Steel made in America

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 04-28-2011, 06:22 PM

Most of you know I work in a steel manufacturing plant. It has been a long time since I did the work of actually fabricating and welding at work since I moved into management 7 yrs. ago. Well we were light on experience for this project on the second shift so, I got the chance to do the work I probably most enjoy! I thought I'd share it with ya'll. It is a shroud for a natural gas burner exhaust. It is 10' long and 15" X 15" 250lbs. .229" thick.

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**randyt** · 04-28-2011, 06:41 PM

Nice job, what a nice change from management. I've been thinking of transitioning over to fabrication.

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 04-28-2011, 07:01 PM

Fabrication can be very rewarding. For me it would be most rewarding in a job shop making one offs....Though in a true manufacturing setting it can be very mundane making the same parts over and over. This project was so rewarding to me because it was mine from concept , design, engineering, fabrication and welding. I will even be powdercoating and installing it. Those have been my most rewarding tasks at work when I can walk by some from 20 yrs ago and say that was me! Also be advised that Fabrication will never be the same as the days when we layed out bolt circles and painstakenly ensured tolerances were met. Or even when we used our brains to write G-code which ultimately produced a part. Today you just push the green buttom software and laser technology changed it all forever thus the lack of skill to do this job on 2nd shift.

**hunter63** · 04-28-2011, 07:43 PM

Nothing like making something with your hands.
I spent 33 years in the manufacture of wire rope.......some call it cable.
Started out as a grunt, to material handler, to machine operator to set up guy, to foreman etc, etc.

Every once in a while the union crew would go on strike, so I/we would go back down to the shop and start making rope again....Was kinda fun...for a while, LOL.
People couldn't BS you much if you have done every job in the factory and knew what you were doing.
So I'm guessing you know all about that, Right?

One kinda humours occurrence was after I had loaded up a large, long job, would run for about 14 hours........
The president of the company showed up, looking for something to do....so I let him sit there and watch it run, checking it every so often, while I loaded up another job.

He left at lunch time...to go do president stuff, I guess.
Then the personnel guy show up, young collage guy, looking for something to do, as well.......So I set him down at the same job, to keep watch.

Told him that he could go far doing a good job....as the last guy that did this job, is now the president of the company, LOL, LOl

**Rick** · 04-28-2011, 07:51 PM

LOL. Thats pretty funny.

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 04-28-2011, 08:28 PM

Years ago we were more of a jobshop. I set the owner up on a pressbrake forming simple 90 deg. bends.....all went well for a time as I went about other tasks. I requested he check every 5th part to ensure the angle...well him and alot of others can't feel or see true 90 deg. with a square. Before long I could see the parts were underformed from accross the shop. I approached him and explained...very nicely mind you the parts were wrong and would have to be "hit again" He went home....I reformed the parts. Back then steel thicknesses were not very controlled at the mills. Today it is controlled to the minimum tolerance within .001" to save cost. Today if I set him up the run would of all been perfect. I tell you the skill has been removed!

**hunter63** · 04-28-2011, 08:37 PM

I have to agree, now you need to be a computer guy to even get a machine to run.

Our industry was a little bit different as the machines we basicially the same, long machines filled with multi-spools of wire twisted together to form a strand, then another operation would twist those strands into a rope.
New machines were the same, with more bells and whistles,.....But the different steel types acted differently so the was some skill to, "shoot ducks, by leading it" to get everything to come out right.

Still good to see your work in action.........Maybe that's why I like watching Ax Men and seeing the rope on the machines working....we made a lot of that stuff you see in action.

**COWBOYSURVIVAL** · 04-28-2011, 08:57 PM

Originally Posted by hunter63

I have to agree, now you need to be a computer guy to even get a machine to run.

Our industry was a little bit different as the machines we basicially the same, long machines filled with multi-spools of wire twisted together to form a strand, then another operation would twist those strands into a rope.
New machines were the same, with more bells and whistles,.....But the different steel types acted differently so the was some skill to, "shoot ducks, by leading it" to get everything to come out right.

Still good to see your work in action.........Maybe that's why I like watching Ax Men and seeing the rope on the machines working....we made a lot of that stuff you see in action.

No, I have to disagree...Today our least skilled people run our most elaborate high end equipment! A 1.2 million dollar laser has a green button push it and parts come from everywhere! We make 60,000 parts in a month this way!