Been a while, how's everybody doing?

[Welder Dave]

I thought I posted last night but don't see it now so will try again. I haven't been on the forum for a few years but thought I'd check in and say high. I worked in technical product support (welding) at Acklands Grainger in Canada for about 5 years until my job was eliminated in May. The entire department (10 of us) were eliminated and replaced by the US team. I think I just got burnt out dealing with stupid people. Branch manager trying to call me out because I wouldn't give him a part number for high flow acetylene regulator was one example. Customer using a big rosebud said his regulator was freezing. I asked what size rosebud he was using and what size of cylinder and how many cylinders? After several attempts couldn't get any info what-so-ever so refused to give any part numbers. Idiot said his customer has been doing this for years and never had a problem. I gave him Victor's/Esabs's phone number so hopefully they would concur with me. My boss heard me on the phone and thought I was over reacting. I did a little searching and found an article in a welding publication on this exact topic and printed it. Article basically said the regulator was likely plugging with acetone and that's why the rosebud wasn't working properly. More importantly it probably saved the user from blowing himself up. I can't tell a customer how to make a bomb to blow themselves up.

Had a teacher at a school purchase an XMT350 with wire feeder package because he wanted to have the same machine the Skills Canada competition used. The chance of him teaching students to be qualified is beyond ridiculous. He's done a little stick but never Mig welded before. Calls me up because he has wire feed but no arc. Says he has the ground hooked up and the cord to the wire feeder and the wire comes out but no arc. After a couple minutes going through the set up he tells me there was an extra cable sent with a 1/2" lug on one end and he's wondering if it's needed. The manual is kind of vague with a poor picture but it never dawned on him a welding cable needed to go the wire feeder.

[shovelon]

I thought I posted last night but don't see it now so will try again. I haven't been on the forum for a few years but thought I'd check in and say high. I worked in technical product support (welding) at Acklands Grainger in Canada for about 5 years until my job was eliminated in May. The entire department (10 of us) were eliminated and replaced by the US team. I think I just got burnt out dealing with stupid people. Branch manager trying to call me out because I wouldn't give him a part number for high flow acetylene regulator was one example. Customer using a big rosebud said his regulator was freezing. I asked what size rosebud he was using and what size of cylinder and how many cylinders? After several attempts couldn't get any info what-so-ever so refused to give any part numbers. Idiot said his customer has been doing this for years and never had a problem. I gave him Victor's/Esabs's phone number so hopefully they would concur with me. My boss heard me on the phone and thought I was over reacting. I did a little searching and found an article in a welding publication on this exact topic and printed it. Article basically said the regulator was likely plugging with acetone and that's why the rosebud wasn't working properly. More importantly it probably saved the user from blowing himself up. I can't tell a customer how to make a bomb to blow themselves up.

Had a teacher at a school purchase an XMT350 with wire feeder package because he wanted to have the same machine the Skills Canada competition used. The chance of him teaching students to be qualified is beyond ridiculous. He's done a little stick but never Mig welded before. Calls me up because he has wire feed but no arc. Says he has the ground hooked up and the cord to the wire feeder and the wire comes out but no arc. After a couple minutes going through the set up he tells me there was an extra cable sent with a 1/2" lug on one end and he's wondering if it's needed. The manual is kind of vague with a poor picture but it never dawned on him a welding cable needed to go the wire feeder.

Welcome back. No end to armchair experts that I have to deal with. So I sympathize with you.

[Welder Dave]

I got along great with CEP and was wondering if he still frequents the forum? He has lots of pictures which is always good.

[ronsii]

I got along great with CEP and was wondering if he still frequents the forum? He has lots of pictures which is always good.

He was last on end of Jan... might not know WW is up and running again.

[snoeproe]

I got along great with CEP and was wondering if he still frequents the forum? He has lots of pictures which is always good.

He's still around. Not far away.

[bentwings]

He's still around. Not far away.

Ok, here goes. In my long layaway I had a number of strokes. The worst was while driving. This was my worst fear. I’m sure it happens more than just me. I my case I simply did not see the danger as the event affected vision. I saw nothing untill the collision. There was no warning at all. It wasn’t even recognized untill I had a scan at the hospital. ...longer story shorter. It has left me with a partial double vision that makes typing here extremely difficult. So please leave a little leeway for misspelling ang caps lock left on. I try to edit as carefully as possible but even that comes with errors.
So my first attempt at tig welding on return from the hospital proved what I suspected....Im out of tig welding as well as mig and general shop work. I can’t do productive work at all anymore. I can’t drive either so I’m immobile with out help. My dog has been comverteted to an assistance dog but as good as she is she can’t weld or run shop equipment. She knows when I feel pain and to East calmly while I pickup her dog poop. So that’s about all I can effectively doo now. I can make dinner and find my bathroom. But going from highly active to this mess has been something I never expected.

