Got real busy on these methane well hook-ups, and needed more help. My singlehand was in sunny Texas for a week, (how can I blame him), and I needed someone to fill the void. One night at the tavern, a guy aproached me and asked if I was a welder. I didn't look the part with my cap covering my ears, smoke blackened face, and Ray Bans on crooked over top of my cap.....
Anyway, I hired him on the spot to help me sew some 2, 3, & 4" risers together that week. He had a nice rig, but I noticed all his tools were brand new, including the machine. Upon asking, he admitted he had just broke out on his own. Okay, (I thought), and we strung out our leads and went to work.
Well.............I went to work. He went to putting in beads with no penetration, huge blow throughs, only one grinder and no wire wheel, etc....I actually had to help him set his machine so he could burn rod.
I watched this, and thought to myself, "good God, this man is a "welder" and he doesn't know how to weld! After his first attempt, I leaned in, put my hand on his shoulder and said, "lets talk"....so we talked.
Turns out he had been a pipefitter for about 6 months, got tired of it and went out and maxed his credit on some new tools, thinking he would cash in on the demand for good welders. Problem was he wasn't quite a welder yet. I currently have him running a torch and beveling machine ahead of me, but with the understanding that when all the parts are cut, he's going back to the refinery to pipefit.
2 morals to the story......
1: DO NOT hire any hands out of the tavern!
2: This is exactly what I have been whining about since I began visiting this forum.......so many times I have had my throat cut by these guys that aren't really welders. Please believe that I have no complaints about a person bettering themselves, it's what I did many moons ago.....BUT.......for all those guys out there that think that just because they have the tools, it does not mean that you are a welder, period. If you wan't to be a welder, learn how to be a welder, period.......
Go to school, work for a veteran for a while and learn the trade, become a single hand and be around some fellas that know what they are doing, or join a union...............DO NOT run out, buy a big truck, machine, insurance, and hand tools, and actually think you will go out and compete with the big dogs. You may get a few paychecks along the way, but sooner or later you will get eaten by the pack. Nobody ever forgets a sorry welder, but everyone remembers a good one......
Remember the ol' sayin? "Welders can fit but fitters can't weld"! Looks like it still holds true. But Hey, easy on the not hiring out of the bar. I've gotten a lot of jobs off the bar stool. And I CAN weld. In fact never busted an xray, busted a test or told a fib. Yea those accursed refinery fitters all think we're just a fusion machine for their "perfect line-ups and gaps". Another pet peave of mine is "rig welders" with no tools. We ( I just gave 'em the test ) hired one fella with a brand new truck, ( no bottles or torch ) new Lincoln and 50' of lead. That's one lead!! He cut it in half for a ground and proceeded to park his rig in the shop. About an hour later I went to our safety man and told him he was going to have to send him home till he bought some more lead....The @#$%$@&^$ didn't even have a Crescent wrench!!!!!!!!!!
Not entirely true, i never had a welding class in my life, i was an ironworker when i was younger, fitter as i got more beat up and aged, I never failed a pre employment weld test or any UT's of my welds.
On another note, I had a guy test a few weeks ago, talked a good talk, said he was an owner of a welding shop, had written many WPS, done inspections etc, etc.
walked in to take his test with a hood, no gloves, no safety glasses no pliers nothing but a hood. told him he needed tools to test. my boss intervened and said he talks the talk and decided to loan him the needed tools. I hand him a WPS and instructions and have him sign a paper saying he understands the test and rules.
its a 3G up 1" plate with 1/16 FCAW . first thing he wants is to weld flat, nope, plate has to be vertical. next he puts the plate in 2G position. shoulda run him off then, but my boss liked him. he then gets the plate set up at a 45 deg angle. not like that i said. has to be 80-100 deg vertical. so then i proceeded to watch him run a root pass. starts at top and runs downhill. told him to collect the tools and give back to my boss, told my boss if he liked him so much he could give him a job in the corporate office, he sure as hell wasn't going to weld under my watch! this guy was no spring chicken either, was in his 50's and said he been welding for 30 years. I'd like to name him Honorary FC Chairman. I bet he could add another chapter to whats already written!
