They're building this without me......

[Bob Wright]

Here in Memphis, they are building a new interchange between I-40 and I-240. There are five foot deep plate girders, spanning eighty feet or so, curving gracefully and climbing. There are concrete piers, with 1 1/4" re-bar protruding, and giant re-bar cages. And I'm not a part of that.

Seems like I ought to have on a hard hat, with my ear plugs tied around my hat band in back and dangling down my back, and a pair of leather gloves stuffed into my hip pocket.

I could have made the shop drawings for those steel girders! I could have made the layout drawings for pier locations! I should be clomping around in one of those office trailers with muddy boots.

I started out in 1968 as a draftsman with a steel detailing firm, went to a engineering/contractin firm in 1975, and retired in 2006. I was a draftsman, later a design draftsman. senior designer, and senior mechanical designer, but always a draftsman. I took field measurements so I could draw what was there, what was not going to be there, and what was going to be there.

Man! I sure miss those days!

Bob Wright

 

[Wyandot Jim]

Here in Memphis, they are building a new interchange between I-40 and I-240. There are five foot deep plate girders, spanning eighty feet or so, curving gracefully and climbing. There are concrete piers, with 1 1/4" re-bar protruding, and giant re-bar cages. And I'm not a part of that.

Seems like I ought to have on a hard hat, with my ear plugs tied around my hat band in back and dangling down my back, and a pair of leather gloves stuffed into my hip pocket.

I could have made the shop drawings for those steel girders! I could have made the layout drawings for pier locations! I should be clomping around in one of those office trailers with muddy boots.

I started out in 1968 as a draftsman with a steel detailing firm, went to a engineering/contractin firm in 1975, and retired in 2006. I was a draftsman, later a design draftsman. senior designer, and senior mechanical designer, but always a draftsman. I took field measurements so I could draw what was there, what was not going to be there, and what was going to be there.

Man! I sure miss those days!

Bob Wright

Well Bob,
Until this post I always thought of you as a sane person. Now I'm going to have to rethink that. :wink:
I started in 1963 as a Process Piping Draftsman and retired as a Project Engineer/Mechanical Inspector with a lot of Field Construction and Commissioning Experience and retired in 2005.

No way do I miss one Damn bit of it :D :D

 

[JFB]

I never "built" any project, but I was the comissioning engineer on several power plants (steam turbine) and I know the remorse of not living in a temp office trailer, working around the clock, climbing stairs, breathing concrete dust and calcium insulation. the adridelan of bringing one to life and the sadness of driving away when finished!

I sure hope I will get one last chance

 

[Cracker-American]

The next to last phase of my working life was spent as a project manager/owners rep/clerk of the works/specification writer on concrete restoration projects. I had the opportunity to work with some of the premier engineers in South Florida. Most of them were re-building cantilevered balconies on ocean front high rises.

I suffer from fear of heights yet not a day goes by that I do not miss riding a swing stage up the side of a high rise to do my inspections.

 

[huntsman22]

Seems like I ought to have on a hard hat, with my ear plugs tied around my hat band in back and dangling down my back, and a pair of leather gloves stuffed into my hip pocket.

I was a draftsman, later a design draftsman. senior designer, and senior mechanical designer, but always a draftsman.

What were the gloves for?

 

[Bob Wright]

Seems like I ought to have on a hard hat, with my ear plugs tied around my hat band in back and dangling down my back, and a pair of leather gloves st
What were the gloves for?

For one thing I got a better grip on ladder rungs. And some of those rungs had that perforated steel "cheese grater" rungs. And hanging onto the handles of belt type manlifts. Helped in opening inspection doors.

And they just looked cool sticking out of your hip pocket.

Bob Wright

 

[Selena]

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.

Or if you prefer you can do as my Dad does when my idiot brother tells him he has a crop to get in/out...

Stand there, grit your teeth and mutter "after me shall come a builder, tell him I too have known" under your breath. Usually followed by my step-mother saying - remember there is a time to sow and a time to sit in your chair and let the children get the blisters and sunburn.

 

[JFB]

...What were the gloves for?

Well that just knocked me out of my reminising!

Before I had to quit on the periodical maintance inspections, the "safety Law" had become you needed to have on your person the proper glove for the task you were planning to perform, thus I had to carry 3 different pairs just to walk around! surgeon gloves for clean inspections, fabric/neoprine for general inspections, and leather for ladders, lifting, rigging.

I knew it was time to think about leaving when I met a former plant employee that was once an underling that now was a manager and told him I would shake his hand latter as I had a little oil on mine. the SOB wrote me a safety violation!

 

[Bob Wright]

For further Scripture:

"Cursed is the ground for thy sake."

"If any man not work, neither should he eat."


Bob Wright

 

[Wyandot Jim]

...What were the gloves for?

Well that just knocked me out of my reminising!

Before I had to quit on the periodical maintance inspections, the "safety Law" had become you needed to have on your person the proper glove for the task you were planning to perform, thus I had to carry 3 different pairs just to walk around! surgeon gloves for clean inspections, fabric/neoprine for general inspections, and leather for ladders, lifting, rigging.

I knew it was time to think about leaving when I met a former plant employee that was once an underling that now was a manager and told him I would shake his hand latter as I had a little oil on mine. the SOB wrote me a safety violation!

Yep I know what you mean,
When I first started in Construction didn't even need a hard hat. Hard hats were for the clumsy Guys that ran into things :D We also road the headache ball on the Rig/Crane. As far as the cloves they were for the wimps. Never did and still don't wear them. Yea I have also worked as a Pipefitter sometimes. I did wear some thin ones that allowed me to write while working outside in Russia at minus 10/20. :D

 

[RugerHound]

Seems like I ought to have on a hard hat, with my ear plugs tied around my hat band in back and dangling down my back, and a pair of leather gloves st
What were the gloves for?

