If an inspector tells you it looks nice, it can be sincere...right ?

He's not too much of a hardass, but he's a professional.Aside from being a CI, he's a liscensed welder.There are no exceptions ever.Sometimes I'm told verbally instead of in writing and I feel like that's being given more than a fair chance !

The younger CI tells me it looks nice sometimes/often enough too.

I mean, the ones I put a lot of effort in, I know I put a lot of effort in.And if I'm fiending for a checkmark and a checkmark ONLY...I run a flashlight to check for UC & PHs,I run a scraper to knock off spatter, I verify the bead up & down to check for CL, plate grab marks & forklift scuffs/ hammer marks/arc strikes & stray tacks...I find I'll put a lot of time tidying up afterwards to deserve that checkmark.

The number one stickler is the tie-ins ( F&B / BL ). Those I have to be on my #1 to avoid seeing. I hate grinding on the bead, even if it'd just a peck ! No "buttons" & no LOF allowed.No hard cratering/ UC in the previous bead on tie-ins either.

The number one indicator of effort input is how I paint my number...if it's blobbered and crooked,I'll know I'm having a bad day.

I've learnt a lot from them. Before working there, the previous shops I'd worked in made no big fuss over small spatter, improperly wrapped corners, incomplete fusion on multipass welds (valleys), cold tie-ins, craters etc.etc.