Welding cert gauge reading debate after a job site visit

Stopped by a fab shop in Toledo last Thursday to watch a crew lay down some 6G pipe welds. The inspector was checking root passes with a gauge I thought was way off, but he swore by it. The older welders sided with the inspector, while the younger guys said the dial was lying. Are we overthinking these digital gauges, or is there still a place for the old school feel on a root pass? Has anyone else seen a cert call go sideways over a reading like that?

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jamieperez3d agoMost Upvoted

…that's the thing though, that old school feel on a root pass tells you way more than a dial ever will. I've seen guys pass a bead that read perfect on the gauge but you could see the suck-back from across the room. The digital stuff is just a tool, not the final word. Maybe the younger guys are putting too much faith in the number and not enough in the feel of the puddle. If the older welders are siding with the inspector, that says a lot right there. I mean, those guys have burned thousands of roots. That gut check matters more than a 0.002 reading.