Welding in the air

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This is not high off the ground welding for some of you guys but for me 3ft off the ground well It could be a mile!!  I dont care at all for heights but this job needed done. Mounting a new starter box for the hoist..Converting it to electric!! Sure is going to be easier then using the chains to move!! Yep was tethered and all saftey devices set. But I couldnt tell if the hoist was moving or just me shaking!! lol Attached ImagesMiller 250DX HTP 221 DV AC/DCHenrob O-A Miller 180 MigMiller 150 Inverter   Hobart 10,000 Welder-Generator   Have a good day!!!
Reply:That's still pretty high in a scissor lift. Those things sway when you breathe. Well so it seems. I've been in JLG lifts way up the side of a building with the boom stuck all the way out. I'd be welding and have the wind pick up and shove the basket 3 feet. I'd have to walk along the basket while it sways and jam the rod in tight and keep burning. Hahaha. But the worst is when that sucker starts bouncing. It makes welding on a table in a shop heaven. Especially with a chair. But I think the highest I've been up welding was 267'. I had to go up and weld rat line braces for the bolt up gang to tie off too. That was one Hell of a time. I had 300' of lead and the machine was up to about 160 and it was still cold for a 1/8 7018. I had to use my cell to call the apprentice to crank more heat. Haha. God I miss that job. Lots of good welding. Thanks for reading!
Reply:Originally Posted by JimboSliceThat's still pretty high in a scissor lift. Those things sway when you breathe. Well so it seems. I've been in JLG lifts way up the side of a building with the boom stuck all the way out. I'd be welding and have the wind pick up and shove the basket 3 feet. I'd have to walk along the basket while it sways and jam the rod in tight and keep burning. Hahaha. But the worst is when that sucker starts bouncing. It makes welding on a table in a shop heaven. Especially with a chair.
Reply:Dam you guys are my heros!!! Id been a chittin myself long before I ever got that high been cryin for my momma as well!! Watched guys walk beams and weld up steel building structures and I just say wow!! lolMiller 250DX HTP 221 DV AC/DCHenrob O-A Miller 180 MigMiller 150 Inverter   Hobart 10,000 Welder-Generator   Have a good day!!!
Reply:The only welding I don't like is welding deck...with 5p.....in July. You get burnt from the top and bottom! I've caught a many a pant leg on fire!!!!!  Originally Posted by 7A749Looked at one & told him you only gotta fall once. That's all it takes.
Reply:Scissor lifts aren't too bad. I was on a boom lift 110' and hated every minute of it. Fully extended and went to move 3' to the next riser and dam near $hit my pants. That sucker bobbed up and down that I thought it was over.
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749Hehehe. That's what I hear.No way in hell I would get 300 feet in the air like that. No way, no how.I have been on the top of the Mackinac Bridge on the North tower 550 feet in the air. That was terrifying, but I couldn't turn the opportunity down to go up. That's different than hanging out of a basket with a stinger in your hand.
Reply:Originally Posted by BD1Scissor lifts aren't too bad. I was on a boom lift 110' and hated every minute of it. Fully extended and went to move 3' to the next riser and dam near $hit my pants. That sucker bobbed up and down that I thought it was over.
Reply:Originally Posted by JimboSliceThe only welding I don't like is welding deck...with 5p.....in July. You get burnt from the top and bottom! I've caught a many a pant leg on fire!!!!! Aww its not so bad. The fall don't hurt a bit. It's the sudden stop at the end I worry about!Thanks for reading!
