Practicing at home vs learning on the job, that gap still bugs me
Back in the day when I first started out in Gary, I had to decide between running 7018 on actual boiler tube repairs at the plant or burning rods in my backyard on scrap plate every weekend. I chose the home practice route for 6 months because I was too nervous to look dumb in front of the old timers on site. Turns out, laying beads on clean flat plate in my driveway with no wind, no pressure, and no inspector breathing down my neck gave me a false sense of confidence. First time I had to weld a vertical seam in a tight corner with slag falling in my hood, I blew through the coupon twice and had to grind it out. That backyard time taught me rod control, sure, but it didn't teach me how to set up a damn mirror or work upside down. I finally swallowed my pride and asked a guy named Walt to watch me do a fillet weld on an actual drum header, and he showed me more in 20 minutes than I figured out in those 6 months. Anyone else ever grind out a pile of practice welds just to realize the real job humbles you way faster? How did you guys get past that gap between practice and the real thing?}