cage doors for mine shaft.

[patrickp]

here are some cage doors i made for one of the local coal mines. these are on the elevator going down into the portal. they are 67 3/4 inches long by 42 5/8 inch wide. they wanted them made out of alum so it would be easier removing them for wide equipment.

[David R]

Good pics, nice gates, now can we see the welds and the hinges? :)

David

[farmersamm]

Another common sense good job.

Do you do most of your work above ground, or do you have to go down in the hole once in a while? It would scare the daylights outta me.

Most of what I do doesn't affect peoples' safety. Aside from the odd towbar, and hitch for stuff I run on the highway. I'm pretty lucky that I don't have that responsability.

[farmersamm]

I've read that those tram elevators go down so fast that your breakfast winds up around your tonsils.

[patrickp]

DAVIDR sorry no pics of welds and hinges. got done with em at 10:00 last nite. was gonna take some today of the welds but when i went to take the pictures the bell started ringing. which means the elevator is going down. before that we had the elevator locked out while we were hanging the gates. so i kinda had to move pretty fast. used the old hinges that were on the bent up gates.

FARMERSAMM yeah it moves pretty fast after the first couple of feet. this one is 400 feet down. haven't worked underground yet but it's in the plans here pretty quickly. they have some shuttle car work coming up. kinda looking forward to it. this is a long wall mine. the face which is where they are mining is about 2 miles from the elevator shaft.

[farmersamm]

My father, when he was young, and I was old enough to understand, talked about his experience in the service during WWII.

He worked maintenance on the B-17's in England with the 401st Bomb Group.

Some of the guys in his outfit were coal miners from West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He remembered that these guys were not people that you wanted to #### with. They didn't shout, puff up their chests, and all that other BS before gettin' into a fight. They hit you, and hit you hard. No words. You wound up layin' on your back lookin' at the ceiling.

Tough work makes tough guys.

[patrickp]

yeah i agree. miners are a different breed of people. it takes a special or (demented) type of person to work in a mine day in and day out. most of the ones i know are pretty good people.

[David R]

patrickp, I understand. I have shipped a lot of jobs still hot, or they had "baked on enamel finish"

David

[Shox Dr]

My father, when he was young, and I was old enough to understand, talked about his experience in the service during WWII.

He worked maintenance on the B-17's in England with the 401st Bomb Group.

Some of the guys in his outfit were coal miners from West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. He remembered that these guys were not people that you wanted to #### with. They didn't shout, puff up their chests, and all that other BS before gettin' into a fight. They hit you, and hit you hard. No words. You wound up layin' on your back lookin' at the ceiling.

Tough work makes tough guys.




:laugh::laugh: I live in the County of Yorkshire in England, Once upon a time there were Pits all around here, they were all closed in the late 80's.

Miners around here are/were called Pit Ponies, and you don't fcuk with them


I worked for a contractor that help build Stillingfleet Mine, part of the North Selby Complex, I just done a search and didn't realise it had also shut.



End of an era as mine shuts
From the Evening Press, first published Tuesday 26th Oct 2004.

THE billion-pound dream has ended, just 20 years after it began.

Riccall Mine closed today, bringing to an end mining in the Selby complex which started in 1983.

All five pits - Wistow, Stillingfleet, Whitemoor, North Selby and now Riccall - have shut, along with Gascoigne Wood Mine where the once "black gold" was washed and despatched by train.

As the last train of coal pulled out of Gascoigne Wood today, angry miners said the so-called dream had turned into a nightmare, while owners UK Coal insisted there was no prospect of the complex becoming viable. The world's largest deep mine complex disappeared into oblivion today after coalface workers at Riccall cut their last piece of coal from the Stanley Main seam.

But there were no celebrations, only sadness, anger and frustration among miners who believed they had a job for life when they moved to Selby more than 20 years ago.

When the then National Coal Board announced the Selby coal bonanza in 1974, it said it expected to mine about 250 million tonnes of coal from the Barnsley seam alone, in a coalfield that covered 110 square miles across the Vale of York. But severe geological problems, caused by huge faults in the coal seam, resulted in the complex producing 120 million tonnes of coal - less than half the anticipated amount.

It took 20 years and £1.4 billion of taxpayers' money to plan and bring the showpiece complex into full production.

The massive project included the sinking of 10 shafts - the deepest being at North Selby, at almost 1,000 metres - and the digging out of 124 miles of underground roadways. But NCB chiefs and the Government said the country would reap rich rewards from what would be the "jewel in mining's crown".

Wistow Mine was the first to cut coal, in 1983, and when the other four pits came on stream, things were looking good as coal was despatched to Drax, Eggborough and other major power stations across the country.

