Workin for a livin....
- Thread starter ripjack13
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In that first pic, there's a small scaffold set up in front of the tank. On that you can see a yellow thing. That's my air. I didn't use the hose for it for a couple reasons;
One, I didn't want my ground and other wiring getting wrapped up in the hose as the tank moves in the rollers.
Two, What happens usually, the hose goes in and hangs straight down or lays in the bottom of the tank. That causes the air to blow directly across the bottom which messes with the shielding gasses. Flux core is a little more forgiving than spray arc but it still gets weird.
So, what I did here in this case because I had the option, was to put it on the scaffold buck aiming in to the center nozzle which is a 12" pipe, moving good air in to the tank without messing with my shielding gasses. I'll post the photo here again so no one has to flip back to the previous page.
I don't like masks. I have a beard so there's that. But even so, it feels harder to breathe and it always causes my inner lense in my hood to fog.
I like to paint but I could never be a professional painter because I hate masks as well.
30 years ago when I was in between engineering jobs, I took a contract with a buddy of mine, and we've built new trash racks for the Friant Kern canal. There were several dozen.
I did all the drawings and takeoffs of the material and ordered everything. In the end I ended up cutting most of the material too. I designed and built all the jigs & fixtures, and my bud did all the welding.
That was how I became acquainted with spray arc, and neither one of us had done it before.
It was quite a revelation based on my experiences with arc welding. When you get everything tuned up just right it gets quiet like no other welding and you could lay bead down fast!.
I don't have anything like that equipment now.
30 years ago when I was in between engineering jobs, I took a contract with a buddy of mine, and we've built new trash racks for the Friant Kern canal. There were several dozen.
I did all the drawings and takeoffs of the material and ordered everything. In the end I ended up cutting most of the material too. I designed and built all the jigs & fixtures, and my bud did all the welding.
That was how I became acquainted with spray arc, and neither one of us had done it before.
It was quite a revelation based on my experiences with arc welding. When you get everything tuned up just right it gets quiet like no other welding and you could lay bead down fast!.
I don't have anything like that equipment now.
Much respect buddy. I do a fair amount of repair and minor fabrication welding. My hats are off to you guys that do production welding. It's not an easy gig, and to turn out the beautiful welds, I'm the worst conditions is incredible.
Well you do what you gotta do when you're out of work. I'd worked as a manufacturing engineer for some years so all the paperwork was a no-brainer. Learning to mig weld however and spray arc, that was a bit of a challenge.
Engineering projects don't always come along on a regular schedule and are highly related to political and financial climate in any event, so I've worked on a lot of different things.
Over the years I've worked as a Teamster and as a mechanic. I did some machine shop & stainless work and installed conveyors in a giant bakery (Pepperidge Farms).
Also worked as the engineer & fab shop foreman for an outfit that made wine presses & welded stainless steel wine tanks of 1/3 million gallons for Gallo. One of the most exciting things there was walking around the catwalks at the top of their enormous tank farm. That place has millions of gallons in storage.
But I never had to do any serious high-tech high production welding myself, and nothing even close to that pressure vessel.
That one you're welding looks like some API spec petroleum processing tanks they were building up at Steel Structures in Madera.
cmcdonald
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I started a new gig recently. I've found that what I was told over 4 years ago by my peers is true...that being an instructor and teaching people to drive big rigs has a shelf life. I burned out after 4 years of full time on-road instruction.
So, I went looking for a gig that would pay as much or more and afford a decent amount of home time for family life. (Not always easy in this business.)
This is a bulk hauling job for a local concrete company. They like to do everything themselves, so that means not only do they have a large fleet of mixers but a fleet of bulk sand & gravel haulers as well as super B dry bulkers for powder, etc.
My ride is a standard dump truck (Kenworth-565hp Cummins) and quad end-dump trailer.
These guys have their own gravel pit, located about an hour from the main plant. We do most of the hauling from there.
What is most amazing to me, they pay us very well...I'd say 5-6 bucks/hr more than the average and we only have to work 8-9hrs/day which is very rare in this business also. Health, dental benefits and pension are very good also.
The really fun part......
After 5pm, we load our own trucks....giggle giggle!!
Yeah, they trust us to climb into this monster (John Deere 844K) and load up sand or gravel...yeah it makes me kinda giddy! Giant tonka toys for big boys!!! LOL!!
I can load my truck & trailer with 5 buckets from this thing. A full bucket is about 8 metric tons. I usually roll out with 38-39 ton on board.
Not nearly as technical/interesting as some of the jobs you guys do. And, this is about as interesting as it gets...lol. But overall, I hope to stay here a good long while. I could see this taking me through to retirement...God willing. The trucking job market ain't what it used to be and this is about as good as it gets.
I got to drive a CAT skid-steer loader when I was "a union man" (teamsters) But nothing quite that fancy!
I operated a gooseneck trailer rig (IHC cabover), plus various tractors, trenchers, forklifts, implements, and dump trucks.
