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Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / eardrum agony
- - By Sourdough (****) Date 02-24-2007 07:57
How 'bout some eardrum stories, or just plain arc burnin' diaries??
Parent - - By RonG (****) Date 02-24-2007 20:06
Sourdough, Are you bored?
Parent - - By Sourdough (****) Date 02-24-2007 22:34
Yes, I don't go back to work till tuesday!
Parent - - By monsoon12 (**) Date 02-24-2007 23:57
Heres one for ya sourdough.......I was out drinking one night an had some mexican along with my favorite brew.The next day at work i had this awful pain in my stomach.I was sitting on a bucket welding the corner of a cradle for a ship.Well no sooner when i stuck my arc my stomach pain decided to release it self lol.As the blue flame rose from my bucket an i was knocked off it.I realized at that moment i had some on lookers lol.I was in such amazement at what had happened all i could do was laugh.
monsoon12
Parent - - By Sourdough (****) Date 02-25-2007 16:39
Least I'm not the only one!! HAW HAW....
Parent - - By dbigkahunna (****) Date 02-25-2007 18:20
Being one who could never make a pancake work, I have been relegated to a Jackson Pipeliner. Now as a recovering welder and self styled famous third party inspector I look on my learning as somewhat entertaining. Like before companies adopted facial hair policy's. After a night of drinking and inconsiderate passion, I was fitting a flange to a scraper trap on a crude oil line. Did it dawn on me this was a CRUDE OIL line? As a helper it was my job to jump through my a$$ when the welder hollered froggy. He hollered, I held and we both heard that "SWOOOOOOOOOSH POW" as flammable gas escapes.
Lit.
Hairy face in front of the flange, didn't want the flange to be out of level and the flange pins were on the face side. Hair lit up, helper threw down flange and welder started cussing at me. Me hung over and stinking chased formerly swearing welder down ROW with slag hammer in hand with the firm intent of putting pointed end between welders eyes. Whole crew laughing thinking it was funny. Then me having to explain to the boss where mustache, eyebrows, front of my beard and the welder was. BTW, the welder lit out and the boss gave him a ride to town. It was a lot funnier that evening after a few beers than just that minute. And since my head is like a gallon tomato can turned on its side, I learned to get my hats fitted with a long enough bill to cover my ears. That sizzle just before the pain hits then the metallic taste at the back of your throat as the BB works its way through your ear system? Oh what FUN! That, and an incident while welding on a loaded LPG line made me decide to become a self styled famous third party inspector. For those who don't know about maintenance welding on product pipelines, Yes, you weld with 400-600 PSI looking you in the face. You tend to either be very religious or not at all.
Thats my story. Yup boring Sunday in Middle GA from a recovering Welder
Parent - - By Sourdough (****) Date 02-25-2007 21:03
Good one! I had a similar thing happen to me while welding on an open coal bed well in Gillette, Wyoming back in '02. The pusher swore to me that it wasn't live. When all was said and done I spent 2 days in the can and many more days with busted eardrums. Aren't people grand? I laugh at it now, and so does he. Of course, it's over the phone. He still refuses to have drinks with me! My wife has tamed me since then, but man that experience almost made my skin turn inside out and I reacted with no thought process at all.......
Parent - - By MDG Custom Weld (***) Date 02-26-2007 16:38
I'm seeing a pattern here....Drinking.....Hummmmm...Most of the notable stories of one's life happen while in the sauce, or the next morning while recovering from being in the sauce. 

Can't disagree, but I'm keeping my stupidity to myself :)
Parent - - By dbigkahunna (****) Date 02-26-2007 21:36
That is not fair. Besides, surviving growing up is (was) half the fun. And it still happens. Close the bar down and be at work a 7:00 ready to go to work. 6 days a week. Maybe not pretty, but the truth. I made my mind up to be a good inspector, and you cant close the bars down or buddy with the welders if you drink with them. I have another one about the whole front end except for me the bead hand and the side boom operator getting thrown in jail. Firing line hit the front end before everybody got out of jail. I have discovered sober people dont do near the stupid things drunk ones do. 
Parent - By Sourdough (****) Date 02-28-2007 02:35
You're absolutely right, but I do pick good times to have the fun I do. I never, ever miss a job because of the way I feel. Worked for 2 weeks last month feeling like hell before I went and got checked out. Took 4 days off and hit the production line sparkin and arcin - loaded up with $500.00 worth of good antibiotics. I had pnuemonia! Doesn't that suck?

A good welder's job is NEVER done.

(ps. in my younger days, they called me "the Alaskan Assassin",  got the name in hockey and it stayed with me for years).

pss. (Never missed practice, no matter how bad I hurt).
Parent - - By makeithot (***) Date 02-28-2007 20:00
When I was just starting out, I was doing a repair inside a chip trailer we had removed the floor and I was just a bit short of being at that right height. So I grabbed the first empty five gallon pail I could find to stand on and went to work . It is amazing how far an empty can of paint thinner can propel you through the air. I remember as I was flying along, thinking about how much it was going to hurt when I came down but dumb luck was with me that day. I landed on my feet inside the trailer standing between two cross members that were still in place. To this day I still read every can I pick up and never use them to sit or stand on when welding. I like to refer to this story as the day I learnt to fly.
Parent - - By Sourdough (****) Date 03-01-2007 01:12
least you still have your foreskin, I guess!
Parent - By MDG Custom Weld (***) Date 03-01-2007 14:01
This thread has really taken a left turn from the "eardrum agony" and turned into the "war stories" post :)
Up Topic Welding Industry / General Welding Discussion / eardrum agony

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