Tried a different bevel angle on my last tank job and got weird results

I been doing 37.5 degrees on my bevels for years like I was taught. Last month I had a job out in Bakersfield on a water storage tank and decided to try 30 degrees just to see what would happen. The fit-up was actually way tighter and I didn't have to run as many passes to fill it in. But then the inspector flagged it because the included angle was too narrow per the spec. So I had to grind it back out and redo it. Learned that sometimes what you think is a shortcut is really just a different way of doing things, but you gotta check the print first. Any of you guys try different angles and get away with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_webb626d ago

Was that inspector just being a stickler or was there an actual safety issue? I've run different angles before and nobody cared as long as the weld passed.

the_anthony25d ago

Well I'll be. Had a buddy of mine try something similar on a big irrigation pipe job down near Fresno. He figured he'd speed things up by dropping his bevel to 25 degrees on a hunch. The fit-up was so tight you could barely see daylight through it, and he was feeling pretty smart about himself. But then the thing started cracking along the weld toes after cooling. His foreman made him grind out the whole thing and redo it with a 60 degree included angle, and the job ended up taking twice as long. That inspector saved you a headache down the road, believe me.