Appearance of a bead with uniform, closely spaced ripples, made by dabbing filler at a steady rhythm or by pulsing, most associated with TIG on stainless and aluminum and with pulsed MIG. It shows steady travel and heat control, so it is shorthand for pretty work. Appearance alone does not prove fusion, and a stack of dimes can sit on top of a cold, unfused joint.
Look at that cap, stacking dimes all the way around, but cut a macro before you brag.
Also heard as
- stack of dimes
- dimes
Related terms
GTAW
Gas tungsten arc welding: an arc from a non-consumable tungsten electrode under inert gas, known as TIG.
Puddle
Shop word for the weld pool, the molten metal under the arc that the welder watches and steers.
Cap
Shop word for the final layer of passes on the face of a groove weld, the cover pass in code language.
Walking the cup
TIG pipe technique of rocking the ceramic cup along the bevel to move the torch in a steady weave.