Reply:Originally Posted by powerThis is not high off the ground welding for some of you guys but for me 3ft off the ground well It could be a mile!!  I dont care at all for heights but this job needed done. Mounting a new starter box for the hoist..Converting it to electric!! Sure is going to be easier then using the chains to move!! Yep was tethered and all saftey devices set. But I couldnt tell if the hoist was moving or just me shaking!! lol
Reply:hey man, you can get seriously hurt at only 3 ft if you fall right ! so dont beat yourself up about heights! but it definatly looked like a fun job, always nice doing somthing different and gets ya out of the shop. Since some other guys are posting pictures i figured id share. When we de-comissioned boiler units    1-4 (old side) due to them being past there life span and just not remotely efficient to todays standards sad day.... we had to cap the tops with a round steel disc the diameter 30ft, and we had to install a bracing system on each stack to accept the disc. there the two grey stacks you see in the picture, 275ft tall. and unit 5 stack (red white) for compairison is 375ft tall. Definatly not as huge as some of the new super critical plants stacks, but still a good work out to climb! and hand balm enough cable when we got to the top. Actually during this job.... its a pretty far fetched story but it did happen. We pre-fabbed the 30ft diameter discs which were 1/4" thick on the ground with lifting lugs and they were lifted up with a helicopter. One particular day on stack 2, the wind was questionable but he decided to try the lift anyway, got up in the air above the stack and the wind started to take the disc and have its way with it, the pilot ended up having to disconnect from the disc as it was going to throw his chopper out of control. to the left of the stacks about 500yds away is a public highway, the disc literally flew/floated from the stack and landed about 200ft on the other side of that highway. it was like watching a ginormous frisbee. and scary as hell, we were all about 1km away while watching this at the end of the coal pile, theres alot of station equipment to the left like the crusher house, heavy equipment shed etc etc, probably the craziest thing ive ever seen in my life! anyyyway the next week we managed to get both discs up there, THANKFULLY the disc landed flat and wasnt even bent, and welded them on. Attached Images
Reply:It's not a big deal, once you can grasp the fact to put it out of your head, it's gone! That comes with knee shaking fear to get to that point tho. But once your cool, your cool. I used to shake like a leaf when I worked on bridges, I would get myself sick getting dressed in the morrning thinking about it, after a while I became like a cat tho. I work in a shop now but I still do things that make my bosses run and hide.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Originally Posted by Pressure_Welderhey man, you can get seriously hurt at only 3 ft if you fall right ! so dont beat yourself up about heights! but it definatly looked like a fun job, always nice doing somthing different and gets ya out of the shop. Since some other guys are posting pictures i figured id share. When we de-comissioned boiler units    1-4 (old side) due to them being past there life span and just not remotely efficient to todays standards sad day.... we had to cap the tops with a round steel disc the diameter 30ft, and we had to install a bracing system on each stack to accept the disc. there the two grey stacks you see in the picture, 275ft tall. and unit 5 stack (red white) for compairison is 375ft tall. Definatly not as huge as some of the new super critical plants stacks, but still a good work out to climb! and hand balm enough cable when we got to the top. Actually during this job.... its a pretty far fetched story but it did happen. We pre-fabbed the 30ft diameter discs which were 1/4" thick on the ground with lifting lugs and they were lifted up with a helicopter. One particular day on stack 2, the wind was questionable but he decided to try the lift anyway, got up in the air above the stack and the wind started to take the disc and have its way with it, the pilot ended up having to disconnect from the disc as it was going to throw his chopper out of control. to the left of the stacks about 500yds away is a public highway, the disc literally flew/floated from the stack and landed about 200ft on the other side of that highway. it was like watching a ginormous frisbee. and scary as hell, we were all about 1km away while watching this at the end of the coal pile, theres alot of station equipment to the left like the crusher house, heavy equipment shed etc etc, probably the craziest thing ive ever seen in my life! anyyyway the next week we managed to get both discs up there, THANKFULLY the disc landed flat and wasnt even bent, and welded them on.
Reply:thats a good question, i never really knew if anyone took a video, this was 10 years ago now if my mind serves me correctly. again super far fetched, i wouldnt believe it if someone told me lol.
Reply:7A749,thankyou! are they putting up a boiler which is run on natural gas? or a combustion tubrine? we also have two 100 megawatt CT's at our facility. I know what you mean in regards to the stacks. Units 1-4 were built in the 50's  when they were de-comissioned it was almost like being punched in the gut as corny as that sounds. Your out of one and into the next for tube repairs or any repair for that matter. almost becomes part of your life like a family pet. You know them inside and out. lol who knows maybe i am crazy loving working covered in ash, in a hot boiler thats just come down doing emergency repairs! Unforunately with the global warming phase alot of coal fired boilers are being phased out. Our unit 5 boiler has lots of life left ( built in 1965) but were only allowed to run 5 months a year, the rest of the time were on sync for system stability.I apologize in advance for highjacking i dont want to step on any toes! keep the working up high pictures coming!
Reply:A job I was on (not welding, my actual profession) required me to go up 65' in the air in a boom lift to do some work on the outside of an aircraft hangar. I'm a contractor, so for safety, and to keep the union happy of course, they assigned me a driver to run the lift. When it came time to go from point A to point B, he didn't bother lowering the lift, which would have taken several minutes at least. 65' in the air, let me tell you, you feel every single bounce!On another job, we had to check sight line between a water tower and another building. The other building had a peaked roof, so we couldn't just go out on the roof. On top of that, sight line was marginal due to trees, but we thought maybe we could get the antenna up above the building's roof line enough to make the link work. I climbed the ladder to the top of the water tower while my co-workers went straight up in an 85' boom lift. Each of us held an antenna up in the air and pointed in the other's direction to see if the link would come up. In case you're wondering, it didn't. The trees were only about 40'-60', while the boom was 85' and the water tower was 212'. You would think that would work, but there was enough elevation change between the building and the tower that the trees still occluded the sight-line.Once upon a time, I needed to put an antenna on the side of a building. I rented a sicssor lift, but the customer hadn't mentioned that the side of the building where the antenna was going to go wasn't paved. And of course the scissor lift had those little skinny flat tires that are only for concrete and asphalt floors. Well, I had a flight to make home the next day, so I figured git-r-done and I pulled two sheets of plywood out of a junk pile and tried to leapfrog the lift over to the wall. But it was a mess. The plywood fell apart and I barely got the lift back onto the sidewalk. Next day, the rental company came with a huge boom lift--the only thing they had with off-road tires, and we came in early and got the job done in time for me to run to the airport.Once I acclimate, I love working in a boom or scissor lift. Next best thing to being able to levitate!
