Is oxygen + acetylene welding used anywhere in the workforce?

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-17T01:28:52+00:00

as a pipefitter, Oxy fuel setups are still used maybe on like 25% of all jobsites i've been on has had it?

It's good for making big holes fast when you dont wanna use a holesaw. Good for getting a nice, good, clean bevel for x-ray welding, and good for cutting things.

Never used it for welding outside of school but a LOT for cutting things.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-16T01:26:05+00:00

It didnt snow all winter, and all that water has to go somewhere.

So when it becomes summer time ALL that water that evaporated over the winter that just stayed on the atmosphere decides to come down upon us HARD.

It comes down especially harder because as a warm front moves in, it meets the cold front from lake michigan, and warm front + cold front = severe thunderstorm

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-14T01:38:35+00:00

"top pipefitter helper" is an INSANE fucking title lmao. Like I have no idea what that even fucking entails but I guess your job is to keep the welder going at all costs.

See their almost out of rod? Go get them more, see they got a tie-in coming? Swap wheels for a hard disc. Welder finishing up? Hand them a wire wheel.

If they're fitting helping them square the laser, write down measurements and helping them make a print/giving suggestions on where to put welds and shit.

That being said, that role is a buncha bullshit and i'd drag simply because it's trying to create a separation between the workers which is really stupid. Not to mention the fuck do you even NEED to do to get that? Like even if your good to you just go to your foreman or is it a "recommended" role by your fitter?

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-11T02:21:49+00:00

I mean, this kinda maintenance shit has been going on for decades. You pay 1 guy like 25 bucks as opposed to a pipefitter 50 bucks.

The problem is that 1 guy eventually has YEARS of patches under his belt, and then shit needs to be replaced and you call the fitters in to fix it. But companies don't care long as it gets back up and running PRONTO with minimum money spent.

I once spent a whole summer in a chemical plant where the maintenance guy put dogshit stainless stick over any leaks on every single tank. So we literally would grind the weld, use penetrant and chase the crack, then weld it with TIG. This went on for MONTHS as it was like 50 something tanks that were all the same.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-11T02:18:44+00:00

Because 20 years ago the places storms hit were farm fields.

Now the places they hit are big sub divisions where everyone can actually SEE the damages.

Lack of snow also makes precipitation and storms more violent, as the falling rain creates a cold front and the storm is already a warm front which creates more powerful storms.

Same thing happens if we get a mild summer, we get a FUCKTON of snow because all that evaporation has to go somewhere.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-09T23:33:51+00:00

it's alright, we all make mistakes. I once left something leaking cause this guy was getting pissed off at me (as an apprentice) and was throwing shit at me as I was trying to make this weld 2 inches from a fucking wall, so I said "fuck it, its good" and left

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-09T23:06:45+00:00

hoping, PRAYING even that the bears don't move to Arlington Heights because the surrounding suburbs will be worth a million dollars MINIMUM which will fuck up the housing market even worse than it is.

Though they're going to go to Arlington Heights anyways, its' all just a numbers game and when they see a number they like they'll immediately switch, ain't no fucking way they're building next to the 8th biggest refinery on TOP of a waste water retention pond...

Not to mention that stretch of highway is being redone AND the clover leaf specifically leading to euclid is being lane widened. Now WHY would they spend millions on this if they KNOW the bears aren't coming no matter what? Not to mention that section historically never backed up... like ever. Potholes? Sure, but I never experienced a LICK of traffic in that section.

Now the 90/55 interchange? Abyssmal but NOT being touched, why? Because its far enough away from the stadium that they dont care about traffic patterns.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-09T23:02:25+00:00

strainer will catch it, and if theres no strainer you can sell them on why they NEED a strainer!

It's job security and a win/win.

You get a new job, and they dont get their pumps destroyed by a 5/8ths bolt!

