Just some work pics

I've got some 2'x3' aluminum pads that I put down typically under the wood. They're actually old military landing mats cut down. If you set up with wood in a big span/ across a big rock etc, you end up breaking the wood all the time. In a flat spot I can get by with just the aluminums, I try to kick all the big rocks out from under (a big sharp rock can punch a hole through the aluminum), and make it kind of level if I can.

Sometimes there's no way you're moving enough dirt or rock to make a level place to start, we're mostly clay or rock, and I don't even carry a shovel, I'd rather just add wood to get level. If you look in this picture, you can see I've first put down a angled pad, I carry two of those on my small cranes, its just made out of a 2-3' square of 3/4" plywood, screwed together with ever shorter pieces. Sometimes I'll just lay down a 3"x12" x 3' under the downhill side, and the aluminum on top to bring it level. The aluminums will take a span that wood won't.

If you look at the one front jack I put down a angled pad, then a piece of 2x6 to bring the aluminum up level, then stacked wood to get my height. The aluminum stays ridgid over any gaps, and supports the upper boards solid. The back pad I got by with just kicking the big rocks out of the way, and throwing down a aluminum(if its any more crooked than the back one here, I'll pop a 2x6 or something under the down hill side of the aluminum to flatten it out). If you try to dig down on the front jack , to make a level spot, 1st its all rock, 2nd you're just loosing height that you'll need to gain back. If its just 1" clean rock on top, I'll kind of kick it to a smooth spot/ leveling it out, but its not transit flat or anything.







On my bigger cranes I'll make a double wide set of pads, to help spread out the weight, so I'm not sinking into the ground or a parking lot.

Detroit, regarding your second picture in the last post, are you afraid that this pile of wood may somehow shift slightly and then collapse? I have no experience building up just that high, but I had to level myself some good amount and was always worried about stability of these wood structures.

If the tall stack is setting crooked, then you worry about the wood walking out. I do all my leveling out down low, and the stack itself is level.

Its rare that you have a stack that high in more than one spot too. Usually you're other side the jacks are tight on the ground, and the one on the same side of the slope usually has 1/2 that much wood.

Sure, you want to be smooth and not get real wild on the controls or anything, but down low that's a 3' x 4' wide pad, everything else (all the other jacks) have to be moving too, to get that stack to come down.

Ever seen them "log cabin" stack up wood, when they're moving houses or putting in a basement under a existing house? Sometimes setting transformers. This is the same thing, keep it straight, tight and level, and it shouldn't go anywhere. We have hard soil conditions here, which helps a lot, muddy/ soft conditions would really play havoc on a steep stack if it settles at all.

I've got a little auction problem, namely I like to go to a auction on a saturday, and I usually end up bringing home stuff. Last weekend there was a truck guy selling out, I brought home a couple parts cabinets of brass fittings, and a big box full of air line, radiator hose, hydraulic hoses etc.

I kind of justify it in my mind, thinking if it saves about 2 trips to the parts store, I pay for the stuff.

Anyways, this saturday I had time and went to another sale, and I drug home something I've been looking at getting for a while, a tig welder. I've got some aluminum stuff, and I hear its better for that than my aluminum spool gun system is. I can mig and stick, and (kind of) braze. So I think I can probably pick up on the tig thing. This one is a old airco welder, it doesn't have the foot pedal control, its got a little button on the hand torch. I do not know its running condition, but its got a pretty new cover on the gun, and there's not much complicated stuff in most of the old welders to go wrong. Its surplus from a local college that closed their industrial arts department, so it probably works. I only have a $135 in it, I didn't want to buy a high priced rig to learn on, at that price I can afford to play around a little.

I've also been busy in the back room, straightening out my mess of rigging. We went through a bunch of old rigging, anything with broken wires or rusty got pitched, and I've managed to get most of the 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2" chokers I got from a auction a while back, sorted out and hanging on the wall. I still have to do the 5/8" and up stuff, but this was the big part of the project. I kinda surprised the guys by my willingness to part with some of the old stuff- I tend to hang onto stuff "in case" we might need it.

Anyways, pictures of the "new" to me welder, a pickup full of parts and my wall of sorted rigging.

Thank you Crane Op! My experience is on soft or frozen ground.....I'm still "crawling" in any pick I do (double and tripple check my level, footings, etc). I'm smart enough to know what I don't.

