Actually, I have considered that many of times... trust me I always blame myself first... I just would of thought three instructors would notice something... Honestly, the best thing I can think of is that my root pass is not fully penetrating and then tearing.. therefore showing up later??? So I have thought of not walking the cup, but have yet to try that. Side note, the instructor now picks the metal for us, and which piece gets bent which direction. And you are right, I will not have that much time to prep, and in which I would only prep a smaller area slightly bigger than the desired bead. But I truly don't know if it is just me or contamination, because we have to grind our tungsten on the same wheel that they use to bevel some pieces...

Anyways, thanks for that input/complements... and constructive criticism is a plus to me... it shows that I am improving but yet still have room to get better....

Side note, I learned it from a CD that Lil' Smoke got from Chic-fil-a... we also have a russian one...