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Just some work pics

DMiller

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2010
Messages
16,421
Location
Hermann, Missouri
Occupation
Cheap "old" Geezer
Had four persons attempt to be Crane Director at the Nuke, Turned off Crane and sat for a moment. They all began to argue then I cut in on the Radio Headset I was using told the operator I designated as signalman to put the twits on headsets or listen to the speaker. I stated to the Group that "I" designated Load Signalman and they needed to LEAVE my Operating Zone, would be NO pick with me holding the crane controls if didn't. Was a Few more words then my Supervisor went to the floor area and instructed them I meant what I said and to LEAVE. They finally left and we got work done.
 

kshansen

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,127
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
I was around enough things being lifted or running a loader used to lift things that I know having more than one person trying to direct a move of any kind is a recipe for disaster! More than once while either doing a lift with a loader or the 40 ton overhead crane in the shop I have stopped and said I'm watching Ernie or who ever was the guy I trusted and told them let that one guy know what needs to be done.
 

skyking1

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2020
Messages
7,462
Location
washington
That's not a spreader, that is a steel whaler off a concrete panel. I have 4 of them here in the yard for the 2x6 channels.
I think i shared the antenna story before, where i showed up and ran the boom truck at the request of the owner. I had that "3 signalmen" thing going there and one of the wannabes signaled line down while another guys's hand was in the bight. I just looked at him and shook my head, and never looked at him again.
 

Kiwi-truckwit

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2016
Messages
315
Location
New Zealand
Sorry, I didn't see it there. I didn't spend a lot of time walking around. The general contractor had a "supervisor" that was being a pain. I rolled up in the crane, and nothing was right.

#1- I evidently brought too small of a crane. Super says "it weighs 8,700lbs and there's no way you can pick that". I looked at what we were setting, looked at the ironworker (who is my customer- I wasn't working for the general) and said "there's no way that weighs 8,500lbs. It looks like 5,500 at the most to me". The ironworker looks at me all crosseyed, and catches me beside the crane " this super is impossible, and its all his way, I can hear the ice cracking under your feet". I come back around the crane and tell the super - "I'll set up, I think I'll be good for around 9,000lbs, we'll pick it up and see what it weighs, and if I don't have enough crane here, we'll go back to the shop and get more crane." Super grunts and walks around in circles muttering, while I set up crane.

#2 Super declares that we need a spreader bar. problem A- The gazebo top is a circle, full of steel frames- where's it going to go? Spreader bars are for things that can crush, I can't see any way this thing squishes. Problem B - he's worried I don't have enough crane, and now he wants me to lift a spreader bar too? Problem C - They have their own spreader bar, a homemade cobbled together piece of junk, with no ratings and no tags- If I'd have shown up with something like that- they would have run me off the site, but because its theirs- its good enough to lift with. Here's a picture of their spreader bar, and that's as close as I got to picking it up.

#3 Super wants to choke all the ironworkers brand new nylons on the frame. As soon as they start to tighten on the water jet cut steel, I know its going to cut those nylons all up. So I dig out some green roundups, we basket those through the water jet holes and throw some softeners in between, and voila- no cutting of nylons. I've not made friends at all with the super, but I'm happy and the ironworkers are ready to set some steel.

So finally we're all rigged up, I pick up the frame and its just under 5,000lbs. Swing it over the legs and the welders get to work, I think the super would have been more happy if we hadn't got anything done. Some guys want everything to be complicated and a "big project".


View attachment 238286

Oh, I know how that goes.

You haven't seen me post in a while, because I've been in working on a government project where photos are banned, plus in more of a leadership role rather than pulling levers.

The GC has a complex bunch of rules around almost everything to do on site, especially cranes. It's now at the point where the documentation takes longer than the lift, & every aspect needs to be signed off before the crane can so much as put an outrigger down. Of course, these checks are done by people who are less than competent. It makes a mockery of my experience & qualifications in crane operations & lift planning, plus those of our operators & riggers. We have performed nearly 10,000 lifts incident-free on this site, of weights up to 35 ton, and it's down to our team performing well together.

They tried to ban the use of synthetic slings on site, then didn't see the funny side when I offered to wrap chains around the roofing iron we were lifting up for them.

Safety is up to the guys on the ground, not the one with the clipboard
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,273
Location
sw missouri
After all my talk about the general contractor and his cobbled up spreader bar- guess who had to fab up a lifting frame..:rolleyes:

At one of the fancy golf courses, they built a new bathroom. And then decided they needed rocks on the other side of the bathroom, right under the 3' of roof overhang. The close side they could set with their forklift, the far side had no equipment access.

So some big square tubing, and some reinforcing plates, and some flat iron for pick points, and a lifting C-frame was born. Of course this all started on a Friday morning (first call at 9- looked at the job at 10) for a lift time of 8am on Monday morning, so I had to scramble around for the steel and some fab time. Got the steel picked up yet friday afternoon, and welded up on saturday morning and even a load test that afternoon.

