Question for the "triple OG" (old schooler) welders here.

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First off, I have the utmost respect and awe for you guys.   Do you guys have a memorable story about the very WORST welding job you've ever had to do in your career?   Any brief stories you'd care to share? Like lessons learned?  Danger? Demanding? Regrets for that job?  Conditions you had to deal with? Perhaps something  you'd never take on again? Tragedies on that particular job perhaps?  I would guess that the old ship builders, bridge work, overpass and high rise buildings  would be some of the most tough as hell $hi+  and/or crazy aspects of the job.  I'm not necessarily limiting a weldor to the above categories either.  Any professional welder I'm sure has a story or two about the WORST time.....Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Im not an OG, but I built water towers for almost 3 yrs and its not for the faint of heart. Extreme working conditions, 12 hrs a day 7 days a week. Somtimes we would stay on the job till it was completed before going home (depends on how big the tank is but some take several months). They work you like a dog, and expect alot out of you. But when you are making $100 a day per diem and are on prevailing wage for most jobs at $35-$55 an hr you are paid well for your effort. It was definitely an experience, I went out on the road at 18-19 and got a real wake up call working with some smart OG's. I showed up on the job site and introduced myself and told them that I was young and didnt know anything about welding and fitting but I was willing to learn and listen to whatever they told me to do. It paid off, the put me thru the ringer to see if I would drag up and go home. Once they realized I wasnt going home then they started to show me the tricks of the trade. I wouldnt trade that time period for anything. I made alot of memories, and alot of friends, I also learned a ton of stuff about welding and fab. But to be honest idk if I would ever go back to that kind of work. Im kinda lazy and set in my ways now lol, but it felt really good to be able to make 80-100K a yr with a high school education only and at such a young age.
Reply:I think the most miserable welding job I had. Was splicing 12-inch diameter pipe pile for a bridge abutment in Kent Washington, going over the Green river. The dirt was excavated out for the abutment, so we were working in a hole. Which in Washington it rains a little bit. So the water was over our boots. The pile driving foreman was trying to get the pile to take up, so he would drive the top of the pipe pile right to water line. The pile that didn’t get bearing we had to weld another section of pipe to. With the weld joint being right at water line our faces were half way under water while making the weld! We could only see out of one eye to make the weld!Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:About 25 years, a local culinary / hospitality school (college) bought a restaurant/small hotel (about 6 floors), with the intent of completely renovating the kitchen and using it for the college (training, as well as hosting events).This meant that the exhaust system, from the kitchen out to the roof, had to be replaced. It was all union work.The exhaust was rectangular about 14" high x 30" wide. The duct work was all 14 ga. steel. One rectangular section butt up to the next section.The union guys had done what they could, but after a while, the job started getting all screwed up. The section fit-ups started becoming "pie-shaped", with narrow gaps widening up to an inch wide, or so. These became impossible to weld, and the joints had to be airtight in case of an exhaust fire.I went and looked at the job on a Wednesday, and HAD to have it finished by the end of the day on Thursday. My job was to seal up all these whacky joints. The job from he!!...I HAD to do it for a big customer of mine that recommended me, otherwise I never would have taken it on.My plan was to shear some 2" - 2.5" wide strips out of 14 ga., to lay over these gaps, then weld the strips all the way around.Of course, Thursday was rainy. I brought a Miller Cricket, with flux core wire. Access down into these exhaust tunnels was from up on the roof. Everything got wet...I lowered everything down the shaft, then decided if I would push the machine and tools in ahead of you, or if I would crawl in first, and pull the welder and tools in after me.If I went in on my stomach, I'd have to weld the bottom seam, and the left side vertical seam. Of course, with only 14" of vertical shaft height, the arc was about 2" away from my eyes!Then, I'd have to climb back out, and go back in, on my backside, to fit-up, tack, and weld the overhead, and right vertical side.Fortunately, I discovered that my Ball pein hammer was just the right height to wedge in there, and it pushed up against the strips to hold them while I tacked them. Of course, I'm moving the hammer over every 2 inches!That's the light side of the job. I spent more time undoing bird nests, and just plain old struggling like a bugger all day, and well into the night. I can't even describe how awful this job was. The union guys were very nice to me, offering to help, but there wasn't much that they could really do. They knew what I was up against.One of the foremen wasn't too happy, either. Everyone else had gone home for the day, but I was still there until 3:30 a.m., and he had to stay with me.The reason that this had to get finished that day, was that there was going to be a BIG ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday. This is a state college, so all the state dignitaries were going to be there.As long-winded as this post is, it's really the Cliff Notes version. I can't even describe how bad this job was....RichLast edited by steelsurgeon; 01-27-2016 at 04:45 PM.
Reply:I did a turnaround in a refinery where they were refurbing a big@ss furnace. They were pulling off all the old insulation that had been cooking on there for about 10 years.I was down underneath the furnace chasing cracks on inconel pipe, a crappy enough job in itself, but all that insulation was flying in the air like snow. It was downright miserable, that stuff will make you itch all over.
Reply:i was in my early 20's and thought i was in pretty good physical condition. myself and this 60 something year old guy had to spread and tack what seemed like acres of Q decking. for a week this old man never stopped. from 8am till 430pm. exactly 15 minutes in the am for coffee and 30 minutes at noon. i was used to chasing around after work sometimes coming straight to the job from the after hours spot. on that job i was in bed as soon as i got home after quitting time.  i found out later that several years previously this guy had spent months flat on his back after an H beam fell off some support horses and crushed his back.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla