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That moment when the 3/4 inch plate on the Lake Erie tank job just would not line up

We were doing a repair on a big water tank near Cleveland, and the new section of 3/4 inch plate was off by a full inch at the bottom seam. My foreman, Mike, just kept yelling to pull it with the come-along, but the steel was fighting us hard. Ended up having to cut a small relief notch we didn't plan for, which added two hours to the weld prep. Anyone else had a plate fight them that bad on a seemingly simple patch?
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2 Comments
williamh48
Oh man, that sounds about right. Honestly, it's like the metal knows when you're on a tight schedule and just decides to be a jerk. We had a half inch plate on a hopper once that warped so bad it looked like a potato chip. Took three guys, a torch, and every clamp on the truck just to get it to sit flat. That relief notch is a pain, but sometimes it's the only way to win the fight.
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angelapalmer
My last patch job looked worse than my first welding attempt.
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