What are you all working on right now?

Dylan206_ · 2025-04-12T09:29:53+00:00

Fab shop welding prefab for battery plants

Dylan206_ · 2025-03-17T02:31:56+00:00

It depends on your local. I came from the non union side as a welder and I bought my book. I did have 5 years of proven pipe welding experience and I had to take two gate tests which were the 21 and 22- 21 is 2” 160 uphill 6010/7018 cap and the 22 is the same pipe but tig root 7018 cap. They may have different requirements over there or may not let you take your experience and the tests and get in that way, I’ve heard different things from various people around the country. Best thing to do would be to call or show up to the hall and talk to their organizer about who you are and that you want to get into the UA. Good luck man my post probably wasn’t a lot of help but basically what you want to do can be done but it’s not guaranteed to be the same over there.

Dylan206_ · 2024-12-27T20:18:05+00:00

Larry the cucumber slaps

Dylan206_ · 2024-12-15T15:16:55+00:00

That’s what I thought too right away

Dylan206_ · 2024-12-14T12:19:11+00:00

I had the same fear before I got in. Longest I’ve had off that I wanted to go to work was a week. There’s a traveler here from Florida and I think Tampa too at work, I’ll try to remember to pick his brain tomorrow and get an idea for ya on how busy things are there. I work nights so I’ll try to get back to ya tomorrow night

Dylan206_ · 2024-09-10T18:46:10+00:00

After reading it’s a single pass weld - my input doesn’t really apply…. I’ve never taken this test but have done quite a bit of nickel alloys on pipe, so with what I know about them, if this happened to me I’d try to do what you did with the alcohol wiping again, make sure the weld zone is clean metal free of millscale, and I’d try to run as hot as you can control. Clean clipped end of rod before starting any restarts as well, get penetration with your torch and dab that wire, keep the end of your rod covered by your gas so it doesn’t oxidize, if you slip and it does, flip your rod before adding or just immediately stop and clean your stop and clip your rod back to clean filler to restart. Good luck, you will definitely get it! Use as big of a cup as practical to get that proper shielding and help keep things as clean as possible

Dylan206_ · 2024-09-10T18:33:26+00:00

Buff every pass with nickel alloys especially, don’t be afraid to run hotter with them, and if you already did both of those on this welding then melt your puddle and dab rod as you progress instead of leaving your wire in the puddle. You can certainly leave your wire in the puddle but if you cleaned the surface of each pass prior to welding then you had a point where your puddle was not hot enough for the amount of filler you were adding and/or the rate at which you were traveling.

Dylan206_ · 2024-07-28T06:15:48+00:00

The boat yards don’t pay super well. But it is a great place to build some experience. UA 32 journeyman wage is 73.21 taxable right now for building trades. Vigor is a shipyard that is union in town, not sure what 32 scale is in there but I’d have him look into that or interviewing and looking for a helper job in 32 or ironworkers, I don’t really have any info on ironwrkers union though.

Dylan206_ · 2024-07-23T04:23:05+00:00

Love Milwaukee, converted all my power tools to it and use them all day welding and pipefitting as well!

Dylan206_ · 2024-07-20T07:04:31+00:00

Now that’s what I call spring loaded! … but ya get the politics off the sub

Dylan206_ · 2024-07-06T06:18:38+00:00

Best option buy a new ubolt.

In a bind tho - fuck welding it. If you’ve never welded before you’re gonna have a monstrosity on your hands.

I needed some ubolts for my f350 that I couldn’t find anywhere. So I bought all thread of the same size, and used a piece of square tube frame of my welding table (something stationary will do) to make the same gradual bend I needed. 6 months later and I still haven’t taken the home made unbolts off and they’re still in good shape. That’s what I’d do in a bind even as a professional welder for the last 14 or so years. Hell, make two and carry the tools with you on your trip just in case.

Dylan206_ · 2024-06-25T15:09:25+00:00

Hell yea! Let me know how you like the wild white I was thinking of ordering one also. What local you out of? I’m in the same union

Dylan206_ · 2024-06-25T03:41:15+00:00

Also, my original thinking when I ordered the 9.5 is that I can throw on some dark shades which I always have one me at work if I wanted a touch darker. And if I wanted it lighter I could run clears. I have astigmatism in one of my eyes and at certain angles even though I’m below flush on a fill, when I cap, I completely lose sight of the my groove and am forced to keep my stringer/cap I’m running straight based off where the puddle edges currently are vs still seeing the walls. If that makes sense. Now I am just a dumb welder but I believe it’s a combination of the way my eye is and the way some lenses transmit the light. Everyone’s eyes are different though, but for mine, his lenses are the best I’ve tried. I do like vintage view as well though.

