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Working the National 1300A

hosspuller

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Aug 27, 2014
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1,869
Location
North Carolina
The big real high dollar homes in my area are all in the upper part of this mountain town, for the views. So the new subdivisions are doin a lot of major cutting into hillsides and making fancy retaining walls. This one was, using big pre cast blocks, over the top, and probably cost more than my house. ...]

Those blocks look exactly like the blocks the local concrete ready mix sells for $30 apiece. I think it's a racket they've got. They sell the same concrete twice. Once, in the truck to a job. When the truck comes back to the yard, they dump any remaining concrete into a form. After a few hours, they strip the form for the next batch. Then sell the concrete again as blocks ... :D
 

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,421
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Started out as Mafia Blocks where the waste concrete was no longer just dumped. Actually just about recover the haul out and back expense where that waste gets a use rather than dumped to a ditch.
A yard of concrete here is close to $200 delivered, finish is extra and forms still cost money only lasting so long. These new blocks are actually designer geade and cast as precast pipe is so more uniformity as well color and viability where the concrete has not been excessively watered or mix time run.
So long as a base pad prep is done adequately these can last a serious long tine just standing in place.
Concrete yard we currently deliver sand to has a ‘engineered’ washout waste recovery shstem where roughly 80-90% of the cement is washed out of the aggregate making it suitable for use in base fill, compacts well, hauls so-so, has a purpose beyond again just landfill dumped. Recycles the wash water refilling only enough to keep the pit sections in liquid, and often just refilled with carried washout water the drivers added to yard return.
 

Natman

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Dec 19, 2016
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I had a little excitement today, working on a cell tower, very tight quarters, and at one point when booming back with just a 8' length of 1 1/4 pipe that was rigged with a very small round sling, it fell out of the my hook and dropped about 80', landing 35' away from me. It bent a bit of structure (cheap, re-bendable) above an equipment (expensive and sensitive stuff inside) container, but turns it that the structure was there for just that, protecting the gear from dropped items, including ice. My first thought was to blame the tower monkey's and a **** poor rigging job by them, I made this clear by throwing my hard hat out the op cab (working on a lawn) but refrained from yelling. Good thing, as after we all calmed down, I saw their rigging was still attached to the pipe....seems that when I boomed back a bit, and hit the stop at 78 degrees I think it is, the bit of a jerk got a little slack in the rigging (with such a little load) IMG_20220516_165319222.jpg and it hit the hook gate just right and opened it up. Wasn't a big jerk at all, but with no weight to speak off it jumped up and out.
A good spring on my gate, but it IS getting a bit weak, but in the future (tomorrow) we will be safetying the gate with a pip pin thru the locking hole, when working at my max boom angle and with such a light load. At the end of a long day, I usually say "nothing got bent and no one got hurt", couldn't say that today. I am glad to still have a windshield, etc. Nearest crew, beside me in the cab, were about 75' away, all wearing hard hats of course. The perf metal walkway steel took the hit.
 

Natman

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Dec 19, 2016
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20 hrs in two days, and since I don't have a tilt cab we quickly arrived at a system of them yelling at me when they needed me, as no way was I going to stare up there constantly. Turns out they are used to doing so. They went 5 hrs once without climbing down, impressive bladder control.

We had other pipes to bring down, like the one that jumped out of the hook, unlike that one, which was end rigged (and when the guy let go of the end he was holding onto, it swung right at the exact time I hit my boom stop thus the whiplash effect of the rigging getting slack and after looping over the gate, opening it) they rigged them level with two slings, much better! I put this type of tower work right up there with setting the taller atheletic field light poles, lots of obstructions in the way potentially of the boom tip and a good crew makes all the difference, they were, we parted on good terms.IMG_20220517_161606664.jpg
 

Natman

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Dec 19, 2016
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Discovered this bent over chunk of iron the other day while manuvering at 1 MPH in a tight area, all focused on what was going on behind me, the first clue was a loud POP. Tore open the sidewall of the front ($1100.00) tire slick as could be. Rather than get upset, I consoled myself with the the fact that I gotten 60K miles out of it, and at least it didn't just slightly damage the sidewall, and maybe causing a more serious blow out at highway speeds. I called my usual tire chain I use, and again they came through like champs, getting me on my way less than 90 minutes after it happened, greatly appreciated as I was still able to do my truss job that day, that I had driven 60 miles to get to. I helped out by having the front end up in the IMG_20220511_122519953.jpg air using the outriggers, and staying out of his way.
 

skyking1

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Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
7,462
Location
washington
yes that was a hazard for everybody and whoever is in charge there who walked and drove past it without addressing it was the tool in that scenario. It was the same as walking by a 2x6 with 16 penny nails facing up, IMO.
 

