Finally saw improvement in my vertical up welds after 6 months of daily practice

I've been a boilermaker for about 8 years, but vertical up on 3/8 inch plate always gave me trouble. After forcing myself to do one coupon every morning before coffee for half a year, my runs are finally consistent without undercut. Anyone else find a specific drill that clicked after sticking with it for months?

3 comments

3 Comments

fox.jesse1mo ago

That bit about "before coffee" really hits home. I spent a solid 4 months doing nothing but padded out fillet welds on 1/2 inch plate every single evening after work, just to get my puddle control down. My wife thought I was crazy (maybe I was), but one day it just clicked - like my hand finally understood what my brain was trying to tell it for months. Those little wins where you don't have to think about your angle or travel speed anymore are what make the grind worth it, you know?

paul_morgan1mo ago

Oh, come on. It's a welding project, not brain surgery. You can't tell me that four months of evening practice is really necessary to get the hang of a puddle. @fox.jesse, I think you might be overthinking this whole thing a bit.

victorcoleman4d ago

Man, I've been there too. The muscle memory thing is real, it just takes time to click. If you're still fighting it, try slowing down your travel speed a bit until you see the puddle form and then hold it steady for a second before moving. I always tell guys to watch the puddle, not the arc, that's the trick. Another thing that helped me was switching to a smaller rod for practice, like 1/8 inch, just to build that feel without fighting the wire feed so much.