Just some work pics

[crane operator]

Changed out some lights at local motel. They had a 135' manlift, but it wouldn't go enough radius for all of the building, and it wouldn't set up flat enough, the parking lot is pretty crooked. We just did the ones they couldn't get with the lift.

 

[crane operator]

Like I said, some of the lot has got some slope.

 

[crane operator]

We had a pretty good wind a week or so ago. This is a "flag" style billboard- the pole is on the end rather than the center of the sign. Well in the wind storm, it acted like a flag, it broke the welds and swiveled about 20 degrees.

The wanted me on the side, and swing it back over. I talked them into letting me set in front of it, that way I could boom up on it to get it to swing back. I've got a lot more pull in booming up, than I would ever have in just trying to swing it. I had to get up on it pretty hard, with a lot of extra boom up to get it to move.

When it came, it screeched right around. Took about 3 pulls on it to get it back in place, I just didn't want to go too far.

They also put a pickup on it with a couple ropes, to help "pull". I really don't think they were helping much, but it made them feel useful.

Just rewelded it back in place when we got it set.

 

[crane operator]

Got to do another sign, this one just a swap out. Dixie cafe closed, now "Jamies resturant".

 

[crane operator]

Going to be done for a little while at the water park. The erectors are on the road, and they're leaving Thursday, and won't be back until after the 1st of the year. This shows the structure inside that we built going through the two window openings.

They're getting the tubes for outside all prepped for when they get back.

 

[Junkyard]

Any free passes for the water park? lol

 

[crane operator]

Any free passes for the water park? lol

Not yet, but we were supposed to get to work all last weekend, and then they wouldn't let us because the park needed to be open. The installers were not happy, but they didn't look at their contract real close, it specified mon. thru fri. work only, owner wants his park open for the motel guests on the weekend, and he did read the contract.

When you want to bring the boys down, I'll see what I can get for you though.

 

[Junkyard]

Sweet, they’d have a blast!

 

[crane operator]

Just got these pictures the other day, its a 80 ton terex crossover, was on its way to its first job. Supposedly rolled 2-3 times. Its a good thing they didn't get to the job, the way they had the block reeved it would have been a explosion of nylon sheaves with a load on. Not much left of the tri drive, twin steer kenworth either.

 

[crane operator]

Yesterday was the work day of the week for us, everyone wanted that day.

First was a VFD drive for a amusement drive. Its set outside since we installed it last spring, but the manufacturer says winter storage must be climate controlled.

Next was a swim spa in a back yard. I was really close to being able to set in the front yard, but I was pushing chart with the 70 ton. With the rain we've had lately, I was worried we'd destroy the front yard. So we cut down a little tree, and put the rt beside the house to set the swim spa in the back yard.

 

[crane operator]

 

[crane operator]

Capped it all off with a little run up to springfield in the 25 to load out a LP tank. After I had the tank loaded, he had me pull one of the saddle abutments out of the ground, then decided they were too heavy and not worth hauling, so I set the abutment back in the hole. 40' x 5' diameter tank, around 14,000lbs. I was going to take the mack, but with the chain link fence around the tank, I just couldn't get close enough to do it with that crane.

 

[Tradesman]

Wow looks like the driver could of got banged up pretty badly. Hope he’s ok.
The couple little scrapes I had a year ago has turned me into an old woman, pictures like that reaffirm the old saying s$it happens, and I want nothing to do with it!

 

[crane operator]

Its a 2018, and probably a 400-500 hp engine, and that's right at a 100,000lb rig. They tend to be a lot more top heavy than a truck crane with a box fabricated frame. The boom truck outrigger frame is all on top of the truck frame, and then the boom has to be high enough up to clear the kenworth cab. Puts the center of gravity a lot higher up off the ground.

If they were just coming from a 30 ton boom truck, I could see them easily trying to hang a corner at 70 mph, and then you're just along for the ride.

 

[Hank R]

crane operator you explained it very well just what I was thinking. All so driver was a better crane operator than a truck driver.

 

[hosspuller]

Hey CO … Would you explain the issue with the reeving of the block for a non-crane person ? Was it the position of the connection to the boom? How would you have rigged it?

TIA for the explanation.

 

[hvy 1ton]

I'm not a crane person either, but it looks like the block is rigged for 4 parts and the reeving is not symmetrical. There is some weirdness going on up at the boom tip too, but that might be from the crash. Am I close Crane Op?

 

[crane operator]

Don't know if this picture will help. The cable that goes to the ball, should be on the middle one of the top sheaves (the one on the right in the picture), then straight down to the forward rooster sheave. Instead they have it on the left, and angled over to the front sheave. The first line to the block should be on the left, straight down into the lower sheave on the left then into the block. Instead they have it on the center, then angled way over to the right side of the bottom boom sheave.

Then they've got the block first cable on the far right sheave, then on the middle left sheave. That makes the block unevenly loaded. It will hang crooked and eat on the sheaves of it and the cable- but the block has steel sheaves, and it ends up being quite a ways away from the boom tip, it isn't as big a deal, the top of the boom reaving is a accident waiting to happen.

The danger with the mess on the boom tip, top to bottom cross running, those are nylon sheaves, not steel. If they get angle loaded like that with any kind of weight, it will pop the outer edges of the sheaves off, and probably totally crack the sheaves. Then you have a load in the air, with nylon pieces falling out of the boom tip, and you end up getting the cable all ruined, running in the cracks or dead sliding on the broken sheaves, if you can even get the load to the ground. You can't side load cable at all on nylon sheaves. The old steel style sheaves you can kind of get away with doing a little tugging around, but not a nylon.

The operators manual always shows a drawing of how to rig the boom head for every possible set up. On a new rig, the dealer should have someone that knows what their doing go along and set it up. Its probably a $750,000 machine, you think they would do that at least. But a lot of the dealers don't have anyone that's actually a crane guy, and expect the customer to know what he's doing. Some of the buyers for these are a oilfield moving company sick of paying someone else, so just buy their own, and really don't know what they are doing either.

I hate to see people out of their depth, and putting other people at risk.

 

[Impact]

I understand how to reeve a block, and you are correct. What I dont understand is how you see that in the photo.

 

[crane operator]

Uprighted a tank at a tank manufacturer. Then off to a wood products plant. They are shut down from christmas to new year, so time to change out the cyclones on the sawdust silo's. We had 30mph wind and rain when we first got there, so we did a cyclone on the ground first. The other ones are way up in the air, and I wasn't much for 166' of boom out in that kind of wind.

Wind let up to 20 or so, and I shot out the boom and at least got some piping down. I waited to pull the cyclone until the next morning.