Our QC manager says that when manually welding headed studs, the tip on all studs must be flattened before tacking to the base material, because not flattening it will cause the fillet weld to fail. I’ve heard of flattening the tip, but I’ve never heard of a weld failure as a result of not flattening the tip. He tells me of many instances where he has hit studs less than 15 degrees with a hammer and they broke off, weld and all, as a result of not flattening. I asked him if there was a problem with welding parameters, or if the welds were made without using low hydrogen electrodes, and he said no. I absolutely cannot conceive such failures as a result of not grinding or flattening a tip on a stud that is less than 1/16” long, especially if proper welding procedures were followed, the proper low hydrogen electrode diameter was used, the correct fillet weld size made, and all other related references to D1.1 were followed. He referred me to 7.5.3 "Stud Fit", which states that “for fillet welds, the stud base shall be prepared so that the base of the stud fits against the base metal.” He says that the stud tip must be ground flat or flattened so that the full cross section of the bottom of the stud bears on the base metal. I then asked him what happens with the studs that are manually welded to the inside fillet of an angle. Do we grind the tip of the stud and shape it to fit the inside fillet of the angle, so that it has full bearing as well? With that mentality, the answer should be yes, right? His answer was no, saying that this is different. My question is, how is that different? Technically, shouldn't they all come in complete contact with the base metal? What about studs welded to the heel of an angle? Do we grind a 90 degree "V" in the end of the stud? Here’s what my 1980 edition of D1.1 states about studs in the old Technique, Section 4: 4.24.11.3 states that “The stud base shall be prepared so that the outside circumference of the stud fits tightly against the base metal.” By the 1980 code, the only way to get the outside circumference to fit tightly, the tip would have to be removed. This is assuming the reference is made regarding studs welded on a flat surface, because the outside circumference would never completely bear on the inside of an angle fillet or heel without shaping the end of the stud. In later codes, the reference to stud bases seems to be more “relaxed”, as no references to “studs fitting tightly” exists. Again, it is beyond me how properly welded studs can be broken off, weld and all, with a blow from a hammer which sometimes doesn’t even bend the stud more than 15 degrees before failure occurs. I guess the bottom line is that I just don't want to flatten these tips if I really don't have to.