So the best I’ll be able to do is help out on comments with some messy typing. Life has been a good run for me so I’m not feeling bad. I hope I can bee of some help here to the new guys and maybe add to others experiences. I’m said to be argumentive, but in logic we learned that nearly every thing presents an argument. A stop ligh presents green go ,one argument. Red stop, another. Then yellow yet another. Arguments are just choices . So maybe I am a “chooser” in the end.

Good luck to all of you.

Byron

[Oscar]

I'm doing great. After Spring Break vacation, the week of March 15th, we were shut down due to the pandemic so the few things I have to do I work from home via online Zoom meetings. So technically I've been off from work since then, my final deadline is this Friday, once I submit that report, I'm on vacation until August 1st. I'm on salary, so I still get my full monthly income. Yea, I'm good.

[bentwings]

I'm doing great. After Spring Break vacation, the week of March 15th, we were shut down due to the pandemic so the few things I have to do I work from home via online Zoom meetings. So technically I've been off from work since then, my final deadline is this Friday, once I submit that report, I'm on vacation until August 1st. I'm on salary, so I still get my full monthly income. Yea, I'm good.

Looks like you are good for awhile. I’m happy for you.

I think there is going to be a huge change in the work market. Many will be hired back. However worker loyalty has taken a beating. It won’t take much for job hopping. A little better pay better benefits eve better working conditions. The new crop of trained and educated workers will be welcomed but again keeping skilled workers will be issues for the HR depts to figure out. As far as certifications I think it will be much the same it may get you in for an interview but you will has difficult weld tests. The last big job I had groups of ten to 20 would tour the facility then be given physical weld tests. There was no “almost pass” you may be given a second chance but it needed to be good. There were even long timers that couldn’t pass the tests. Especially the TIGtests. Those were in relatively thin stainless. The ewiipment didn’t have foot pedals so you had to use scratch start. Even a nick was enough to fail these so only the very skilled were hired. It was top pay so the wise practiced somewhere before the first go around. The bottom line will still have the very skilled and knowledgeable getting the jobs. I think this will hold into the engineering (my real field) too. You will need communication skills computer savy and engineering experience.from previous jobs. Shop training and experience will be a huge plus.

You really need to be planning for you exit to retirement early on. SS may not be enough. Company backed retirement plans will be very important as you get older. Medical plans will also be important. You will need to stay in good health. Non smoking and limited alcohol. I note this as I get asked this every time I visit my doctors. A healthy body has saved me many times. Especially the latest setbacks. I’m not recovered yet but I still can do exercises as needed.

Stay healthy everyone times are changing.

[docwelder]

i'm thankful i had someplace else to go while nyc is in such bad shape. where i am is between rural and suburban;with not much else to do i'm noting the different wildlife that passes by my backyard. the most surprising was a florida panther. last week i was bitten on the foot by some kind of insect. i thought brown recluse spider but probably not. it wasn't a fire ant because the blister/swelling was much worse especially when the bite area started to turn black. after a course of antibiotics it's almost better. lesson learned is no flip flops outside.

[akpolaris]

I like to see that we are back to the old format, that is encouraging.. Being in Alaska we have more a lesser density per person so less corvid issues. Hope this provides for a better future. No tourists forecasted for the future so maybe even a less dense population

[somorris]

Gosh, Bentwings. I am so sorry to hear about your run of bad luck. Our health is so precious and really is fragile. Most folks take it for granted way too much.

My wife and I are just staying in as much as we can, although we do walk the dog, etc. I don't have much of an idea of where the politicians response to the virus thing is taking us, but my thinking is that it is going to be a pretty rough patch for most of us.

[Rangerhgm]

Wife and I are both retired so things haven't been much different than normal for us except ad-hearing to virus rules, store hours etc.

I'm getting some yard work done and getting the garden worked up and planted. Got the car and truck both washed and waxed yesterday.

My wife quilts and sews so she has jumped into into the mask making business with both feet. God knows how many she's made so far. She's given several bags full to the local hospital, in fact she has another bag ready for me to drop off today. She started to make them for just the hospital and it's since grown into family, friends and neighbors. She loves doing things for people so this is right in her wheelhouse.