Not logged inAmerican Welding Society Forum
Forum AWS Website Help Search Login
Up Topic Chit-Chat & Non-Welding Discussion / Off-Topic Bar and Grill / Welding hood drop Test!!
- - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 01-24-2014 02:23
Was out in Missouri a few weeks ago working a itty bitty tower, 275' being converted to a 325'. I carry my hood off of a tool lanyard attached to my back D Ring. Other methods such as a bolt bag ride have proved to be unhealthy for a hood when it is being tagged out and banged off the side day in and day out. Have one Miller Elite with a cracked lens due to this type of ride.

So, climbing down, wind blowing as usual and the hood got hung up on something, lord only knows what. Then I heard a pop and looked underneath and there she goes. Over 200 feet I saw it leap for freedom, bang off a diagonal, bounce off the ladder, then more banging and bouncing as it continued to fall until it finally hit the ground. As I climbed down cussing the fact that I already own one busted up $400 hood and now apparently I have another $400 plus, busted up hood. When I arrived at the base I wandered for a few minutes to trying to locate it. Found under an ice bridge behind a spool of wire was my Speedglas, my bbq black painted baby. As I knelt to pick it up I noticed the head gear busted up pretty bad. Carrying what I thought to be a corpse over to the truck I picked up my striker and put the hood on. Flick, flick and it worked perfectly!! Picked up a new head gear in St. Louis and have been welding with it here in Indiana for a few weeks!

My Miller was never dropped, just rode the bags up. I have to say I am impressed with the Speedglas and the beating I saw it go thru on it's way down. Ain't nothing like some real world field testing!!
Parent - - By welderbrent (*****) Date 01-24-2014 02:28
:lol:  I don't think I would want to try that on a regular basis.  May have been just dumb luck.  That or one very blessed day by the Almighty.

Have a Great Day,  Brent
Parent - By mcostello (**) Date 01-24-2014 02:31
Some days You get to win one, You just don't get to know when it's coming.
Parent - - By Smooth Operator (***) Date 01-24-2014 02:53
Dude....... YOU GOT LUCKY !!!!!!!!!! Try it again, bet your results will be different........Stay safe Shawn.....And keep the stories coming, I enjoy hearing about this gig you got going.......( I have a hard time bringing myself to climb a 10' step ladder in my shop since my accident )
Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 01-24-2014 13:18
I thought it was just dumb luck myself but the ladder was in the corner of a 4 leg tower. Barely enough room for your harness and body between the leg and ladder. It tumbled down the ladder, bounced off diagonals, horizontals and then on the ground. Perhaps the good Lord said, "he's only got this hood, so, we'll give him a break". If so, than you Lord!! Don't want to attempt it again though!! LOL!!
Parent - - By jwright650 (*****) Date 01-24-2014 13:43
Whew!...I read your last post too quickly and thought that I had read that YOU took the tumble, bouncing off of several things on the way to the ground. We need your input around here so stay safe brother...I know hoods aren't cheap, but you can replace those things.

what I thought that I had read:

>I tumbled down the ladder, bounced off diagonals, horizontals and then on the ground. Perhaps the good Lord said, "he's only got this hood, so, we'll give him a break". If so, than you Lord!! Don't want to attempt it again though!! LOL!

Parent - - By Cumminsguy71 (*****) Date 01-25-2014 10:56
Hahaha!! No, not me!!! Although on this very same tower a few days earlier it had a thin layer of ice all over it. We were up at 275 trying to get ready to weld. Wind howling, cold and just your normal horrible day. I had to lower myself down below the catwalk, I say lower, had to climb down some diagonals. Had my safety connected, holding onto our new tower section angles above me. These were not ideal handholds as the angle was facing me. I stepped down onto the angle, checked my footing and put my weight on my foot. It slipped down the diagonal and I clenched the angle above. Good ol' one handed save. Climbed back up and called down below and told them "no way!!". Did this very same thing at the rock climbing gym the other day, slipped off my footing and supported myself with 3 fingers(somehow) then regained my foot hold. My belay guy below said, "how'd you do that??". Told him practice and the reason I like coming to the rock gyms because I believe this exercise/training is what kept me from testing out my safety gear that frigid day!!
Parent - - By Superflux (****) Date 01-26-2014 20:19
Shawn,

Not advised to depend 100% on safety equipment.
Just got this in the company email the other day.
I never did like or trust the "Yo-Yos" that are supposed to work like seatbelts.

Alert description:
On 17 January, while performing preventative maintenance, an ROV Technician fell from the top of the
cage. He was wearing the required fall arrest harness attached to a self retracting lifeline (SRL). The SRL
failed to engage, allowing the tech to strike the deck.

