since a repair...but this one lead me into being sent on the plane home. Never a good time lol
Everyone busts an X-ray. Makes you gun shy for a while. Keeps you humble. Always room for improvement and having a good attitude about it is the most important thing.
Busted 2 x Ray's. First time ever welded with a mirror. Welding boiler tubes.
Good video Austin, fantastic information and advice. Thanks for sharing with us.👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
my first xray was on 3/4" (yes 3/4) at a 45. small pipe is terrible hard to control anything on. i was young and cocky as hell and went into it showing off. the 1 to 2 o'clock was filled with black specs on xray. porosity. i had to grind, repair and retest. knocked me down to size in a hurry.
Austin, thanks so much for for sharing this with us.... well done Sir
You bet! Thanks for watching!
I went to test at a structural fab shop. The test was supposed to be a couple different MIG welds, a blueprint test and they said they wanted someone with "familiarity with TIG" the MIG welds went easy. The TIG portion was to run some fillets on thin gauge stainless. It was only the second time I'd ever lit up on stainless and "bust out" does not describe how bad I did.
The blueprint test was Steeewwwpid too but I got that.
I worked at a power plant welding pipes. One welder had to be reminded many times to speed up his work bc for every pipe he finished the other welders did two. Later the welding supervisor told me that this guy had busted a weld on a pipe once and ever since he'd weld, grind every last bit of slag before u made his next weld.
Ya it can be a huge mind game for sure.
Cambridge, Ohio is close to me brother. Bout 10 minutes. I love your videos. My dads welded his whole life and pipelined for a few years until I came about, I just got into the trade 4 months ago in a fab shop
Bro I live right by cambridge. I'm oilfield. Been in it 7 almost 8 years. I couldnt do the pipeline I enjoy the frac more. But I hate this area, lived here my entire life.. considering going to texas right now cuz I've lost work yet again up here. And I'm just sick of always loosing work around winter.. but just wanted to say I've probably seen ur truck driving around cuz we had a yard in cambridge. Stay safe man.
"Don't be afraid to take chances", "there's a fine line there" !! A ha ha, good one 😃😃😃 Everytime I get comfortable I get a shock !! Great Video THANKS
Austin in College i was taken my certification test (4g) and pulled off my 7018 and trapped slag under my bead it was beautiful man but didn't pass my cert was depressed cause I know that I can do it
You need some pics and video on what a failed weld looks like and how u fix and or repair the bad weld ....
I’ll take note of this and do a video about it when I get the chance. Thanks for the suggestion.
Hey it happens to the best of us you can make 1000 good ones but bust one and all those thata boys go out the window but your a master of your craft and me..I love your stuff
Really enjoy your videos,I 💯% agree with you getting complacent and letting someone decide on your nxt paycheck is absolutely a no -no I busted an x-ray ip on first 1" stainless for no transition then after 25 yrs,I felt like Sh#$, lastly at the plant where I tested for 1st time is where I ended my career i did 29 yrs,keep up your videos 👍😃👍
I’m studying rn to be an inspector. really cool that you’re talking about this stuff not many people do
Yes I had a weld on 1 inch plate that didn't take they pick it up put little pressure on it and the weld snapped.
he who has never made a mistake has never done the job
I had 3 bad out of 22 on my first vessel. 2 were porosity and 1 was slag line. Slag line was completely my fault for not squaring up my root in the high low and I’m right by a door so that prob explains the porosity. That was 2 years ago and it feels like yesterday the Radiographer was handing me the film and explaining how to lay it out to find the repair.
Ya that wind will get you every time.
Austin Ross Yes it will, I do what I can to at least keep it closed when I’m throwing the root.
I’ve busted 2 test and have had about quite a bit of repairs in my 8 years of welding
It stays interesting & challenging. That’s why I love it.
Just getting into the trade. Best money here in Louisiana. Your page is a great place to get better acclimated.
I arrived on site to a new job in Nevada being the 6th different CWI they’ve seen. After reviewing the weld log from the past 8 months, I saw one of the female welders had a 47% X-ray failure rate on her pipe welds. Worst part was she was still there welding and more than 1/4 of her total welds were made on a 2” line that was designated for pure oxygen service. I decided to X rayed all of her welds and she had more than 2 dozen fail and need to be cut out.!
I sure do like your channel buddy.. I had a book back in 2008. I am an IBEW Member nowadays ❤️🙌🏻
I remember my first bust on an X-ray, 2” tie in in the winter with the wind blowing with 7018... My only test was my first branch, never even practiced one and got told oh btw you’re testing tomorrow. My bosses about shit when I made my 100% lohy test on the first go around. Last branch the inspector could have looked me out for a burn through, but said he wasn’t going to be a dick after the rest was great and my Arkansas Bell was good. He said shit happens and obviously you can weld, I’ve tested three other times.
