Shoutout to that tube bevel that took me 4 hours when it should have been 90 minutes

I was working on a 12 inch schedule 80 pipe down at the Port of Houston last Tuesday. Got the beveling machine set up, chain tension felt good, but the cut kept walking off center every time I checked it with the gauge. After chasing it for 3 hours and burning through 2 wheels, I realized the saddle wasn't seated flat because there was a tiny weld bead right where the chain sat. Ground it down in 10 minutes and finished the bevel in 30. Anyone else ever fight a setup problem for way too long before finding something stupid like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

samrodriguez12d ago

That tiny weld bead biting you for 3 hours is brutal. I swear half the time I spend on setups is just hunting for some tiny piece of grit or dirt that messed everything up.

paige16612d ago

Tiny piece of grit got me" is basically my shop's motto at this point. Truer words, man.

theajohnson12d ago

That piece of grit or dirt is always hiding in the one spot you already checked twice. Had a similar situation last week where I spent an hour chasing a .001" tolerance issue, turned out to be a stray cat hair on the indicator tip. Not even mad about it anymore, just sort of impressed at how something that tiny can ruin your whole day. Makes you wonder what else is floating around in there that you can't even see.