By the late 1980s, productivity was five times higher than the national average for UK mines.

The jewel has ended up a little tarnished, however, only once achieving the 12-million tonnes annual output it was designed to produce.

By the mid-1990s Mother Nature began to take its toll, with poor geological conditions resulting in roof collapses and flooding on the coalfaces and tunnels being crushed to half their original height.

Now under private ownership, coal bosses said they had no choice but to write off large areas of coal reserves, which had become unviable because of the unpredictable geology.

They decided, instead, to concentrate on mining areas with "more favourable geology and less uncertainty."

By the millennium year, annual output that five years earlier had been 11.4 million tonnes was down to 4.4 million tonnes and the complex was haemorrhaging money.

The coalfield that had once made operating profits of more than £100 million a year was now heavily in the red, notching up losses of £93 million between 1999 and 2002.

It was the beginning of the end.

At its peak, Selby employed more than 3,000 people, along with 1,000 contractors.

When the complex finally closed today, just 160 men were still working at Riccall and 95 at Gascoigne Wood.

Latest figures reveal that 664 miners have secured new jobs outside the industry, about 240 men have transferred to Kellingley Colliery and more than 900 are still undergoing new skills training.

But as Dave Tonks, National Union of Mineworkers' treasurer at Riccall Mine, says: "Given a choice, most of the men who have been made redundant would return to the pits. It's a way of life."

[patrickp]

hate to hear that. coal mining here in the states pays pretty good. plus the spin off from the mines helps boost the local economy. sounds like someone didn't do their homework. but on the other hand kinda hard to predict what's gonna happen when you get down there. a lot of factors come into play.

[Shox Dr]

It is sad,that it didn't workout. They knew the geological problems were going to be bad as they predicted the ground around here would drop over 36" because of the mining, and these mines were very deep at over 900yds+.
However they didn't realise how bad it in fact was. In West Yorkshire the subsidence is very bad in some places, not due to this complex but the many pits in the area.

[patrickp]

were they long wall mining? yeah good money just tough to get to.

[redlaker1]

saw this and just had to chime in...

they are some nice gates, but look kinda minimal for a service cage. I work in an underground mine and put miles on in a cage, our cages have doors that cover right from the floor to about 8' high or so they are 1/4 aluminum plate, with a small "window" of a bunch of 1/2 holes drilled through at eye level. at 1800ft a minute you want a good door. 400ft doesnt seem that deep to me, but I work in an underground shop that is 6000ft down, and I go deeper than that on the ramp every day. that looks like a pretty big cage compared to the ones I ride on. is that how all the men get down to work, or is there a ramp?

underground work isnt for everyone, but I have spent 10 hours a day down there for a while now, and its not unusual here like in many mining towns, my dad and his dad worked underground. I dont mind it at all, I am a mechanic and part time welder. one nice thing about underground is that everyone who is down there is there to work, so the BS is at a minimum. not alot of people walking around getting in your business looking over your shoulder. people are right about miners being tough, not the guy you want to tangle with.

anyway just wanted to give an insight into the underground world, it pays the bills, and it gets in your blood.. its a different breed of worker down here

have a good one

[patrickp]

yeah that's how they get to work on that elevator. they wanted the doors light because they have to remove them at least twice a day to get equipment on and off. they had some heavy duty steel doors that where the same size. i took the measurements off of them and built the new ones the same size. yeah 6000 ft is down there.

[duaneb55]

saw this and just had to chime in...

they are some nice gates, but look kinda minimal for a service cage. I work in an underground mine and put miles on in a cage, our cages have doors that cover right from the floor to about 8' high or so they are 1/4 aluminum plate, with a small "window" of a bunch of 1/2 holes drilled through at eye level. at 1800ft a minute you want a good door. 400ft doesnt seem that deep to me, but I work in an underground shop that is 6000ft down, and I go deeper than that on the ramp every day. that looks like a pretty big cage compared to the ones I ride on. is that how all the men get down to work, or is there a ramp?

underground work isnt for everyone, but I have spent 10 hours a day down there for a while now, and its not unusual here like in many mining towns, my dad and his dad worked underground. I dont mind it at all, I am a mechanic and part time welder. one nice thing about underground is that everyone who is down there is there to work, so the BS is at a minimum. not alot of people walking around getting in your business looking over your shoulder. people are right about miners being tough, not the guy you want to tangle with.

anyway just wanted to give an insight into the underground world, it pays the bills, and it gets in your blood.. its a different breed of worker down here

have a good one

8000'/minute!!!! Grow an inch on the way down - shrink two on the way back up.:rolleyes:

Welcome to the forum and be careful down there!