Put on the funny lookin hat, put the metal thingy in the holder thingy stick it to the pipe thingy im a flippin welder now. hooray
A question comes to mind.
Did you ask if he had any welder certifications, a qualified WPS, or anything that would provide objective evidence he had any capability as a welder or was the decision to team up based on satisfying your immediate needs?
Don't get me wrong, the questions I asked are not intended to put you on the defencive. I'm just curious as to how you determine the man was capable of doing the work.
As you said the truck and tools were shiny and new. An indication the tools were inexperienced as well as the man using them.
As an inspector, the situation you wrote about is not that different from what I see on different job sites. A ten week course in the basics of welding, a new pickup truck with an air cooled welder in the bed with the warning labels still attached, and a "newbie" that is ready to tackle the big jobs!
Heaven help us, but that's what keeps me busy!
Best regards - Al
man that sucks for that dude. I just bought a old 62 sa 200 as a fixer upper and oneday I'd like to go and start my own thing but I know I gotta get the experience. I'm actually working as a tig pipe welder in a clean shop right now and been trying to find a place I can go stick weld I need to practice more on my stick before I try and go weld a pipelinee somewhere. When I was in school I did great at stickwelding pipe but man after tiging a while I have lost it but man I'm not gonna go out there and try and do something like that I know I gotta get the experience first.
Chris
I had just become the shop inspector that week. Mr. X was connected. The pres. of the company called me and said to test the man (hey, he signed my paycheck and I administerd a fair and impartial test). He did pass the test and only had a 20% x-ray failure rate which was far above the norm for our facility.
In closing, I no longer work there and the (former) pres is currently under indictment for embezzelment. I sleep good at night.
803056:
Well, I usually never ask for papers when I hire someone on. After about 10 minutes I can tell whether I should send them off for a test or not. I just got to missing Mama Sourdough, and Baby Sourdough and thought I would cut a day or 2 off my bid schedule. Dumb, on my part..........
Hey - Like Chuck Yeager said : in air combat its the man, not the machine.
well then looks like i still have a chance at least i admit what i can anc cant do or have3nt done yet but i'm getting there i may not be as fast as you but i have all the worn tools to do the job if it's on my truck and new it dont stay that way long sounds like you got some work going on up there good for you glad to see ya back hope it wasnt me that ran ya off with all the questions i asked
well I got to give you credit Sourdough...your choice might be born of necessity..but at least you are giving him the chance to see a little bit of field fitting and what it takes. He is getting a bargain, he could have been out on a job and ended up doing a lot of weld removal for free or paying out his but for material replacement.
Hi guys, when it comes to hiring a welder, i think a lot of what i read is a product of what's happening out there among you welders.
I'm from the east coast of canada (nfld), i think we have an excellent system for tracking the history of a welder.
We have Welders Log Books. Those log books are used to keep track of the welders work history/welders performance qualification test records.
Each test that a welders completes and passes is put in that log book (signed by the inspector). When the welder is finished a job for a contractor; then the dates/company name when he started and finished that job is recorded and signed off by the forman. If there is anybody interested in this system, let me know and i will scan some of the log book for you to see.
dh
5354........
I like a number of things about Canada's system. But I'm a long way from supporting "Federal" government control over all welding in the U.S.
I'm pretty sure we would not do the job as nicely as you folks seem to be pulling it off.
