He told me he spends 45 minutes just wire wheeling and checking fitup before laying a single bead, and I realized I've been rushing that part for years. Anyone else find out they've been skipping a step that makes everything easier?
I was on a job near the old Bethlehem Steel site in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago. I took a walk through the abandoned mill during lunch. The size of the old boilers and pressure vessels still sitting there really hit me. We work with that same kind of gear but seeing it in that old place made me realize how much things have changed in our trade. Has anyone else checked out one of those old plants and noticed something that made you think?
Got that little snake camera to check tube sheets without dragging out the big rig, but water got into the lens housing on a condenser job in Baton Rouge and now it's just a paperweight, anyone else waste cash on a tool that couldn't handle real boiler work?
Most guys I know swear by MIG for everything now, but I had to pick between MIG and stick for a 3 day repair on an old boiler at a plant in Gary. I went with stick because the metal had some rust and crud I couldn't fully grind off, and MIG would have just made a mess. Honestly, it went smoother than I expected, the penetration was solid and I didn't fight porosity like I would have with wire. Has anyone else stuck with stick for a job where the prep was rough?
I was at a refinery turnaround in Baton Rouge last month and a older hand laughed at my setup, let me borrow his Milwaukee 2767 and now I feel like an idiot for not upgrading sooner, anyone else stick with a smaller gun way longer than they should have?
I was working on a pressure vessel repair over in Gary, Indiana, and this guy named Ray who's been a Boilermaker since the 70s walked over. He saw me struggling to get a stubborn nut off and just handed me a thick washer to put underneath the wrench for better leverage. He said "you're fighting the rust, not the bolt" and it worked like a charm on the second try. Has anyone else picked up a simple hack like that from a veteran on the job?
Last month I was working on a feedwater heater at a paper mill in Savannah. For whatever reason, Monday through Wednesday I hit every root pass and cap dead smooth with zero grinding needed. That NEVER happens to me, I'm usually chasing slag or fighting fit-up issues. My foreman even walked by on Tuesday and just nodded without saying a word, which is basically a compliment in this trade. Then Thursday hit and I blew through three tacks in a row on a 2 inch tube sheet. Has anyone else had those random perfect streaks that make no sense?
Went to do a hydrostatic test at the new Huntsville plant last Thursday and the clearance between the upper drum and the roof deck was barely 4 and a half feet, had to crab walk the whole job - has anyone else dealt with designers who clearly never set foot in a boiler room?
Was talking to an old hand at the union hall last Tuesday. He said most rookies spend forever hunting leaks. But once you know the signs, it's quick. The real trick is knowing the tube spacing and using a mirror on a stick. Anybody else find that surprising?
Was on a job at a refinery last week and this old timer saw me start drilling without marking my points. He just said 'slow down and punch it first.' Saved me from scrapping a $200 plate. Anyone else get habits drilled into them by an older hand?
Last week on a job at the Marathon refinery, I snapped my third chipping hammer handle this year. Got sick of buying replacements so I wrapped the whole thing in electrical tape, about 4 layers thick. It deadens the vibration way more than I expected and my hand doesn't go numb after a full shift now. Anyone else do something weird to their tools that actually works?
He said I was scratching the metal too deep with the wire wheel, so I tried a 40-grit flap disc on my last job at the Dow plant and the weld penetration was way more consistent, has anyone else had trouble with wire brushes leaving grooves?
I keep seeing new guys trying to run their root pass too cold and then wonder why they get slag entrapment. Did a job last week at a refinery in Baton Rouge where a 2nd year had to grind out 3 feet of his root because he was running 90 amps on 1/8 rod. For 3/8 plate you need at least 130 amps minimum, no exceptions. The foreman told him "that rod ain't a candle" and I about lost it laughing. How are you guys teaching the new hands to set their heat on open root?
Picked up a Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 for 40 bucks last Saturday. Old guy said it worked fine. Got it home, fired it up to patch a crack in a trailer hitch. Thing sputtered and popped like crazy. Then I saw the insulation on the gun cable was smoking. Melted right through in two spots. I shut it down quick. The ground clamp was wired wrong inside. Positive and negative were swapped. That little mistake could've started a real fire. Lesson learned. Always check the wiring on used gear before you pull the trigger. Anyone else seen janky wiring on old welders?
