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Shoutout to the old timer who showed me a different way to roll a tube
Last week on a job in Tacoma, I was setting up to roll a 24-inch diameter tube and an older fitter told me to start with the seam at 12 o'clock, not 3 o'clock like I was taught. We tried it his way and the initial bend was way smoother with less springback. Has anyone else found that the starting position makes that big of a difference on heavier wall?
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davis.noah18d ago
I get why that old timer's method worked for him, but starting at 12 o'clock can actually mess up your alignment on bigger tubes if the shoe isn't perfectly matched to the wall thickness. The seam position matters way more on thin wall stuff, but on heavy wall like that 24 incher, the real trick is how you set your top roll pressure before you even start cranking. I've seen guys chase their tail adjusting the starting position when the real problem was they were pinching the tube too hard from the get go. Just something to keep in mind before you swear by a new gospel.
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milesk273mo ago
We had a 16 inch schedule 80 line we were rolling last month and the foreman insisted on starting at 6 o'clock. I thought it was weird but it came out perfect, no flat spots at all. That old guy in Tacoma knows his stuff for sure. I'm gonna try the 12 o'clock trick next time we get a thick wall job. Those little tricks they don't teach you in school make all the difference lol.
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