Do Not Disturb and Blue Cloud

 Our Location today is Windsor, Ontario.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

After getting the Burners going on the Feedscrew already mounted in the PTA this morning, Mile asked if I could take a look at another one on the Inspection Bench. It wasn’t serious and would be a quick fix as far as I was concerned, but when he said to stop the Burners, then go back later I spoke up.

The Unit in the PTA would take over an Hour to bring up to the temperature needed for welding and I could slow down the Burners. The worse case for the quick fix would be an Hour, besides I have been showing Vic how to monitor the process in case of an emergency so he could watch the Burners.

Vic reported to me every time he walked by the PTA. The quick fix of a couple of Cracks turned into TIG Welding a complete Patch as the Cracks immediately formed right next to the weld. With the Pre and Post Heating, then wrapping the Screw in a Welding Blanket, it took Ninety Minutes to do the fix.

Over at the Plasma Transfer Arc after moving the Burners to further distribute the heat I was able get everything ready to start the Two Hour Weld. That was when I looked back at the Inspection Bench to see the Welding Blanket had already been tossed aside. I went and put it back in place, then tied it with a strap, before putting my “Do Not Disturb” sign next to it. By making it cool slower we avoid more cracking.

I went back to the PTA and hit the “Begin to Weld” button. Like yesterday the weld was going on like Butter on Toast. Like yesterday when the Torch reached the Transition Zone, it suddenly veered. Unlike yesterday, this time without hesitation I hit the Stop button. After finding the changed number and correcting it, I immediately shut the entire system down. I was not about to repeat the headache I had gone through just yesterday. This time when it was turned back on, the numbers were correct. The rest of the Feedscrew went down without any more problems.

Mile was amazed how good this Unit looked, even with that single panic spot. He went back to his Office to contact the Manufacturers of the PTA about having the program checked over.

My lunch break was less then Ten Minutes that I used to talk with Kathy. She had been shopping but had to run home so she asked me to get the Mail. I told her I was stopping at Windsor Gas and Diesel as well.

I serviced the PTA Torch before mounting the Unit I will start off Monday with. It’s a Six Inch Feedscrew that will take the entire day to weld, if there are no “Program Problems”. By the time I punched out, at the end of the shift, all the needed Numbers were in the program.

When I checked our Mailbox at Guardian Storage, it was surprisingly empty.

Since Coronavirus hit we have not travelled far, so our vehicles have needed less repairs. Well now the Car needs some TLC and I stopped at Windsor Gas and Diesel to schedule it. I don’t want Kathy driving it if it is not Safe. It will be repaired on Monday.

While there I had the chance to talk to Jim and Don. Neither of them knew what Feedscrews were or what they were used for and were amazed at the pictures I have on my Cell Phone. (One of these days, you will all get to see them.)

As soon as I was leaving the shop the Truck went into Regen mode. I headed straight to the Expressway so it could be run at Highway Speed, needed to clean the Diesel Particulate Filter. By driving to West Windsor and back was more than enough to stop the dreaded Blue Cloud that I am certain is not appreciated by those that are behind the Truck when it happens.

I stopped at Arby’s to get their Fish Sandwiches for our supper.

Kathy was watching the 6 o’clock Local News when I walked into the Apartment. While warning us of potential High Winds in the coming days, they also showed the Devastation caused by Tornadoes in the Southern States. I remember sometimes delaying our homeward trek because of those storms.

We both hope that everyone in those States are Safe.

Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment, unless it personally attacks someone for their opinion, or is Spam.

Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Park Ranger: “Sorry, you can’t fish here!”

Camper: “I’m not fishing. I’m teaching my worm to swim!”

Too Many Asides.

 Our Location today is Windsor, Ontario.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Even though I knew the first job I would be working this morning, I didn’t expect all the Asides that I would face.

First the Feedscrew needed to be brought to the Inspection Bench, where it would be welded. Next the Filler Plate needed bevelling before clamping it in place. Lastly the Shank had to be heated up so there would be no Thermo-Shocking that could lead to cracking.

Surrounded by the portable Welding Tent the process was under way before the regular shift began. Even though it had been preheated for over Ten Minutes the weld did Crack, probably due to the fact it was being Stick Welded and the heat was not totally evened out at the time. The only thing that could be done was to add more heat, the grind out the Crack and add more Amperage. Once the rooting was completed and additional material added, the job was a success. Then after adding Post Heat, it was wrapped in the Welding Blankets to prolong its cool down process. I hung a sign for it not to be moved until tomorrow and surprisingly it worked.

Before I could clean up Mile asked me over to the PTA. Pat the Consultant was there with another Proto-Type Heater. Since I had not turned on the Plasma Transfer Arc this morning, and I’m the only one in the Plant that knows how to operate it, I was asked to move the Carriage into various positions so measurements could be made. Like the Burner there is still more to do to make it work.

I actually had my first sit down break for this week, this morning. I had just finished cleaning up the first job when Mile said he needed another job by the end of the day. Since I had recently done a similar job I figured “No Problem”.

It was after 11:00 when I hit the “Begin to Weld” button and the Number 83 Hard Surfacing Powder was going down smooth. As I have been explaining in other posts, Feedscrews are sometimes made of Multiple Zones. I’ve also mentioned how on many occasions, the PTA likes to change the Numbers that control its movements. When today’s job transitioned from Zone 1 to Zone 2, everything went crazy.

