Welding on a man lift

[smithdoor]

I would charge by hour.

After you do job the next job you will better idea what you can quote. It also helps in getting more jobs.
This job is the starter for more jobs.

Dave

I can go either way I can't decide what would make the most sense. I can try to stand on the spot I'm welding it just won't be easy to stand on. I was hoping someone else has had to weld that high off a man lift before.

[Kelvin]

Yikes. A church steeple has gotta be dam near vertical...60 pitch or better. I take back what I said about climbing out, since I don't know what you would stand on...I climb trees with chainsaws, but when I do that, I use gaffs. I'm guessing gaffs would be frowned on by the steeple roofers. Regardless, at 120' up, even if I stayed in the man lift, I would still want a top rope, in case the man lift tipped over!

(How do roofers shingle church steeples?)

Good luck.

[ttoks]

Big man lifts are slow, like really slow, I've spent my fair share of time in 120, 150 and 165 footers and you need to allow a good amount of time just to extend/retract them.

Unless the lift itself is setup on good flat level concrete dont travel them around in the air, I once made the mistake of traveling a 135 on a coal face working on a dredger and I tell ya when a wheel drops in a hole your butt hole will pucker so hard it comes out of your mouth.

I always charge by the hour for anything that doesn't come with engineered drawings and a clear scope of work, this sounds like an hourly hire job to me if no one can give you a clear answer on exactly what the scope of work is, jobs like this can easily blow out.

be careful running a suitcase, remember big man lifts tend to be limited to 450LB of lift capacity, and long heavy cables tied off to the basket can take up all or most of that, I rather use a smaller machine with a lighter, higher voltage extension lead running to the basket to save on weight, I like self shield for the same reason.

[Sberry]

Most sign guys use 6013,,, hahaha
I lost my pic file in a fire before internet. Wish i had them for forums. They were just starting ssfety stuff when i started, mostly in big companies, working for Shell or Dow etc

[scsmith42]

I once welded up the top of a 1000' TV tower in Fargo ND in a January. The tower had been rigged with a winch by the tower crew and we winched up a portable engine driven welder and OA setup, and I spent the day up there adding sleeves to the pipe legs that had cracked. Three sets of long john's and a pair of insulated Carharrt overalls and I was still cold!

If it were me, I'd go with an hourly rate at 2X your normal rate for the aerial time and regular rate for travel and ground time.

Competent welding professionals who are willing to work 120' in the air are uncommon, and you should be compensated for the value of your time and skills, taking into account that it is a hazardous environment.

[Welder Dave]

I think welding 20 gauge without burning a lot of holes in it is going to be a bigger issue than the man lift. That's autobody thickness for .023" solid wire. A little movement and/or wind will make it more difficult for even the most experienced weldor. I mentioned it on here before but a friend of mine was on job at a mine waiting for blueprints or something for piping. He was with the union at the time and they asked him if he could do some welding on the dragline boom. He said he could do it and went over to the dragline. Welding cables are already installed going up the boom and he just had to hook up to the quick connects. He gets all set up and starts welding when all of a sudden the boom starts moving. He gets on the radio kind of panicky and tells them he's up the boom doing repairs. Then they tell him they don't shut the dragline down for minor repairs! He then says, "Well I'm outta here, get someone else. Nobody said anything about the dragline not being shut down while the boom is welded." He told me it feels like your going 20 MPH when the boom swings. They don't allow draglines to operate while repairs are being done anymore but that would scare the crap out of most people.

[Leogl]

I am going to agree with Dave welding 20 gauge without holes good luck they are gonna want it water tight if it leaks water going inside ! Highest I have ever been up is 120 and it is a whole new world .!

[CAVEMANN]

I once welded up the top of a 1000' TV tower in Fargo ND in a January. The tower had been rigged with a winch by the tower crew and we winched up a portable engine driven welder and OA setup, and I spent the day up there adding sleeves to the pipe legs that had cracked. Three sets of long john's and a pair of insulated Carharrt overalls and I was still cold!

If it were me, I'd go with an hourly rate at 2X your normal rate for the aerial time and regular rate for travel and ground time.

Competent welding professionals who are willing to work 120' in the air are uncommon, and you should be compensated for the value of your time and skills, taking into account that it is a hazardous environment.

We had a little 2 stroke DC welder at the plant, I don't think it weighed 25 lbs, it had a high pitched electronics "squeal" when it was running, it worked great until it didn't, I don't know what happened but I went to check it out one day & it was out for repair, I don't think it ever came back. We called it a "POPCORN" welder.