Just ran across this video...... Quite a few years ago drove 12 hours to take a test. Took a half of a 20" on a 45. Then the inspector said a 12" on 12' inverted branch tee. I always listened to what any test was and repeated back to the inspector. To make sure exactly what they were looking for. On the 20" 45 he had questioned me on why I put a bead and hot pass in the whole weld. I said I did that and I would choose the best side to fill and cap. On the branch tee he said he wanted a hole cut with a 1/8" lip. 100 percent metal and don't burn the lip off. So I put a pencil lead bead in. He came back after I was finished and rolled the branch up. Said it wasn't going to make it. I said he wanted a 1/8"" lip and not burn the lip off correct? He said yes. So I pointed out everything he wanted. He said again the bead wasn't big enough. Now I am getting hot and repeated again and pointed out he got what he said he wanted. I could have made it bigger but I gave him what he wanted. Needless to say down the road I went. But I learnt something that day. With everything else I always did on any test. Ask how big of bead they were looking for....
I busted a 2" sch. 40 test ...made it through stringer and hot but my cap was way to high...
I have never xrayed but I pop on bend test certification in college pulled my puddle off my plate to far and caught slag in the bead on 4G plate it was very humbling experience for me
I know how ya feel about busting x-ray. I was welding 10 years before I busted 1 and that was the only I made sure I busted in the 30 years I welded. I was the one that was always elected to fix the failed x-rays cause they know it would be done right. So I have repaired a lot of busted x-rays. Now I just tinker with weld and fab work that I don't have to worry about x-ray. Don't get me wrong I still make sure it is quality work , I just don't worry about x-rays anymore.
busted my 1st pipe job be&k 6g tig then 7081 cap never made it to xray was 19 yrs old casing the money it was weird they hired me did drug test on site etc then you did your weld test the inspector after i welded the pipe ask how old are u i was 19 he told me go home and practice this that etc come back on the next job cool dude wasnt rude or anything he helped me more by telling me you need to practice
finally got on my first distribution job had 2 20" welds to do, 1st one passed no problem, second joint was a rough fitup, super wide gap, and i did my best, i had burn through in 2 different spots, they walked me off the job after that, didnt even let me repair it. i felt like a complete idiot and im still bummed about it because they pulled my tickets and i cant retest for 1 year. shitty situation because i did 12 weld tests to get the job, but its the way shit goes, good learning experience and feel like im better because of it. that was my first failed xray. very discouraging because i wanna do pipeline jobs more often but im not gunna give up
That’s a good attitude. It’s def hard in the moment though.
Not catching the shoulder is called i p d Inadequate penetration due to high low . Not enough transition .
I've busted one test and it was at my current job for a pay raise
I’ve did a job with shell that had around 1600 welds that was 100% X-ray. I had Zero repairs. I did another job for pioneer with around 4000 welds and had 10 repairs on the first 200 welds I made. You get a little complacent sometimes and shit happens. Especially when your doing the same thing over and over.
Little late to this video. First time I tested for an aerospace job the xray people came up to me actually laughing. They wanted to know exactly what I did because I had so many indications. They had never seen anything that looked like that also pass visual inspection
It was IPD, when you didn’t transition you failed to break down the toe of the 500 wall. You’re allowed 1” of IP in 12” of weld and 2” of solid IPD and 3” of IDP in 12” of its broken up.
I never wanted to fail a weld, I hated running welders off. But none of them were ever willing to pay my salary for turning my heard. I never lost a minute of sleep for making calls.
I was fortunate to make a ton of clean welds,but stress can cause some really stupid mistakes,I got on a long new refinery addition,like 3 years of work,after a few months a couple guys made enough money to head home,these guys were downhill hands,I had to test for downhill on a 12",passed it,well I got an iso (drawing) for a bypass tie in,they need that line charged,I got it all set up did the weld,had the xray,the company came in after 13 hours to pull the blinds and realized I did a downhill on a 10x12 bell,gasoline going to tank farm,well let's just say "it" hit the fan,it was if I had shot Lincoln,I didn't pay attention to the specs on the iso,I took it for granted I took the downhill test for that weld.The next day and about a pound of rollaids,I cut the beautiful out,ground it perfect,sewed it up,xray and the gas flowing,they estimated that mistake cost 50k in 84,so you have to suck up mistakes,own it up,fix it follow the spec's never think you know,my big disaster.
I've done so many tests that I got complacent and was like "oh this isn't a big deal" but all it takes is one bust befor it opened my eyes. But if you are known for welding, most just looked at it as an off day. Everyone has them
I have some kiln's to go weld in about a week and they asked my skills with stick. My reply was I'm good enough to weld it and it should pass but over head I'm not very good at, I'm human but there are much much better welders than I am. They simply appreciated the fact I was honest. I still have the job and leave out next week. The more mistakes I make the better I get. It's important to make mistakes so that you can learn how to repair as well.
I agree with this for sure. It’s the best way to learn in my opinion.
Welding ain’t that fun no more. I’m young still but just seeing the puddle flow gets boring. I’d rather be climbing beams taking measurements doing layouts. I find having a perfect fit from patience and triple checking is more satisfying than doing a 9chrome weld or having a nice uniform stainless root to cap. Keeping it simple on welding I’d prefer 6010 downhill and LH cap way more. Less prep. Less fill. And socket welds line me up for them. I haven’t done every weld in every corner but I’ve done enough to not do them anymore. Well great story I hear you we’ve all been there. Don’t just weld. Help your fitter and rigger. And be safe y’all.
Man, I miss pipeline welding. Up in Alberta, late 90’s. Good times.