It's sad all of the industrial programs falling out of school curriculums in favor of the "soft education". I picked up a Fadal CNC mill from a technical college for that reason (I assumed they were upgrading....they weren't).

There is a 20,000+ shortage of certified welders....and it's only getting worse. Is this true in Crane Operators as well?

BobCatBob, are you in Australia, everything seems to be upside down

ichudov said:

BobCatBob, are you in Australia, everything seems to be upside down

Click to expand...

Pictures upside down? They show on my iPad right side up. I've had a problem taking pictures with the iPhone....need to consult my 12 year old on this...lol

P.s. I'm a Chicago burbs guy (you're in Berkeley?)

Yep, in Berkeley!

BobCatBob said:

Is this true in Crane Operators as well?

Click to expand...

I can find operators fairly easily. Finding one with a CDL is a little tougher. Finding one with a CDL and who can actually drive in hilly conditions is much more difficult. Finding one that can do all the above, and that doesn't mind fixing a taillight or painting or doing other "shop" work is the hardest.

If I put a ad out for help, most of the guys that apply have been traveling, and expect road $, which I can't pay in the rental game, but I can offer them the chance to be home every night and not work 6-12's for weeks on end. Most of the ones that apply have been doing powerhouse or refinery work, so have just been driving rt's or crawling a lattice boom around a jobsite. They aren't used to setting up and tearing down three times a day, and certainly not driving 80,000lbs around in hilly conditions.

I don't think I have it as bad as the framers, electricians, welding places that need a lot of employee's. I can get by with a pretty small # of employees. I do get some applications from kids out of "training" schools, but they really aren't qualified applicants for me, I can't go with them to babysit on every job, and we have to be the experts, when the crane shows up. I usually tell them to go frame or hang steel or weld for 10 years, then call me when they've learned something. I tend to get along the best with 40- 50 year old guys that are sick of traveling, know what they're doing, and just want to be home more and ease into their retirement.

CDL, crane operator, and fixer, such people usually end up working for themselves, hence the lack of suitable applicants. I am, sort of, such person too, and I have a business. I have a cdl, operate my crane, and fix stuff, though I have other ppl in my company that do more fixing than I do.

I'm a "wanna be" hobbyist.....I got a Class B CDL to drive a dump truck, rebuilt a crane for the challenge, mostly on weekends (along with an out of frame rebuild)....and in a 2nd life wish I wasn't so scared when running the crane doing small picks. You guys are the real deal....I log in to learn.

Thank you as always

Pretty sure that's rebadged Miller welder. Points on the high frequency may need to be adjusted. There is a learning curve on aluminum... mostly because it doesn't change color like steel. It gets shiny when it melts and the next thing you know you have a big hole. LoL Once you master it though, you can do all kinds of things with aluminum Tig. Need straight argon and most people use pure tungsten for aluminum. Googling old Miller 250 AC/DC Tig welder brought up a link that the way the current control works may not allow for a foot pedal current control. Even the if Tig doesn't work, it's a good stick welder. Might want to take the cover off and blow it out.

I think that it is an old rebadged miller dialarc hf.

If I had to guess I’d say it’s the same as the Miller in the background.

The miller sold after the one I bought, and yes they are very similar. I haven't hooked up the airco yet, been busy with other projects.

Got the swivel pulled out of the little mack boom truck, I was really worried the air portion would be heavily corroded, but it just had nasty oil/ crud, from the air system. The crud took out the seal, and there were a few light scratches in the barrel. I had the barrel at the machine shop for a light hone, seals should be in late this week or early next week. I also have the gear pump ready to go back in, resealed and rebearinged.



After hone:

Had a kind of late night last night. Street closure for assembly of a christmas tree on a flagpole. We did this the first time last year, this year they assembled it differently, and it took about 3 hours longer. Great progress.

They wanted it dark to test out the lights, so we didn't start until 2:00, and it was really dark by the time they got done. We spent two days last year chasing electrical gremlins, this year it all worked.

Was still a little dark this morning when we left to go pick up the RT, we left it in a shopping mall parking lot after the night job, and I didn't want to have it blocking their lot, so we went this morning and picked it up.

Had to get it done, I had a little unit to set at 10:00 with the 25, so we hustled right along.

The electrical on the swivel looks like a nightmare