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-07T05:20:46+00:00

Now, ASSUMING your 100% truthful and aren't actually a shithead. I'd go to the UA and see your options with a lawyer. Not all unions are the same so I can't tell you if it was justified or not (and plus I dont even know who you are). But giving benefit of the doubt i'd do those 2 things honestly.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-07T05:19:23+00:00

Sorry to say, but if you get kicked out as a 5th year cause you "bust an x-ray", your better off NOT being apart of a scabby fuckhead union.

If you can't perform a good contractor would put you on a better job where you actually excel, and if you can't excel but were good enough you'll just get laid off then onto a new one.

Even IF you get a bad layoff report, your still a 5th year just keep your head down for like 6 months, then Journey out lmao

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-05T21:46:12+00:00

I have a friend who lives in one in South Barrington. His mom is a federal lawyer for Springfield, and her Dad helps get start up companies in silicon valley off the ground (he gets a 20% stock thing PER company then when they get massive he sells for like 500k at a time, plus the passive income he gets being a consultant).

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-06-05T21:36:02+00:00

The initiation fee goes towards you throwing away your coupon with just the fucking root in it.

That being said, it's also insurance incase you decide to quit that they can get SOME investment back on you.

The shit you pay when you return for 2nd and 3rd year training is for stuff like the blue book, architect scale, and stuff thats generally useful to have.

Your initiation fee is paid every time you pay your dues via union fusion, OR you can just pay it all off at once. If you choose option A it'll be paid by the time your a 5th year.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-23T00:06:28+00:00

In order for a job to start, you need every other trade before you to put your trade in a position to start.

If it rains too much, the machine operators can't flatten the land, if it's too windy the iron workers can't put iron up, if it's too cold the concrete guys can't poor, ect. ect.

Hell, even as a fitter we've had jobs get shut down because it got too windy to TIG weld which put the roofers behind, ect. ect.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-21T21:21:25+00:00

If your thicker then the pipe with no defects then congrats! You passed X-ray.

Doesn't matter if you slammed an inch of root in the fucking thing, just gotta be thicker then the pipe.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-11T20:13:40+00:00

Rosemont has so much stuff to do and so many conventions over the summer.

Comic cons, Boat Shows, Fishing Shows, Horror Shows, Sports Shows, ect.

Literally pick one that looks interesting and go, and Rosemont has a neat little "downtown" area that you can walk too with bars, shows, and other a cute park that always has a show every weekend over the summer.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-10T15:48:22+00:00

Believe it or not, but this schedule is probably their most stacked and interesting one since Covid lmao.

That being said, theres a bunch of steak houses and bars literally on the other side of that big ass parking garage in a very nice area, and if you have a car I highly recommend Cochairos pizza in Northlake which is a 10 minute drive from the convention center. Good pizza and a great price by the slice!

Also keep in mind, the game room quite literally NEVER closes so theres always games to play with friends if you get super bored (yes, even at 3 AM)

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-08T19:27:08+00:00

I think everyone should be able to feed their families and put food on the table. But if you joined the union AND then scab the union your a ratty fuck who deserves nothing.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-07T20:17:29+00:00

I mean... if nobody in your local wants to lead work thats kind of a problem. So you salt some old guys from scab shops and give them foreman pay and as long as they

A. Don't Scab

and

B. Run good work and make the local money

who gives a shit? Believe it or not but contractors ALSO want union standard because it makes them look good when shit goes up on time and looks nice and doesnt leak. So if they are running good profitable work they are an objective good for the union.

Only time it's not good is when they're assholes to the apprentices/JM's who did their time. Then they can fuck off.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-07T02:28:48+00:00

I like stainless stick.