Tradesman

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Joined
Apr 23, 2013
Messages
1,075
Location
Ontario
Occupation
Contractor
I feel your pain years ago I was backing into a site and cut my Front end around into an I-beam and bang up she went. It was on a Saturday morning and I phoned the only tire shop I could get a hold of and they had me fixed within an hour. I have used them religiously ever since.
 

Natman

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Dec 19, 2016
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IMG_20220526_092107481_HDR.jpg Got my 4 pools in the ground, the first three by 11:00 AM as that pool guy has his act together in site prep. The last one, for a less professional crew (putting it kindly) got a bit interesting. All the same size, and weight (4K+) more or less, the last one weighed 1 ton more.....seems that the crew hadn't mentioned it had at least 250 gallons of water in it (did the math.) The issue was it was all in the deep end, so the load was a tad out of balance, not to mention almost out of my chart. I suggested to the crew that just maybe next time I should be made aware of any standing water before making the pick, as I couldn't see in there while it was on the trailer (sides too high) and they were fully aware, good help is hard to find for sure. I have two more to set for this crew in a couple weeks, now I will not assume anything. It was interesting though watching the LMI count down the weight loss as the water drained.
 

Knepptune

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Nov 22, 2012
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757
Location
Indiana
Tanks were always the worst. I don’t know how times I went to pick up a tank and it wouldn’t budge. Then come to find out there’s only a couple ft of liquid but that really shouldn’t make any difference. 2 ft of water in a 18 ft round tank makes a big difference on weight. Always drove me crazy.
 

Tradesman

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Apr 23, 2013
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1,075
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Ontario
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Contractor
what’s the length of a rafter on a 28’6 building with a 6 on 12 pitch with 24” over hang. Or maybe lay out a hip rafter and length of jack rafters. how many cubic yards in a 12’6 in round column 14” wide
It’s the wrong side of the square but the first picture of one I could find. But I think my point is made.
824399BF-6C72-4A59-AAD8-05E173F93D29.jpeg
 
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DMiller

Senior Member
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Feb 21, 2010
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Hermann, Missouri
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Cheap "old" Geezer
Pythagorean theorem simple triangle formulas
Try figuring the mass energy release from a nuclear fuel assembly by reducing the moderator saturation of Boron from 2300ppm to 2200ppm and adding ten degrees temperature reduction. Q.mu delta T Formula
 

Tradesman

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Joined
Apr 23, 2013
Messages
1,075
Location
Ontario
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Contractor
Pythagorean theorem simple triangle formulas
Try figuring the mass energy release from a nuclear fuel assembly by reducing the moderator saturation of Boron from 2300ppm to 2200ppm and adding ten degrees temperature reduction. Q.mu delta T Formula
Not hacking on Nukes but real carpenters work all day with math. I’ve worked in and around all the trades my whole life and there is no room for dissing anyone that is a master of any trade. Most trades are as much art as they are just a job.
 

crane operator

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Mar 27, 2009
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8,273
Location
sw missouri
I’ll get a $1,000 dollar cherry door and a pile of rough sawn cherry boards and sit back and watch while you hang it and get it to do that sweet click when it closes perfectly.

Let me tell you about the cut lines I've seen on doors.....:)

floor-slope-1_li-2-jpg.229887
 

Natman

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Tanks were always the worst. I don’t know how times I went to pick up a tank and it wouldn’t budge. Then come to find out there’s only a couple ft of liquid but that really shouldn’t make any difference. 2 ft of water in a 18 ft round tank makes a big difference on weight. Always drove me crazy.

And if not actual fluid of some sort, a lot of sludge will not help either. I had a double walled 1000 gallon concrete tank to move at a auto dealers a while back, heavy to start with, even heavier when it turned out to be full of gasoline, when I was told it was empty! Turns out it WAS empty the day before, when I was told it was, but the fuel delivery truck had just came around and didn't get the memo to not fill it.
 

Natman

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Dec 19, 2016
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what’s the length of a rafter on a 28’6 building with a 6 on 12 pitch with 24” over hang. Or maybe lay out a hip rafter and length of jack rafters. how many cubic yards in a 12’6 in round column 14” wide
It’s the wrong side of the square but the first picture of one I could find. But I think my point is made.
View attachment 260404


Yup, we need a framing square to help do the math! And a concrete volume calculator! My favorite example of carpenter math, is: you want to know how much 43" from 80" is, to solve this mystery you put the hook end of the tape on the 80" mark, read down to the 43" mark, and it will give the right answer every time! Watching guys struggle to find center on a beam I'm picking can be a hoot too. And we don't even want to talk about the half dozen or so jobs a year I do, where they are short one truss, or have one extra, and they'll leave the extra one on the ground rather than have me put it up as a doubler just to get rid of it, evidence they mis ordered. I have a thick carpenter book, printed in 1898, and it is loaded with real math on how layout turrets etc. on victorian houses, heavy stuff. For sure, I use less math booming than I ever did building.
 
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