The Construction Thread

I had two weeks of tig. I doubt I could even set up the machine and dress the electrode properly at this point. I used to know all the polarities and shit but it's all gone.
 
Grazie. From what I'm seeing about it it seems once you learn the basics, it just takes A LOT of practice and patience to do it right.

Yeah Ecclectic I'm moving soon and leaving my current job. After talking with a woman who is certified in TIG and loved doing it, (but never followed up with it) I thought hey, why not take a look see what it's about and keep my mind and options open... I might be coming back with some painfully basic questions. You guys aren't bumping into each other like moles so I guess it doesn't make you blind right?
My grandfather was a welder and he ended up with some vision issues, but I wonder if it's because of lack of safety precautions. It must be tempting to lift up the mask once in a while.
 
Grazie. From what I'm seeing about it it seems once you learn the basics, it just takes A LOT of practice and patience to do it right.

Yeah Ecclectic I'm moving soon and leaving my current job. After talking with a woman who is certified in TIG and loved doing it, (but never followed up with it) I thought hey, why not take a look see what it's about and keep my mind and options open... I might be coming back with some painfully basic questions. You guys aren't bumping into each other like moles so I guess it doesn't make you blind right?
My grandfather was a welder and he ended up with some vision issues, but I wonder if it's because of lack of safety precautions. It must be tempting to lift up the mask once in a while.

I bet your grandpa didn't have proper PPE. Never compromise!

And, ready for a little GTAW:

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ll28nze7eI1qf1o5zo1_500.jpg
 
Grazie. From what I'm seeing about it it seems once you learn the basics, it just takes A LOT of practice and patience to do it right.

Yeah Ecclectic I'm moving soon and leaving my current job. After talking with a woman who is certified in TIG and loved doing it, (but never followed up with it) I thought hey, why not take a look see what it's about and keep my mind and options open... I might be coming back with some painfully basic questions. You guys aren't bumping into each other like moles so I guess it doesn't make you blind right?
My grandfather was a welder and he ended up with some vision issues, but I wonder if it's because of lack of safety precautions. It must be tempting to lift up the mask once in a while.

Not with TIG it's not, that's not an arc you want to look at close range.

MIG welding is the worst for looking at the arc, because it's just too easy to point and shoot :devil:
 
There are other hazards that go along with TIG welding. The fumes that come off of the metal can be nasty. Carpal tunnel issues with the hands can be caused/aggravated by the hand positions being repeated year after year.

I have run into a few female welders in the trade, but not an abundance of them. The ones I can think of were very talented.
 
There are other hazards that go along with TIG welding. The fumes that come off of the metal can be nasty. Carpal tunnel issues with the hands can be caused/aggravated by the hand positions being repeated year after year.

I have run into a few female welders in the trade, but not an abundance of them. The ones I can think of were very talented.

I was told that TIG is cleaner (whatever that means?) than other welding even so.

re: talented females. Yeah I've heard similar things, it's related to precision work and possibly to multi-tasking -- the same is true in other fields.
 
I was told that TIG is cleaner (whatever that means?) than other welding even so.

re: talented females. Yeah I've heard similar things, it's related to precision work and possibly to multi-tasking -- the same is true in other fields.

Other welding processes put off black smoke and slag. TIG does not. Still, you are working in a metal shop. Many times you have to cut and grind whatever it is you are welding. Your hands will get dirty, but not as dirty as Rosco's when he is arc welding.
 
There are other hazards that go along with TIG welding. The fumes that come off of the metal can be nasty. Carpal tunnel issues with the hands can be caused/aggravated by the hand positions being repeated year after year.

I have run into a few female welders in the trade, but not an abundance of them. The ones I can think of were very talented.

Couldn't find the link I wanted, but:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWPuQSAIhzQ

A woman named Clarissa Love http://sections.aws.org/indiana/procontest09/images/100_2231.jpg

won the 2009 AWS professional welding contest.

My instructor through school asserted that women are easily on par with men, and probably better with TIG (something to do with attention to detail...)

TIG is bad, the high temperature of the arc produces more ozone and other nasty chemicals are released into the air from the material (chromium 5 for instance.)
 
Night Shifts in the South Bronx

One of the last remaining old school nasty neighborhoods in NYC...A junkie took possession of our shithouse. You go to open the door and he's all "hold on a minute!!...." Tell him to go nod off somewhere else and he gives you this look like you kicked him out of his own house.

Laborer in charge of the lane closures got into an altercation with some drunken moron who came back with a posse, snuck up on him in his pickup, yanked him out of the cab and started beating on him. The guy had a few moves up his own sleeve and stood off the whole gang with a crowbar.

