Old timer told me to switch from wire brushes to flap discs for prepping tube sheets

He said I was scratching the metal too deep with the wire wheel, so I tried a 40-grit flap disc on my last job at the Dow plant and the weld penetration was way more consistent, has anyone else had trouble with wire brushes leaving grooves?

2 comments

2 Comments

evangarcia7d ago

...and the thing is, the guys who've been doing this since before flap discs were common will swear by wire brushes for everything. But I've had the exact same problem you're describing. Those wire brushes leave these tiny little scratches that act like stress risers, especially on softer metals like copper or brass. A 40-grit flap disc is way more forgiving because it cuts without digging in so deep. I noticed a big difference in how the weld flows too, its like the surface is more uniform so the puddle spreads out smoother instead of following those little grooves. Plus flap discs are cheaper in the long run (you know, because they last longer and don't shed wires everywhere). That old timer probably saved you a lot of headaches down the line.

blairm356d ago

Same here @evangarcia, switching to a 60-grit flap disc stopped the surface scratches and made my welds way cleaner on brass.