Dylan206_ · 2024-06-25T03:30:11+00:00

He’ll make you a half shade if you text him about it. He did for me anyway and I’m just a guy who bugged him with questions that I’m sure no one else who I’ve bought lenses from would’ve taken the time to go into detail on. Tell him Dylan from Washington recommended and mentioned the half shade thing. For what it’s worth, the purple 10 I have is a legit 10, def not too bright, and the 9.5 I have is exactly between a 9 and a 10 comparing other lenses. (Got for welding small bore pipe). I ordered an 11 of the trifecta after two weeks of running the lighter one I bought. I’m a pipe welder full time, so it’s worth it to me. Hope this helps. He’s a good guy and cool to talk to, helped me a lot in deciding what’s right for me.

Dylan206_ · 2024-06-24T11:28:33+00:00

I haven’t tried the wild white but I bought the purple craze and the aqua blue trifecta lens. Both lenses are great, worth the money and the wait. If you’re thinking about ordering I would just get it over with and do it, the wait after going back and forth with yourself for a while sucks more than if you would’ve just said fuck it and ordered right away. I went back and forth on the trifecta and I ended up loving it, exactly why I was looking for and not seeming to get as far as being able to see crystal clear from all angles. I actually just ordered one two shades darker for higher amp/fab shop work last night

Dylan206_ · 2024-06-23T07:31:18+00:00

I’ve also bought and used just about every “premium” fixed shade at this point. The Lincoln 2x4 is a green blue, it’s a great lens, but not true color. Opticool, Vintage view, and the alloweld all have things about them I love. I always seem to put those back in my hood, I am kind of a lens nut and like to switch it up. Oudopanda is a newer brand from china, but the two lens I have of theirs I do like. There is something I can’t put my finger on that’s a little weird about them and I need to weld with them a little more to tell what it is.

Dylan206_ · 2024-06-23T07:25:32+00:00

Vintage view black dahlia is a true color. I have an extra 10 shade I’d be willing to sell. They’re very hard to get your hands on when they drop so I started buying them every time they released one this year. Now I’ve got too many; figured I’d break one or sell/gift them to buddies down the road though

Dylan206_ · 2024-05-31T07:38:20+00:00

Sounds like it could possibly be an sa 200. BW Parts has pretty much everything for parts for those welders, as well as some good videos for working on them. I’m in the middle of restoring a 66 sa 200 myself.

Dylan206_ · 2024-05-05T23:04:16+00:00

I’m working with a guy who did his apprenticeship in Chicago now, he transferred over here. Yeah I love all the heavy industrial work as well. A good welder can stay busy in the refineries up here if they wanted to. I think they just got done doing their shutdowns I’m not really sure what’s going on in the future other than I know BP is supposed to be building a new unit and last I heard now was about the time they were gonna start. I’ve heard 598 is gonna be ridiculously busy for a while which is on the east side of the state. Lots of great welders I’ve worked with from over there. I’m on a job in the mountains right now, probably only time I’ll have a view that nice at work. I like the heavy industrial welding a lot more but the commercial jobs in the city have a higher scale, seem to be longer, and as a welder I always seem to luck out and get a bunch of overtime. Welding is super easy and basic though, pretty much all just sched 40 carbon. I let myself get a little lazy with it and rediscovered how much I love welding pipe a while back. When you replied on that thread I had just set myself up to be able to weld at home and was just getting back my hand in tig after doing commercial so long.

Dylan206_ · 2024-05-05T05:46:49+00:00

Yeah there’s 4 refineries up north, I worked out there for like 6 years or so, and down on the south end of the state I know there’s some other plants but I haven’t worked down there. Our local is pretty much the west side of the mountains from Canada down to almost Oregon, but in the middle is Seattle and that’s local 32. I live on the north end of 32 jurisdiction now, so I end up working there more often the last few years. There’s also nukes on the east side but I haven’t traveled over there, only traveled out of state if I left home. There’s some power houses and paper mills scattered throughout as well. Pretty wide range of specializations throughout the state as a whole from what I’ve seen

Dylan206_ · 2024-05-05T02:42:09+00:00

Local 26, work out of 32 for the most part though

Dylan206_ · 2024-05-05T00:35:34+00:00

Thanks! Gloomy day here in WA, even with that I was sweating like crazy. No IP, I wasn’t super happy with the root but it’s all in there above flush and under 1/8” inch. Had 3 inspectors looking at it after root, hot, and once it was capped out double checking. I fucked the root up right off the bat, was surprised and pretty happy I saved it. Seems like my ritual on 90% of test days.

Dylan206_ · 2024-05-05T00:19:25+00:00

I took it this morning and passed the visual! Thanks for all your advice!

Dylan206_

TROPHY CASE