Reply:And here I thought I was one of the few, petrified of heights.I have a 20' extension laddder and my house roof edge is a guesstimate of 14'. I can get off the ladder and onto the roof. It's getting off the roof and onto the ladder that F's me up. But I explain it like this..... It's not me being a wuss, it's that I'm intelligent enough, that my brain tells my body that a loose ladder is not safe and could fall over. Now, I'm shootin for a new job, that will probably include heights and lifts. When I talk to my buddies, they tell me there are no loose ladders and you're always tied off. I just might be ok."Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Yeah not a big fan of heights here either. Not sure how the guys did it back then. Not a safety harness in site...
Reply:I scared the crap out of the apprentice they gave me on a job, we were up in a big 80' platform lift all the way. I was beating a shim plate in between a temporary column and the roof gurt. I yelled over at the kid to give me something and he was clinging to the rails for dear life. I was using the sway of the platform to my advantage everytime I swung my beater, poor kid thought we were going to die.Disclaimer; "I am just an a$$hole welder, don't take it personally ."
Reply:Originally Posted by powerThis is not high off the ground welding for some of you guys but for me 3ft off the ground well It could be a mile!!  I dont care at all for heights but this job needed done. Mounting a new starter box for the hoist..Converting it to electric!! Sure is going to be easier then using the chains to move!! Yep was tethered and all saftey devices set. But I couldnt tell if the hoist was moving or just me shaking!! lol
Reply:another couple of a job at one of our new hydaulic dams being constructed. i had to put structural bracing across the centers of the spillway towers...... funny how the contractor FORGOT to do that while they were on the ground Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by j440isnt that the truth! first time i ever used one of those lifts i was extended all the way in, throttle up. extended all the way out (about 80ft i think it was) and didn't turn the throttle down, and when i turned i went about 10ft if not more on one jerk of the stick. learned my lesson lol.i love welding up in the air though. hanging off of a column welding one handed overhead. its great.
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749Awesome post Pressure Welder!The local utility is building a gas fired new power plant here n town. We have '50's era boilers in the Eckert Station with three 615' stacks.Dunno what they're gonna do with them when it closes. They have been a part of the Lansing skyline since the early '80's.
Reply:I love big iron jobs! Great pics man! Normally the first 3 or 4 days of being on the iron I'm a little uneasy but after a week its like a sidewalk. Just gotta get your bearings. I've got some pics somewhere that I'll share. Thanks for reading!
Reply:Come on girls! We get paid for rides that normal people pay for at Great America.I love them. Bigger and taller the better. I take great pleasure in scaring the live crap out of my partner or a new apprentice. The slightest little jerk or bounce, new BVD's.I've even had the pleasure of riding a 110f boom down, fully extended, with my partner. We got it buried in a swamp mud hole. After about 20 mins of digging ruts and cantilevered over the side, the lift started tipping over at the same time we were booming down. Wasn't a bad ride going down, actually pretty smooth! BUT! When we touched down, MY BUDDY decides to exit the lift, which in turn turned into a catapult! It started going up and I hit the bottom of the basket and rapped my legs and arms around a set of uprights and hung on!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! Wasn't that bad of a ride. Some bouncing, some brusing. The funny thing was my X partner couldn't be found when I finally got the basket on the ground. Heh.tallest lift i've been in was a 135'.  had to go 70' up and 65' out to get on top of a roof.  one bump of the joystick equalled about 4' of movement.  pretty scary.  once we got on the roof we had to put lightening protection down the peak using a rope grab going both directions.  12 on 12 roof.  not fun.  worked inside the stack at the local power station putting cable tray up the inside.  285' from deck to deck.  you could get up high enough to were it was nothing but black underneath you.  since the stack tapered in we were about 25' from it when we started to right up against it at the 285' mark.  we had steel cables anchored to the walls to pull our selves in.  i felt more comfortable in the man basket than i ever have in a lift.  its hard to do, but you just have to put it in the back of your mind and concentrate on the job.  sometime easier said than done, but it still has to get done.  nic ejob on overcoming your fears and making it happen.
Reply:Where the fun starts, is when welding while leaning back in a safety belt, lift your hood and look down to see your rope lanyard is on fire! 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:Originally Posted by CEPWhere the fun starts, is when welding while leaning back in a safety belt, lift your hood and look down to see your rope lanyard is on fire!