Yes, that job was like playing with Tonkas, because I never had to do much work with them.
Mostly I was just driving this stuff around the yard, loading & hitching, and teaching guys how not to kill people with heavy equipment.
I operated a gooseneck trailer rig (IHC cabover), plus various tractors, trenchers, forklifts, implements, and dump trucks.
Yes, that job was like playing with Tonkas, because I never had to do much work with them.
Mostly I was just driving this stuff around the yard, loading & hitching, and teaching guys how not to kill people with heavy equipment.
Ding ding ding ding! You're on the right track, is a code spec tank for that industry though I'm not certain I'm allowed to for whom.
I passed 5 of 6 X-rays. Repaired the one. Have to wait for the next round of X-rays before it gets checked again. I shoulda passed the one, and I know exactly what I did in that particular area. I knew it as soon as they marked it.
Can you dump both of those, side by side, without unhooking?
That's how I feel about the rest of you guys and the amazing stuff all of you do!
@cmcdonald I love that stuff, I used to deal with it a lot more when I was in construction. I miss the smells of the earth and the diesel... I always thought of the machines as dinosaurs, lol, it kept me amused during the day!
cm~ I would love to do a job like that and would feel that it very satisfying on a daily basis.
cmcdonald
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@dieselmudder ....yes you dump without unhooking. You typically dump the trailer first and then jack knife the trailer out of the way to dump the truck. Unless you dump into a hopper called a "grizzly" where you drive over top and dump the truck and then pull forward and dump the trailer. You wouldn't dump both at the same time however....I'm not sure there's enough hydraulic fluid to actually put both hoists right to the top. As you can see the trailer is quite long, so the hoist is enormous. Even if you could, I think the pile of material would prevent you from being able to pull forward without dragging the trailer through the stuff you just dumped out of the truck.
When dumping in tighter quarters, you sometimes have to do a side by side position. The below video shows how its done......
@Rossignol ...I agree, love being out in the gravel pit. There's always childish thoughts going through my head that amuse my simple brain!! LOL!! I also love that I don't have to deal with serious city traffic either. Our routes are either industrial roads, highway or rural roads. So no real ugly city driving. The Lower Mainland of BC (Greater Vancouver Area) has ugly, ugly traffic.
@nitesite ...at this stage of my life, I am gaining an appreciation for the uncomplicated things and finding satisfaction in them. Life offers so many challenges and I think sometimes we tend to over-value the complex things. Not that there's not a need or a time for it. There is. But more and more I'm ok with leaving that for someone else. There's something to be said for just putting your head down and going to work...do your job, mind your business and go home and enjoy time with family and friends.
When dumping in tighter quarters, you sometimes have to do a side by side position. The below video shows how its done......
@Rossignol ...I agree, love being out in the gravel pit. There's always childish thoughts going through my head that amuse my simple brain!! LOL!! I also love that I don't have to deal with serious city traffic either. Our routes are either industrial roads, highway or rural roads. So no real ugly city driving. The Lower Mainland of BC (Greater Vancouver Area) has ugly, ugly traffic.
@nitesite ...at this stage of my life, I am gaining an appreciation for the uncomplicated things and finding satisfaction in them. Life offers so many challenges and I think sometimes we tend to over-value the complex things. Not that there's not a need or a time for it. There is. But more and more I'm ok with leaving that for someone else. There's something to be said for just putting your head down and going to work...do your job, mind your business and go home and enjoy time with family and friends.
Man, there is a lot of wisdom in that statement.
I absolutely LOVE what I do but it is certainly not the ONLY thing that I could do and be truly satisfied.
And I could learn to work in the daytime and actually be asleep when God intended us to be, and leave the Gremlin and Goblin watching to somebody else.
I actually envy you, Sir.
Does anyone here do a job that is unappreciated, where complaints and review boards and cell phone videos watch your every move and word and decision, with the goal of getting you terminated or put on suspension or worse and politicians won't take your side? Do you deal with it okay? I am very interested if you do.
No sir, not I. However, you're among company that still appreciate and admire you and those like you for sacrificing so much and standing in our place on the front line of what is often the very worst of what humanity has to offer. I know I personally often take that for granted despite having family both in military and municipal law enforcement.
We're living in a time where law enforcement is targeted as you describe and I don't envy that at all. Everything is like Alice in wonderland, upside down and backwards. Illegal behavior and all form of deviance is rewarded while traditional values are reviled as being (whatever derogatory label you want to put on it).
If I keep going this is going to turn in to a political rant and I apologize.
Anyhow, you're in good company here, and you and yours are in our thoughts and prayers.
Too late for that buddy. My fault entirely.
Nitesite, I believe I know why you do it, but I don't know how you do it.
What I mean to say is, I don't know how you do it without smacking people around mercilessly for being such jerks.
I have too much trouble finding Christian sympathy for wife beaters and child molesters and people who rob old ladies.
It's because of guys like you that I don't have to associate with people like that at all, and I thank you for it.