I was about 2 years in and kept messing up fit-up on some 4 inch schedule 40 pipe. This old timer walked over and showed me how to use a piece of string and a folding ruler instead of my tape measure for checking fit around flanges. He said tapes lie around curves. I figured he was just blowing smoke. Tried it on a job in Gary last spring and it lined up perfect first time. Any of you guys still use string and a ruler or is that just for the old heads?
Back in 2003 I was on a shutdown crew at the US Steel mill in Gary, Indiana. Old foreman named Clem showed me his chalkline trick for marking out bottom plates on a 50-foot tank that saved us half a day. Now I never start a layout without doing it his way first. Any of you guys pick up a weird trick from an old timer that just stuck with you?
I was at the supply house this morning picking up some 7018s and ran into this retired boilermaker named Hank who must be pushing 80. We got to talking and he told me he never bothered with fancy rod ovens back in the day. Said he'd just keep his rods in a beat up metal toolbox with a light bulb inside to keep the moisture off. I laughed but then he showed me a photo of a drum he welded in 1978 that still holds pressure. It hit me different because here I am worrying about the perfect storage setup and this guy used a 60 watt bulb and never had a single failure. Made me wonder if we overthink some of this stuff. Has anyone else had an old timer share a trick that sounds too simple but actually works?
We were doing a boiler retube at a chemical plant in Houston last July, temps hit 105 outside and inside that boiler was like an oven. I had the guys working through lunch trying to get it done faster, being the hard charger I usually am. One of my welders started getting disoriented after about 45 minutes, looked like he was gonna pass out right there. Called the safety guy and found out his cooling vest wasnt even working right, the gel packs were all shot. Now I check everyones cooling gear before we start and I make sure we take a 10 min break every hour when its over 90. Anyone else had close calls with heat stress on outage jobs?
Been fighting hard water scale in our tube bundles for months. Tried the usual chemical flush twice and it barely helped. Last week I rigged up a recirculation loop with a sump pump and some hose clamps, ran a diluted vinegar solution through for 2 hours instead of the usual soak. Pulled the plugs after and found chunks of scale floating in the bucket. Boss was skeptical but he saw the pressure gauge drop back to spec. Anyone else try this or got a better homemade approach for stubborn scale?
I spent $80 on a high end fire blanket last month after watching some welding safety videos. Thought it would be way better than the old beat up one I got from my foreman. First time I used it on a job in Pittsburgh, the thing just melted and stuck to some hot siding. My old cotton blanket actually held up better. I was really skeptical that the cheap stuff could be better, but now I see it's about fabric weight not fancy labels. Anyone else have a safety tool that just didn't work as advertised?
I was using soap stone for marking tube sheet layouts for years but kept getting lines that would smear or wear off before I finished drilling. Switched to a carbide scribe and the difference is night and day. Those fine scratch marks hold up through all the handling and now my layouts stay accurate to the 1/16th inch every time. I went through three soap stone holders on a single drum project down in Baton Rouge. Has anyone tried a different marking tool that worked better for you?
I've been using the same fiberglass hood for like 7 years, thought it was fine. Then last week I borrowed a buddy's new auto-darkening one for a big job at the plant. The difference in clarity and how much less eye strain I had was insane. Makes me wonder how many other old tools I'm hanging onto that are holding me back. Anyone else switch to something new and feel stupid for waiting so long?
I had to patch a 1/4" crack in a feed tank up at the grain elevator. Usually run 7018 rod but the location was awkward so I grabbed some Lincoln NR-211 off the shelf. That stuff laid down way cleaner than I expected with almost no slag hammering needed. Has anyone else found a wire that surprised them on a tough job?
Was working on a CAT 3406E in a shop over off Route 12 near Springfield. The header flange just would not sit flush no matter how I torqued it. Turned out a bolt hole was stripped from the previous guy using a impact on it. Had to helicoil the damn thing at 3 PM on a Friday, which pushed my whole timeline.
I kept a log for the last 8 months on a big tank job in Baton Rouge and hitting that number made me realize it was all about dialing in my preheat consistency, anyone else track their personal stats like this?