The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
Ronald Reagan
a little off topic but:
I HEARTILY ACCEPT the motto, -- "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe, -- "That government is best which governs not at all"; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient. The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.
thoreau
our government is caving into corporate pressures to import cheap labour( Jamaica, Nicaragua, Indonesia....) . my personal feelings are that we should let the wages catch up to profits and then and only then we should import personnel, and if they work for less because of fear: we should give them something to fear for real. the only way we can get a fair wage is if we stand together. if every person in north america took one week off work and did not purchase oil products for one week. we would have the attention of those that profit of of the working mans toil. we are the power not the government/corporation.
ok enough soap boxing.
im hung over please forgive me
darren
Ctacker, That happens every time my boss sees an applicant before I do. My boss likes anyone who says they'll do anything. Then I'm asked to test a man who has no gloves, a short sleeve shirt, tennis shoes, and cannot show you where three and thirteen sixteenths are on a tape measure. My boss thinks if they have a hood then they are a welder.
To test a man on measurements, tell him to mark at 10 feet and 12 inches..........it got me once, I will not lie.........!
hey i woulod be interested in something like that for personel records yea if you can scan it
Tommyj:
I suppose I could have run him off, but the fact that he wanted to learn kept him around. He's a good kid, you never know what may happen........
SD, I have got to give you credit. You gave this guy a chance, recognized that he has some skill (maybe not as the welder), and leveled with him on what he can do for you. We see that a lot in our shop, someone talks a big game on their welding skills, you test them and find out differently, but recognize that they are smart enough to work in other areas. I'll let them practice and hone their skills after hours and with some help, most of them acquire the skills that we need. Getting someone that has half a brain and works hard is the most challenging part of hiring a hand. If they have that, we can teach them to weld better (if you have enough time).
I needed some pcs. cut one day. I told the guy to cut them 1'-3" long, and then, just to keep him on his toes, I said, "No. Wait a minute. Cut them 15" long instead." The guy looked at me and said "Make up your mind."
Before we added the "measuring test" as part of our application for employment, applicants just wrote down that they could read a tape measure. Once a guy told me that he was good at reading a tape measure, so I asked him how many sixteenths are in an inch. He thought about it for a couple seconds, and said "seventeen".
Scott, I asked a guy in our detail material how many sixteenths are in an inch and he said that he didn't know for sure, but there sure were alot of them little marks on his tape line.
...but you have to know that I also asked this same person which way do you have to go to get to North Carolina(we are in Virginia) and he said "North, I guess".... so I told him that figured I'd head West to get to West Virginia then....zoom, that went right over his head.......LOL
Another one we use is asking how many 1/8ths are in a 1/16th.
That one gets almost everyone, but the smart ones realize they answered 2 and quickly change their answer.
ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?
There are 7 girls on a bus
Each girl has 7 backpacks
In each backpack, there are 7 big cats
For every big cat there are 7 little cats
Question: How many legs are there in the bus?
10,990 im thinking.....had draw that one out. haha
You got it. Unless someone disagrees.......
Well that's the answer, unless there were also boys on the bus, or maybe a bus driver. :)
Zero, you said they were on the bus,not in it.
mooseye, that reminds Me of a George Carlin routine : They said "get on the plane" George says " F--- You, I am getting IN the plane" "let the dare devils get ON the plane"
Nothing like George Carlin.......he's a genious!
i agree are you staying busy in co or wy hows the weather there
Man, I'm stuck at home again on account of I-80 closing again. I'm telling you, this year has been a nightmare with the weather. I'm still busy twice a month doing hook-ups for one outfit, but it's slowing down. Got shut down till June for sage grouse stipulations on the other hook-ups. Got a good gig down around Rifle till the stips go off. But it's like it always has been, feast or famine........
One day the world is a wonderful place - you have money in the bank, you're driving a new truck, and things are just peachy.
Then before you know it, all you do is spend hours in the office flipping through the rolodex trying to find a job.......you know the deal.
yea it slowed down in texas at the end of the year so im in kansas and got a good one here so im not leaving yet.
If you're in Kansas, Cheyenne Drilling might be looking for a welder.
Im pretty busy right now they give me sundays off thats about it but i appreciate the info.
If your in Virgina it would be west, lol
John, he was refering to the scenic route.
Forum