A plasma cutter would sure be nice. Mag drill is nice for the holes, but cutting the plates would be a lot slicker with a plasma, but the torch and grinder is what I own.


IMG_20210424_093921899.jpg IMG_20210424_093928082.jpg IMG_20210424_094637071.jpg IMG_20210424_120624978.jpg
 
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crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,273
Location
sw missouri
I only got a picture under the overhang after I got a rock set. It pretty well hangs straight up and down with the rock weight on it, when the load goes away, the c-frame drops down crooked. But it all worked and the rocks are set.

The biggest rock they wanted over there was a little over 10,000, and I didn't need the frame for that one. The rest of the rocks were in the 5,000lbs range and I used the c frame for all of them.

We stacked rocks to almost the top of the door frame, about where the electric box is sticking out of the wall, on each side of the door. Had to have the top rocks rigged pretty short to get under the overhang and set.

IMG_20210426_102732323_HDR.jpg IMG_20210426_112517199_HDR.jpg IMG_20210426_113043127_HDR.jpgIMG_20210426_113358028_HDR_LI.jpg
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,273
Location
sw missouri
I need to talk about torch safety also. So if you use your forklift like a fab table, and are cutting out a bunch of small pieces, and you're in a hurry......

That's right, you can be prone to notch areas in your forklift teeth. Nothing like zipping along cutting and wondering why its blowing back a little. Of course its nothing a little grinding and a bead of weld won't fix. But I did feel a little sheepish.

IMG_20210424_121032586.jpg
 

petepilot

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2018
Messages
2,167
Location
central shenandoah valley va,
I need to talk about torch safety also. So if you use your forklift like a fab table, and are cutting out a bunch of small pieces, and you're in a hurry......

That's right, you can be prone to notch areas in your forklift teeth. Nothing like zipping along cutting and wondering why its blowing back a little. Of course its nothing a little grinding and a bead of weld won't fix. But I did feel a little sheepish.

View attachment 238660
its only unsafe if the piece you did`nt realize you were cutting falls on your foot:D
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,273
Location
sw missouri
its only unsafe if the piece you did`nt realize you were cutting falls on your foot:D
Yeah, that would be a surprise.

Speaking of working safe- I talked to a guy today with a used motor. I asked if he had something to load it with if I bought it, and he said yes, but I'd have to run it- he "had a little incident yesterday".

Namely removing all 5 fingers from his hand. He said he could have gone to St.louis, and they would have tried to reattach them there but wouldn't do it locally. He told them not to bother, a buddy of his had some reattached and they didn't work right, so he told them he would do without.

Be safe out there guys, it can all change pretty fast.
 
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petepilot

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2018
Messages
2,167
Location
central shenandoah valley va,
Yeah, that would be a surprise.

Speaking of working safe- I talked to a guy today with a used motor. I asked if he had something to load it with if I bought it, and he said yes, but I'd have to run it- he "had a little incident yesterday".

Namely removing all 5 fingers from his hand. He said he could have gone to St.louis, and they would have tried to reattach them there but wouldn't do it locally. He told them not to bother, a buddy of his had some reattached and they didn't work right, so he would just do without.

Be safe out there guys, it can all change pretty fast.
ouch` thats going to be very painful as well as cumbersome when it all heals up
 

colson04

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2016
Messages
2,056
Location
Delton, Michigan
I need to talk about torch safety also. So if you use your forklift like a fab table, and are cutting out a bunch of small pieces, and you're in a hurry......

That's right, you can be prone to notch areas in your forklift teeth. Nothing like zipping along cutting and wondering why its blowing back a little. Of course its nothing a little grinding and a bead of weld won't fix. But I did feel a little sheepish.

View attachment 238660

Absolutely sounds like something I would do...


I was 16, helping my dad on a house he was building. I was ripping a sheet of osb on wooden saw horses. The thought of propping the sheet up, or shallowing the skil saw blade up for the 1/2" osb never crossed my mind. I cut right through the center of the first saw horse and the whole thing came toppling down. My dad was just staring, mouth slightly agape, quizical look on his face like "Did my straight A student really just cut right through my saw horse?!" He said, "Patch it up and get that sheet cut.

And yes, I was straight A's through school and did some really, really dumb stuff.
 

Natman

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2016
Messages
972
Location
ID
My father ran his own market for 40+ years, and he worked in the meat department. The year before he was getting ready to sell the business and retire, he cut a finger off in the bandsaw. Complacency got him, teed him off no end!
 

crane operator

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
8,273
Location
sw missouri
So the other day my boy left his old ford (mid 90's) at a park n ride for a couple hours while he took off with a friend. Well the cat thieves were there, and even hit his old ford. Funny thing, the old ford has 2 cats, and they just took the little one. I don't think either cat has anything in it anymore, but whatever. He was pretty ticked and driving loud for a few days until we got a "cat" reinstalled. The old cat also served as the 2 into one for the 300- 6 so we had to get a little creative. Nothing some 3"x6" rectangular and some stub pipes couldn't fix...

IMG_20210424_142124108.jpg
 
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