For one thing I got a better grip on ladder rungs. And some of those rungs had that perforated steel "cheese grater" rungs. And hanging onto the handles of belt type manlifts. Helped in opening inspection doors.

And they just looked cool sticking out of your hip pocket.

Bob Wright

Best laugh I've had all day! Thanks for that Bob!

 

[Colonialgirl]

My brother in SoCal was a lead welding inspector for the County/City of Los Angeles and did the inspections on the big waste water treatment plant and the Tunnel under LAX runways to the ocean. He ALSO did the inspections on the "new" loading ramp for the AirBus A-380 at LAX when it was built.
When I would fly into LAX to visit my Mom. he would pick me up at the gate as he had a pass for ALL areas and his truck was always parked in the Loading Zone outside the terminal. He had a sign noting that it was being used for "Official Business"; Okay so he shouldn't have, but it DID make ME feel "SPECIAL". :wink: :wink: :wink:

 

[Rumrunner]

My only thoughts on this are that I drive though Memphis every 2 weeks and I will sure be glad when all the construction is done.

 

[Ale-8(1)]

Bob:

I did 25 years with a pencil, and the final ten on CAD.

Gotta love welded structures.

What a life.

:)

 

[Mike J]

...What were the gloves for?

Well that just knocked me out of my reminising!

Before I had to quit on the periodical maintance inspections, the "safety Law" had become you needed to have on your person the proper glove for the task you were planning to perform, thus I had to carry 3 different pairs just to walk around! surgeon gloves for clean inspections, fabric/neoprine for general inspections, and leather for ladders, lifting, rigging.

I knew it was time to think about leaving when I met a former plant employee that was once an underling that now was a manager and told him I would shake his hand latter as I had a little oil on mine. the SOB wrote me a safety violation!

Yep I know what you mean,
When I first started in Construction didn't even need a hard hat. Hard hats were for the clumsy Guys that ran into things :D We also road the headache ball on the Rig/Crane. As far as the cloves they were for the wimps. Never did and still don't wear them. Yea I have also worked as a Pipefitter sometimes. I did wear some thin ones that allowed me to write while working outside in Russia at minus 10/20. :D

I understand. When I first started working construction hard hats were required on the big jobs. If we were working in a finished space or on a tenant job we would just wear ball caps. Safety glasses were to be kept with you but you only had to wear them if you did something that required them. Most guys only wore gloves in winter.

Now hard hats, glasses & gloves are required 100%. Most contractors also require a high visibility reflective shirt or vest. What can I say insurance companies seem to rule the world. I should qualify to retire in another 6 or 7 years. It remains to be seen whether or not that will be practical. I am seriously thinking I may retire & try to find another job that pays less but is also less physically demanding & less hassle to supplement my pension. The construction industry has changed a lot in the last 26 years. It isn't as much fun as it once was.

 

[longspurr]

I see I'm not the only one on this forum to have spent time in construction trailers. Some things change, draftsmen dropped the pencils and picked up Autocad. Some things stay the same, trailers, pipefitters, conduit – electricians, and riggers. Course as said earlier the safety rules have changed A BUNCH.

Doing maintaince / engineering with a fortune 500 company, I am now the "senior guy". Teaching the young pups just out of college how to do a project. I guess we were all idealistic and dumb at their age. It's not that the 20 somethings don't know a lot, just not much about working.
I don't miss the old days, looong days and long rides home. A softer role is very nice.

 

[Selena]

I see I'm not the only one on this forum to have spent time in construction trailers. Some things change, draftsmen dropped the pencils and picked up Autocad. Some things stay the same, trailers, pipefitters, conduit – electricians, and riggers. Course as said earlier the safety rules have changed A BUNCH.

Doing maintaince / engineering with a fortune 500 company, I am now the "senior guy". Teaching the young pups just out of college how to do a project. I guess we were all idealistic and dumb at their age. It's not that the 20 somethings don't know a lot, just not much about working.
I don't miss the old days, looong days and long rides home. A softer role is very nice.

I've never been in a construction trailer but I will say to you that have in general and Bob Wright in particular, that every building, bridge or factory is built off the sweat of those that came before you. That re-rod wouldn't be possible if not for a construction trailer before you building the extruding mill. That mill wouldn't have been possible with the trailers at a location to build the place that makes the cement, smelts the iron and alloys the steel. For every one of you that still spend time in one of those trailers there are a thousand on both sides of heaven that are saying they are building this without me. To them I say, they are able to build it because or you. What they are building here is just another link in a web of links stretching back to the first iron mills in America.

I've heard the exploits of those that worked "high iron" and low. I've heard old men speak of building I 65 and I70 with the same satisfaction and simple pride as my Dad speaking of the cattle he as raised or Doc Anderson the animals he has cured. I65 and I70 are still there, delivering the materials to build new structures that further the hallmark of American excellence.

 

[Bob Wright]

Selena,

That is the most eloquent tribute to the working man, and woman. Thank you for that.

Bob Wright

 

[exavid]

None of you guys get it do you? You didn't build that, someone else did it. (Barak Obama 2013)

 

[Selena]

None of you guys get it do you? You didn't build that, someone else did it. (Barak Obama 2013)

It appears you don't get it, "If I have seen further it is by standing on ye sholders of Giants." Sir Isaac Newton 1675 or 76