All we get is two minutes at a time, so we have to swing the lifts out over the lane when they stop traffic and do our thing quickly. We had an air line hanging down into the lane. Earlier the foreman said something about "remember the motorcycles", but I didn't know what he was talking about and forget about it. Suddenly he yells "pull up the air!" and my partner yanks it up really quick just as a whole motorcycle gang passes right under us at about 90 mph. They get their kicks riding through the roadblock -they do it all the time apparently. Another second and we'd have clotheslined the leader, which probably would have pulled the lift over.
 
Finished a healthcare project (I'm a planner), and heard the client's engineering representative talking about some plumbing problems. Apparently, the contractor didn't put any mixing valves under the clinical handwashing sinks, so if you want warm water, wait ten minutes.

Not good, in a hospital.

Weird. :D
 
One of the last remaining old school nasty neighborhoods in NYC...A junkie took possession of our shithouse. You go to open the door and he's all "hold on a minute!!...." Tell him to go nod off somewhere else and he gives you this look like you kicked him out of his own house.

Laborer in charge of the lane closures got into an altercation with some drunken moron who came back with a posse, snuck up on him in his pickup, yanked him out of the cab and started beating on him. The guy had a few moves up his own sleeve and stood off the whole gang with a crowbar.

All we get is two minutes at a time, so we have to swing the lifts out over the lane when they stop traffic and do our thing quickly. We had an air line hanging down into the lane. Earlier the foreman said something about "remember the motorcycles", but I didn't know what he was talking about and forget about it. Suddenly he yells "pull up the air!" and my partner yanks it up really quick just as a whole motorcycle gang passes right under us at about 90 mph. They get their kicks riding through the roadblock -they do it all the time apparently. Another second and we'd have clotheslined the leader, which probably would have pulled the lift over.

Let the laborer with the crowbar skills take care of the scooter trash.
 
Sounds like a fun time...stay on your toes rosco

One minute it's motorcycle attack out of nowhere, next minute I'm on tagline for a 20 ton box girder that took 2 hours to cut loose...standing there.....standing there.....





Not much manual labor happening on this rail refurbishment project. One interesting machine though.
Gradealls are pretty handy. Don't see them used much anymore on road projects in my neck of the woods.

http://dc132.file.qip.ru/flash/play...8468/cfbba8b3/aefc0a75_kak_kladut_relsi.flv&l

Did you take that movie?

Train on top of a train.
 
Not much manual labor happening on this rail refurbishment project. One interesting machine though.
Gradealls are pretty handy. Don't see them used much anymore on road projects in my neck of the woods.

http://dc132.file.qip.ru/flash/play...8468/cfbba8b3/aefc0a75_kak_kladut_relsi.flv&l

I used to lay track a bit..nice ballast compactor they have there, and the tie changer is awesome...I had to look twice at them spreading the rails...may have to look again now...what was it riding on
edit...ok, ,caterpillar tracks
 
Finished a healthcare project (I'm a planner), and heard the client's engineering representative talking about some plumbing problems. Apparently, the contractor didn't put any mixing valves under the clinical handwashing sinks, so if you want warm water, wait ten minutes.

Not good, in a hospital.

Weird. :D

No circulating hot water system? That's a huge oversight for a large commercial building. Blame it on the mechanical engineer!

He said he was going to bring in his louisville slugger and knock their heads off like a fun fair game.
Or he could get a nice baton from the older guys at the UAW.
 
No circulating hot water system? That's a huge oversight for a large commercial building. Blame it on the mechanical engineer!


Or he could get a nice baton from the older guys at the UAW.

That thing is for scabs and pinkertons only!
 
I did masonry work for about five years, really loved it, especially flat work. Did some really nice stamped concrete from time to time, I'll have to look for pics if I still have them.

Did a little commercial plumbing back when I first got out of high school, working for a company doing a big addition on a hospital and firehouse, but was only making $8 an hour at the time, and got offered a job laboring for a local masonry company making $10, so I went with that. I don't regret it for a minute, since I met some of my best friends while doing it, and it definitely helped me build up my physique.

Also helped my dad with a lot of construction projects around the house while growing up. Him and my grandfather (with a little help from my siblings and I) pretty much built the house I grew up in, and I helped him do a lot of remodelling work in the basement after the house was finished. I've done a little bit of just about everything, not that I would ever claim to be good at some of it. Just recently he remodelled the basement into an apartment, put in a nice kitchenette, tile floors, and new heating and air. It looks great.

Last little project I did was helping my father in law finish off the bonus room at his house. Can honestly say I don't want to spackle and sand drywall again any time soon. Next project he wants to tackle is finishing the basement, but first we have to clean out all the junk stored down there. It's so bad you can have to climb over stuff. :rolleyes:

Not working construction anymore, but I really enjoyed it and took a lot of pride in what I did. I also can't wait to own a home of my own and do work on it. :)
 
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