Findings:

 The crew reports that the SRL did not engage
 The SRL had been certified by the manufacturer within the past 12 months
 The investigation team found a second SRL that failed to engage when tested

Immediate Corrective Action:

 It is recommended that all SRLs, both in use and spares, be tested using the test procedures
listed below.

Test protocol, per Webb-Rite Safety, Inc.
1) Pull the lifeline several feet to check that it fully extends and freely and automatically
retracts.

2) Jerk the lifeline while extended to verify that the double locking mechanism is working
properly (perform this step at least 10 times).

3) Visually inspect the lifeline for fraying, kinks or broken strands.

 It is recommended that SRL tests be documented, including the SRL location, manufacturer,
serial number and pass or fail status. SRLs that fail should be removed from service and
replaced. Please immediately alert your local Operations and HSE Team if any deficiencies are
found.
Parent - By ssbn727 (*****) Date 01-27-2014 06:28
Good lookin out John!!!

Shawn, I hope you take that seriously as well as anyone else who wears one of those harnesses with an SRL :eek::eek::eek:
Remember that if you want to return to your family alive and healthy, you must always think SAFETY FIRST!!!
This is not a lecture but. it is a friendly reminder okay???
Once again John, thanks for the Heads Up!!!

Respectfully,
Henry
Parent - - By Lawrence (*****) Date 01-24-2014 15:44
This one will take the fall :)

.
Parent - By Tommyjoking (****) Date 01-24-2014 18:02
Larry I have seen a lot in my years but that is a new one on me!   WHat is up with the slider/ratchet/knob gizmo thingy on the top?   Is that like a weird version of the Cali hood before auto lenses or ....???   You are right about the old huntsman riveted hoods taking punishment,,,also good for shoving into tight places where your head really does not fit (make up your own jokes please).   I dunno what they are making those Jackson Halo hoods out of but they are very light and super flexible like a weird sort of rubber....busting one of those would take effort, however since Jackson is now owned by a tampon manufacturer I think I will have to retire all mine.
Parent - - By lo-hi (**) Date 01-24-2014 20:27
Have used the huntsman slider for the last 20 years and the only thing that has destroyed them is being left outside in a thunderstorm by my boys. But it was okay, because after driving a hour and  half to the job and not having a hood in my truck,  I went and bought another. At least they were showing an interest in the trade.
Parent - By welderbrent (*****) Date 01-25-2014 02:22
Kids...and now, grandkids, aren't they great.  I have gotten more new stuff that way.  :lol:

Have a Great Day,  Brent
Parent - By ssbn727 (*****) Date 01-25-2014 11:47 Edited 01-27-2014 06:23
I miss my EB short shield!!!:cry::cry::cry: Huntsman used to make something similar but that was many moons ago...

I learned how to weld with the old Jackson hard hat shields which were really cumbersome and yet were required for welding in any open spaces...

I used my short shield in close quarters which was just about everywhere I worked when we were building Submarines in good old Rotten Groton, CT...

One of my students decided to make my short shield their own quite a few years ago and I hope that who ever did get radiation sickness from it!!!:roll:
I'm kidding!!! I just hope they put it to good use instead. Man do I miss that shortie!!! it was like an old friend who went to many battles with me and was always there in a pinch!

Oh well, hopefully, if my memory works as good as it sometimes does these days, I can remember enough to design an updated version of it and post it so you all could make comment on it soon enough... This is the closest to what my short shield looked like except that it wasn't designed to be used with a full face respirator as this one is.

http://www.afcintl.com/welding-shield-for-sr200-sundstrom-full-face-mask-28.aspx

http://www.google.com/patents/US1205308

Respectfully,
Henry
Parent - - By Sourdough (****) Date 01-26-2014 18:33
Sometimes you get lucky! Dropped my pancake out of a basket @ 75ft twice. I watched it ride the wind all the way to the pavement like a tiny AWOL space ship. Rode the basket down, tightened the strap a little, and proceeded to make welds.

Then.....my jack russel pup got ahold of it.
Parent - By Superflux (****) Date 01-26-2014 20:02 Edited 01-26-2014 20:07
The riveted "paper" Huntsman hoods win the contest when it comes to the drop test. A friend of mine's took a 310 foot dive off a boiler. Straight shot to the ground, no rattle bangy clangys. After some creative forging of the lens holder, he was back to welding. Not sure if the slider model could survive that and still slide
I always loved them for the weight, never found a hardhat attachment for them though. Too narrow in the temple width.
Up Topic Chit-Chat & Non-Welding Discussion / Off-Topic Bar and Grill / Welding hood drop Test!!

Powered by mwForum 2.29.2 © 1999-2013 Markus Wichitill