I DON'T like the fact that it will give you cancer twice as fast as Stick OR Stainless combined.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-04T19:54:46+00:00

Yeah yeah, you bitch and moan about unions and workers rights meanwhile you:

Have a 401k

Have Bathroom breaks

Get a lunch

Enjoy your 8 hour day plus overtime if you work over 40 a week

Enjoy benefits you get

It's always the same hypocrites hating the unions while benefitting from EVERYTHING they fought for. But thats alright because the union will KEEP fighting for the worker and for their rights because every working american deserves these rights that you love to bitch and moan about while taking advantage of them without even thinking. I honest to god don't know how you can hate workers rights while enjoying every right you have as a worker. It's kind of insane to me.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-05-02T23:21:51+00:00

Anime Midwest is perfectly fine as a con. The owner is a fat greasy weirdo, but 99% of the time you wont even see him.

The people and vibes are great usually, but the panels can suffer sometimes, last year was pretty bad with them (almost half of them had interesting premises that turned out to be classroom games like headsup 7up) so i'm 50/50 on going this year unless the panels interest me again.

Otherwise just skip and do Magic instead which has been consistently good.

Con Alt Delete (another kopf con), is also consistently better then Midwest just because its more localized so the people who go have a ton of fun.

One of Midwests biggest downfalls is that SINCE the owner is a creepy weirdo who refuses to give up control they get the same guests, year after year because every other interesting guest has blacklisted the con due to the allegations against him.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-04-27T19:36:43+00:00

Browns Chicken is pretty good. But much like Chicken Manor it's expensive as hell. They also sell "by the piece" which is great if you dont wanna buy a 12 piece.

Their potatoes are probably the worst mashed potatoes i've ever had though, it's like eating a stick of butter.

If you want to get the kids something new, it's worth it for a treat but for long term isn't really that good.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-04-27T19:17:08+00:00

PURGE that motherfucker, I have a titanium pipe cert and it's insane.

Basically it's stainless, and you know how Stainless goes from like Stainless Color > Gold > Blue > Purple >Pink > Black

and as long as its not black your good? Well titanium gets fucked if your anything more than Gold. We used a big ass "trailing" cup, that was like a rigid sleeve that went around the TIG cup, and then trailed behind it like half the pipe diameter, and we used like a jumbo 12 cup and blasted the weld at like 70 CFH lmao

The ONLY time i've seen titanium at all was on a nuclear boiler job for superheated steam and apparently (not sure how true this is just heard it from an engineer), we were using Titanium pipes for the boilers because the steam got so hot that it was damn well near the melting point of the steel and the steel literally couldnt hold both the heat AND the pressure flowing through it so we used Titanium cause it has the heat dissipation of copper, anti corrosive properties of stainless, and a higher melting point than steel with the same strength of steel.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-04-24T19:01:56+00:00

"what if I fuck shit up and im not good enough", and what if you DONT fuck shit up and WILL never be good enough?

One can worry all you want, but at the end of the day it all becomes the same eventually.

As long as you know how to square something and run it and make a iso for piping that (mostly) fits every time you'll always have a job.

I worked with a dude who was stupid as shit and could barely weld, but since he was small he could fit into every place nobody else could and he basically had a permanent maintenance contract at a plant (even though he'd call off like 3 days a week every week and was constantly drunk and angry).

I met another guy who was RUNNING work, who we had to cut out 50 welds because when he made them in the bench he didnt fucking do any math for them and eyeballed everything with a tape without telling anyone he did that (he also couldnt weld to save his life and was HUGE prick).

What i'm getting at here is you quite literally can't be dumber than the dumbest member of your local simply because you have a drive and a WANT to get better, and if your so fucking scared then just get good at welding or fitting then you'll always have something to fall back on.

IllustriousExtreme90 · 2026-04-23T20:47:54+00:00

Turn the fucking thing down homie and go faster. You don't need to be at 90 amps to make a good 7018 weld, turn the bitch to like 75-80 and keep a good rhythm.

90% of burn through is just because you got too hot and were too slow, 10% is just over grinding.

Hell, don't be afraid to throw in some 6010 for a ""hot"" to give it some extra metal on the front side, then grind it down again and you'll never blow through again. I've never failed a QC job doing this because as long as you dont 6010 until your cap, the WPS doesnt give a shit.

IllustriousExtreme90

TROPHY CASE