When the Torch started doing a cross country dash I instinctively hit the “Stop” button. Getting rid of the extra weld took some grinding. I searched the Menu and found the Carriage Speed had increased by a Ten Factor. At first I thought I had mistakenly made the entree but once it was reset and it repeated the action I knew it was the Computer doing us in. The only drastic solution I had been told about was to shut the entire system down, then restart it, in hopes the problem would go away. After Eight Number Changes, Five Reboots and lots of Grinding, I was finally back in business. Mile didn’t want to believe me but, I hadn’t gotten rid of the excess welds, so he saw the proof.

I had spoken to Kathy just prior to the PTA acting up, and mentioned I could be late. With the Late Starting Time and the Computer Glitches, it was 5:48 when I punched out.

After depositing my Pay-Cheque at the Bank and being stopped by a Slow-Moving Freight Train, it was past 6:30 when I finally walked into the Apartment.

Supper was a Modified Store-Bought Thin Crust Hawaiian Pizza.

Looks like we are going to have some nasty weather heading our way.

Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment, unless it personally attacks someone for their opinion, or is Spam.

Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

You Might Be a Redneck If

You own a homemade fur coat.

Memories and Getting Trimmed.

 Our Location today is Windsor, Ontario.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

As mentioned in last night’s Blog, I already knew what I’d be working on today. Mile told me they needed a Quarter Inch built up so it could be machined. Since it had been mounted in the PTA yesterday, I simply went about all my preparations to add an Eighth Inch of material all round. I was able to use a single Burner to heat basically the immediate area that would be welded.

I had the welding process going before the regular start of the shift. It was minutes later when Mile brought me the Blueprint that had a shocking effect on me. Strangely I had not recognize this Feedscrew but, when the amount of material to be added went from Total to All Around. Even though I’d welded a New Feedscrew back in December, I wouldn’t see it again until February when one of our Machinists had an Oops. When that happened, Mile and I would work until 7:30 on Friday evening and another Eight Hours on Saturday to make this same repair. This time however, it was the Customer himself that tried to make an adjustment that got carried away.

Between keeping the Screw heated, the Torch functioning along with having a nervous boss pacing in and out of the area, saying I was taking too long, was starting to get to me. When he returned at 2:00 as I was beginning to clean things up, he just smiled. I had achieved in Seven Hours what had taken Twelve Hours to do the first time, including replacing the Argon Cylinder that had gone dry.

I already had Three Jobs lined up for tomorrow morning when I left at 3:32.

Kathy was happy to hear that I was heading for home, and even happier when I walked into the Apartment. Like on Monday we were leaving Twenty Minutes later, after I showered up.

We managed to arrive at Fantastic Sam’s before 5:00 for our Haircuts. Even though we were early Julia worked her magic and had us out the door before our appointed time.

We stopped at the nearby Arby’s where we used a Coupon for our supper. We took our time to talk and enjoy our meal while we also People Watched. (It’s great entertainment.)

Hopefully tomorrow brings more than just work.

Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment, unless it personally attacks someone for their opinion, or is Spam.

Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

I just finished the book about Mount Everest.

It was a real cliff-hanger!

Rebuild and Customer Oops.

 Our Location today is Windsor, Ontario.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Mile was all smiles when I greeted him this morning. After I stressed the importance of the heat loss on Feedscrews yesterday, he was all for me finishing the Rebuild today.

There was a problem that I had to deal with though. One of the Burners had a broken Pilot Light Bracket that needed repair. Setting the Rebuild on heat with the other Burner gave me a chance to TIG weld the Bracket. Then when I went to reconnect the Quick Disconnect for the Air, the fitting would not latch. After repeated attempts to connect it failed, and the Rebuild with its stored heat from yesterday and the Burner today was ready to be welded, I went for it.

Today I was just going to build the Secondary Flight. Since they had yet to be welded, we were starting from scratch. At Thirty-Five Minutes a pass, I kept an eye on the build up with hopes of being finished before lunch. As I was doing the final check after Seven Passes, Mile came around and saw the height difference. Even though I mentioned the lower Flights were the Main Flights welded yesterday and were already over what he wanted, he said to add another pass on the Whole Thing.

Instead of sitting down to talk with Kathy at lunchtime, I spoke to her while standing by and monitoring the PTA as it added the final pass.

It was past 2:30 when the Rebuild was put in the Sandbox. I also needed to replace the Argon Cylinder that was completely drained on the Rebuild.

I then mounted the next Unit that I’ll start in the morning. This Unit was an Oops sent back from the Customer after he tried to adjust it himself and ended up removing a Half Inch of material all around, that was supposed to be the Spline. I should be done by noon.

Kathy was happy to see me walk in the Apartment before 4:00. What neither of us counted on was my eyes closing for a while. The 6 o’clock Local News was half over before I served our Veggie Wraps for supper along with the Triple Chocolate Cake we had for dessert.

Tomorrow will be interesting.

Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment, unless it personally attacks someone for their opinion, or is Spam.

Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Words of Inspiration

The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.

H. Jackson Brown Jr. Author