Junkyard's work thread.....maybe haha

[Junkyard]

I thank my lucky stars that all my three sons were grown up when I split up with my ex. The youngest was 17.
The fact that #3 son decided that he wanted to live with me instead of his mother gave me a nice warm fuzzy feeling, even though it meant resigning from my job to head home and be with him while he went through college. He's now 29 years old and has already bought his own place.

That’s the worst part of it with Will only being 4, 5 in July. I feel good in the fact that my 15 year old daughter still comes to my place every weekend she doesn’t have a school function. I’ve done a lot of things wrong but evidently I’ve done a few right too!

 

[kshansen]

The way the pic is cropped you can’t see my right hand with a handful of his sweatshirt lol.

That makes me feel better, every so often we hear stories about kids falling down in abandoned wells and I tend to be nervous about things like that!

 

[Junkyard]

That stuff happens so fast even with guys that have been drilling holes for years. He wanted to see the bottom so we eased up to it. He was convinced we’d pull up some dinosaur bones! He’s learning just like his older brother. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to them helping me so they learn safety from day one. Always stay where I can see you. Assume the operator doesn’t see you and stay out of the way. Logical things like that we all have to be taught when exposed to things like this.

 

[kshansen]

That stuff happens so fast even with guys that have been drilling holes for years. He wanted to see the bottom so we eased up to it. He was convinced we’d pull up some dinosaur bones! He’s learning just like his older brother. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to them helping me so they learn safety from day one. Always stay where I can see you. Assume the operator doesn’t see you and stay out of the way. Logical things like that we all have to be taught when exposed to things like this.

Those rules are good not just for say 10 year olds but everyone up to 70! and beyond.

When ever I had to help train a new person on a machine I always told them that these machines don't give a rat's ass about you, they will chew you up and spit you out and not miss a beat.

 

[Birken Vogt]

I think about all the machines my dad had me running and repairing when I was that age, open belts, saw blades, no ROPS, fans running, blind spots with others operating, he must have had nerves of steel. Somehow I have all my fingers still, but I guess you have to tell them the rules and hope they listen.

 

[Junkyard]

Same with me on the farm. Anything we had would chew you up and spit you out. I tell all the new guys at work that are green to big iron very similar things. Even as long as I’ve done it I still get humbled like I did summer before last when the winch tried to remove my arm!

 

[DMiller]

Only takes the blink of an eye for a machine to have gotten you, been there.

 

[Tinkerer]

I knew you had his safety foremost in your mind Junkyard. I just shared my observation.

 

[Junkyard]

I knew you had his safety foremost in your mind Junkyard. I just shared my observation.

Understand comepletely where you were coming from. No worries

 

[kshansen]

Only takes the blink of an eye for a machine to have gotten you, been there.

Like the time some dummy raised the body on a R-35 Euclid and decided to walk around the back of the cab. He then like an idiot stepped on the control rod for the hoist valve. It didn't take me, I mean him, long to understand that was not a good thing and he jumped to the ground. Also lucky jumping off truck let hoist valve return to hold position!

Now I know what those pin holes at the back of the frame are for!

 

[dirty4fun]

Always have respect for a machine, if you think you know everything there is to know about a machine watch out it is about to show you how little you really know.
I have had a lot of close calls mostly when on the farm, and a few running heavy equipment. Usually when I was in a hurry and trying to cut a corner to finish faster, it will come back to bite you, big time!

 

[Birken Vogt]

I have a saying I often run by myself

[Save 5 minutes] / [Lose your life]

[Save 5 minutes] / [Risk destroying something expensive and irreplaceable]

[Save 5 minutes] / [Get stuck in mud hand digging and slinging chains for hours]

Most times I decide against the save 5 minutes course of action

 

[Junkyard]

I have a saying I often run by myself

[Save 5 minutes] / [Lose your life]

[Save 5 minutes] / [Risk destroying something expensive and irreplaceable]

[Save 5 minutes] / [Get stuck in mud hand digging and slinging chains for hours]

Most times I decide against the save 5 minutes course of action

I tell my boys and new hires something very similar. It’s often “what’s the rush, we get paid by the hour and you can’t work from the hospital”

 

[Raildudes dad]

I've shared about my young son helping volunteer at the local tourist RR. I always preferred him sitting in the engine with the engineer. That's also where he wanted to be, watching the engineer run the loco. Once he was 9-10 the engineers (one in particular) would let him run it with the engineer standing right next to him. He said my son as the best we had, cautious, careful and smooth. He always waited for instruction from the brakeman or conductor, never anticipated a move or got rushed. We always emphasized, we are here for fun, safety first and we have never had a serious injury.
Another side story. We did a little mini convention and had a few other tourist RR's attending. We did a track work demo. My son was operating the tie crane. At dinner that night one of our guests was a track supervisor for the Wisconsin Southern and a volunteer for a tourist RR WI and was talking with me and my son. I knew Dick from other meetings. He says to my son, so what are you doing this coming summer? If you dad is ok with it you can come live with me and I have an operator job for you. I laughed and asked do you have different work rules in WI? Here in MI you need to be 18 to run equipment My son was over 6 feet and could pass for an 18 year old at 14 LOL

 

[old-iron-habit]

When we were growing up we were exposed to things when young, we actually played outside, and got enough minor cuts and scrapes to learn to be observant. Unfortunately kids today are over protected by parents and are only programed instead of taught to think in school.

 

[DMiller]

Still wish we had had kids I could teach what I know to, try to give some away at times other times remember wrong but eventually sort it out. Loads of things WE all got to do kids today may never experience. Drove a hay truck, and worked hay crew was not good at chucking bales but could stack. Was driving farm tractors open station at 11, rough discing and used to be able to drag a fairly straight line. Mechanic, driver, power station operator, machining, electrician at times. All will be gone to waste when I am gone.

 

[old-iron-habit]

Still wish we had had kids I could teach what I know to, try to give some away at times other times remember wrong but eventually sort it out. Loads of things WE all got to do kids today may never experience. Drove a hay truck, and worked hay crew was not good at chucking bales but could stack. Was driving farm tractors open station at 11, rough discing and used to be able to drag a fairly straight line. Mechanic, driver, power station operator, machining, electrician at times. All will be gone to waste when I am gone.

Over the last 30 years of work my real job had changed from actually building a hospital to babysitting subcontractors, cuddling designers, explaining their role to them, often showing inspectors their own codes, filling out thousands of pages of documents, and only God knows what else. I would not wish that on any child. On a positive note the last 4 years of retirement and the real people on this forum has gotten me mostly over it.

 

[Junkyard]

Over the last 30 years of work my real job had changed from actually building a hospital to babysitting subcontractors, cuddling designers, explaining their role to them, often showing inspectors their own codes, filling out thousands of pages of documents, and only God knows what else. I would not wish that on any child. On a positive note the last 4 years of retirement and the real people on this forum has gotten me mostly over it.

There’s no way I could do that. Not cut out for it!

 

[Junkyard]

Getting caught up around the shop. Got my roof put up on the containers and get some stuff moved in there. Major progress getting the shop back in shape.


Tore into a 299D Cat today. Right side drive motor was acting like the brake wasn’t releasing. After eliminating the likely culprits I decided the motor needed to come out for exploratory surgery. Wasn’t expecting this......

 

[dirty4fun]

Looks like you were able to find the problem or problems. Do you know what caused it, thou?