[redlaker1]

1800' a minute, but it still feels fast! have to keep equalizing so your head doesnt implode

they rarely take the doors off our cage, all the equipment gets slung underneath because the cage is pretty small. it would be nice to have a big cage, would save us assembling/disassembling the equipment so much.

its starting to get pretty hot down around the 6500ft level. hope we dont go tooo much deeper

[duaneb55]

I wouldn't mind experiencing a 'negative' mile+ sometime. What kind of temperature are we talking?

[redlaker1]

I mean 95+ F in the middle of winter. which seems hot to me, but I see you are from texas, so I guess you would be wearing a sweater in those kind of temps.
in the summer it is hotter, and the humidity is ridiculous. we have to put floor-dry on the floor of the shop all summer because it is usually too slippery to walk on

Duane I see you have a syncrowave 180, thats what I run at home.. but I got a lincoln mig 180 a while ago and I admit that I have got a bit lazy, just pullin the trigger

[duaneb55]

I mean 95+ F in the middle of winter. which seems hot to me, but I see you are from texas, so I guess you would be wearing a sweater in those kind of temps.
in the summer it is hotter, and the humidity is ridiculous. we have to put floor-dry on the floor of the shop all summer because it is usually too slippery to walk on

Duane I see you have a syncrowave 180, thats what I run at home.. but I got a lincoln mig 180 a while ago and I admit that I have got a bit lazy, just pullin the trigger

95F is good. I'm originally from upstate NY but I've been in the Lone Star long enough that 70 is fine, I'm chilled at 60 and freezin' at 50! Summer humidity is typically 90+%. I laugh when people complain about 70%.:laugh:

Haven't had much time to play with the 180 yet as I've only had it a few weeks but with what I have I really like it. Wouldn't want to be without my MM200 either as they both have their place.

[patrickp]

just a lil curious about which and type of mine you work at. if it's coal what system do they use? be pretty cool going down that deep.

[patrickp]

there are some mines that go down to 12,000 feet. one platinum mine is going down to 14,000 feet. talk about a journey to the center of the earth. wow.

[redlaker1]

I work in a narrow vein gold mine, there are some pretty deep ones in africa. I think below 8000 feet or so you need air conditioning. the mines in africa are so hot the workers have to spend a week down there just acclimatizing. and there are massive air conditioning units on surface and underground cooling the air coming down. most of the machines would have air conditioned cabs as well.
there are base metal and gold mines in canada that are deeper than 10000ft

I am not sure I would want to work in a coal mine, here the rock is the hardest in the world and we have pretty good ground support

[farmersamm]

I question the safety of the roof on my house during a bad thunderstorm. I don't see how you guys can manage down there. I'd be a basket case.

[patrickp]

[QUOTE=redlaker1;222616]I work in a narrow vein gold mine, there are some pretty deep ones in africa. I think below 8000 feet or so you need air conditioning. the mines in africa are so hot the workers have to spend a week down there just acclimatizing. and there are massive air conditioning units on surface and underground cooling the air coming down. most of the machines would have air conditioned cabs as well.
there are base metal and gold mines in canada that are deeper than 10000ft

I am not sure I would want to work in a coal mine, here the rock is the hardest in the world and we have pretty good ground support[/QUOTE
]

i bet with gold as high as it is they are cracking that whip to get it mined. it's also funny on how expensive mining equipment is. and yeah you don't have to worry about the roof caving in on you. around here the roof changes daily according to the weather and time of year.

[redlaker1]

ya things have been full throttle around here for a while now. mining equipment is crazy expensive, and thats if you can get it. with the high demand these days you just go on the waiting list. and the waiting list starts at 1 year.
I dont think I will ever be without a job as a mechanic thats for sure

the ground is pretty good in most areas around here, but its still underground, every minute you have to be cautious. I have been scared pretty bad in a few instances, but I keep coming back. somebody has to do it.

as long as the paycheques dont bounce

[patrickp]

surface mines are pretty dangerous too. big equipment running around. i imagine the money is pretty good in a gold mine. good mechanics are worth their weight in gold( no pun).

[redlaker1]

working around heavy equipment in any setting has its hazards. you just have to watch yourself and stay safe. the money is alright, puts food on the table.

it really is a good time to be in any trade. mechanics, welders, plumbers, electricians, millwrights, etc are going to be in really high demand in the near future.

[Shox Dr]

Too right it costs alot

The main Gallery (60' High) in the North Selby Project I posted about earlier, was machined by a massive machine I cant remember it's name it looked like a tank with the boring head on the barrel. Anyway it cost over 10million GBP over 20yrs ago at the time around 40mUSD after they had finished with it they just bored it into the rock and left it there:dizzy: