Hit 1,500 welds on test coupons today and finally felt like a real boilermaker

Honestly I've been at this trade for about 18 months now and today I passed the 1,500 mark on test weld coupons. It sounds crazy but that number hit me different when I saw it written down. I started out with terrible beads and grinding mistakes, but now I can lay a clean root pass almost every time. My foreman even said I've improved more than the other rookies on our crew. Anyone else remember the exact weld count that made them feel legit?

2 comments

2 Comments

janac511mo ago

Oh man, 1,500 welds! That's wild. I think I hit that number in mistakes alone my first six months, lol. My first week I burned through so much rod my foreman called me "The Torch" for all the wrong reasons. I didn't feel legit until I stopped grinding half my beads down to nothing and actually had a foreman walk by without shaking his head. Good on you for sticking with it, that's huge.

simon_sanchez581mo ago

Grind down every bead for the first year and then magically act surprised when the foreman thinks you're actually decent at your job. The "Torch" nickname is a badge of honor honestly. I still have a roll of rod with my name on it somewhere from my first month.