Reply:Originally Posted by powerThis is not high off the ground welding for some of you guys but for me 3ft off the ground well It could be a mile!!  I dont care at all for heights but this job needed done. Mounting a new starter box for the hoist..Converting it to electric!! Sure is going to be easier then using the chains to move!! Yep was tethered and all saftey devices set. But I couldnt tell if the hoist was moving or just me shaking!! lol
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749Screw that! Noooo way I could do it. I would be scared green........
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPSeems as I remember a lot of the rope lanyards had a small cable inside them. But as JimboSlice says, it doesn't take you long to find a chain lanyard. I've seen guys lean back in their lanyards, but only have one hook in a D-ring, the other in a leather tool loop!
Reply:Dam this turned out really interesting!! Thanks for sharing all of the stories and pictures been enjoyable. Thanx Dale OP.Miller 250DX HTP 221 DV AC/DCHenrob O-A Miller 180 MigMiller 150 Inverter   Hobart 10,000 Welder-Generator   Have a good day!!!
Reply:Originally Posted by BEYTILLThat one is for rebar walls. Here in Il you wouldn't be alowed near a lift with that one.
Reply:This is a second hand story from an engineer here at work.  Two guys had a stack of 1/2" steel plates in a JLG basket and it was way over loaded.  They were trying to reach out to put patches on the top of a steel kiln of some kind.  Some how the stack of steel plates slid out of the basket and the sudden weight shift catapulted the two welders out of the basket and to their death.  They were not tied off.  It's a firm rule at our plant you must be trained annually, fill out an inspection book every shift and be tied off to the basket at all times.  No flexibility on these rules at all.Dan D.
Reply:Maintance job I worked  had a 5 ton overhead crane about 30' to the top of the rail, one Saturday the forman and I had to do weld some 1" braces on the bridge beams. Got the scissor lift in place but about 6' short of where the welding was to be done at, Jack gets up on the hand rails  with out a tie off and does the welding with one hand holding onto the bridge rail.After we had completed the work I asked him about why no safety belt and tie off, he told me the only time he used a belt he fell off the side of a crane about 120+ ' up and it took 15/20 min. before they could get him back up and on the crane. He told me that the next time he went over it would be all the way to the ground, but if I wanted to use a belt go right ahead and keep on doing it. ( Like I would stop jest becouse he didn't use one)Jack was a h*ll of a old school welder and a great forman, but he came up  short on some safety points.Joe
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749This video is still the gold standard when it comes to heights.....http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=N93Fp...%3DN93FpcvWGTo
Reply:Originally Posted by BEYTILLThat one is for rebar walls. Here in Il you wouldn't be alowed near a lift with that one.
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPThe short chain lanyards are only used to position yourself more comfortably. These have been required since the early 90s for any work 6-feet or more off the ground.
Reply:Originally Posted by CEPThese have been required since the early 90s for any work 6-feet or more off the ground.
Reply:Put some venetian blinds up today for SWMBO.  OSHA would not have approved the technique."USMCPOP" First-born son: KIA  Iraq 1/26/05Syncrowave 250 w/ Coolmate 3Dialarc 250, Idealarc 250SP-175 +Firepower TIG 160S (gave the TA 161 STL to the son)Lincwelder AC180C (1952)Victor & Smith O/A torchesMiller spot welder
Reply:Originally Posted by Stick-manI've always wondered, what part of your body has to be 6' off the ground? I heard, if you are on a 6' ladder you need to be tied off, which would mean your head is over 6', not your feet. Is there a specific rule to this requirement?And my ironworker buddy mentioned something about not having to tie off in a certain situation, that is specific to only ironworkers. Maybe you can expand on this CEP, if you don't mind.
Reply:The rule is 6 ft but alot of companies are now requiring tie off at 4 foot.  You are suppose to tie off overhead to limit how far you will fall. Some of the plants I have worked in recently are requiring self arresting lanyards, picture a self retracting dog leash, the are nice because you won't fall very far, but you have to be careful about traveling horizionitally from where you tied off. You don't have to tie off in some cases if doing so is more dangerous then not.
Reply:Tie off in equipment is generally to keep the worker from climbing on the rails and or out of the machine, this is when the four foot lanyard should be used as the worker cannot climb with such a short leash. It's getting to the point that safety is becoming to cumbersome and actually creating more hazards in some situations. This is why iron workers are not required to tie off in certain situations during the erection process.. Safety can be extremely expensive and so contractors refuse to follow the rules. In this case I simply pass the info onto my PM and they withhold payment until they comply.But I've also been around long enough to know that there are just times when you gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done. Big Jeremy
Reply:Originally Posted by Stick-manmy ironworker buddy mentioned something about not having to tie off in a certain situation, that is specific to only ironworkers. Maybe you can expand on this CEP, if you don't mind.