I'm glad to hear those welds were going to be buried in mud!
Just kidding. They are some nice looking welds!
I didn't notice any edge prep on the heavy lug. Were they attached with fillet welds only? It would seem that the fillets would have to be very large to develop the full strength of the lifting lugs depicted by the photographs. I didn't see sufficient clearance between the "boss" and the beam flange to permit the size fillet welds that I presume would be required to fully develop the joint.
There is something about photos of jobs and welds; I use my camera all the time to photo welds that are questionable, poor fit-up, etc. At a family gathering, I always seem to forget I own a darn camera. Maybe that is stretching the point a little, but it isn't too far off the mark.
I enjoy the photos attached to the posts. They add a lot of character and interest to the posting. Keep them coming fellas! Keep up the good work Marshall. Nice layout on the column Tacker. I haven't seen steel like that since the days of the nukes.
Unlike the dinosaurs, the nukes are coming back. I spoke with an Ironworker friend in Florida that says his brother is on a new nuke facility in Georgia. Ground has been broken and Ironworkers are on site at two new facilities in Georgia. Now, if we can just keep the fabrication here in the USA, there will be some nice work coming up.
More than likely some white shirt will decide it is politically expedient to have the stuff fabricated in China or India. This is when I believe tariffs should come into play. Free trade is a figment of imagination of someone living in an Ivory Tower. Keep the work in the US and the hell with the WTO and Wall Street and unemployment will recede to an acceptable level. Adam Smith had some good ideas on how the economic engines work, but the human element and cost is lacking in most of his theories. He didn't factor in the cost of the social safety nets that kick in and the loss tax revenues that must be factored in when "free trade" becomes the national mantra.
Maybe I shop in the wrong stores, but I haven't seen prices dropping just because all the textile mills in the Carolinas have been shuttered or the price of sneakers recede because Nike has decided to make their sneakers in third world countries. Instead, the prices have increased and the profits end up in the pockets of the few CEOs. It kind of reminds me of the "Robber Barons" of yesteryear.
To paraphrase and twist a quote from our old friend Ross P. a little, "That loud sucking sound is our national wealth being transferred to India, China, and a few other Third World Countries." It isn't a viable strategy for long-term economic survival.
Best regards - Al
Going to proof test your overhead cranes?......We do every time we got a batch of those babies are running through the shop. LOL...one column per truck load will get your tonnage reports rolling in a hurry.
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