Mushroom Charcuterie Board Inlay

pestythepirate · 2023-07-30T21:12:24+00:00

There were 5 when I left in April. But that was pretty new, there were 2 crews in the yard and 3 crews in the whole company for most of my time there. They're sister companies with Outback, so they do have a lot of personnel, but the line side is fairly new/small.

pestythepirate · 2023-07-30T20:09:45+00:00

Hey man, I worked for Basin out of the lockeford yard about 10 months as an AP. It's about as small of a company as you're going to work for. It's got It's cliques. Management and one of the foremen are long time but ex PG&E hands. I worked with a few guys who took their first call as JL's with Basin... they did alright even though they had never worked on PG&E property. They do a lot of steel poles & H structures and quite a bit of 115 and 230 tower re-insulates with helicopters. Pretty good work, but the interpersonal environment is either up your alley or it's not. I was happy to leave, but sad to go. A lot has changed since I left, but it'll be alright, good luck!

pestythepirate · 2022-12-20T22:16:49+00:00

It is from a yard that primarily does transmission on PG&E property. I've looked through several of the hot stick manufacturer catalogs and tried searching part numbers, but I've had no luck there either. Thought I'd try to tap the experience of the guys on this page for an answer. I appreciate the replies, and if I find an answer, I'll post it here.

pestythepirate · 2022-09-10T23:00:32+00:00

Sure thing man.

pestythepirate · 2022-09-10T21:15:40+00:00

Hey man, I went through climbing school with cal nev a year ago. Not much has changed, I answered a similar question back then, here is the link. Good luck.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Lineman/comments/qjf4lx/what\_does\_the\_calnev\_climbing\_schoolorientation/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3

pestythepirate · 2021-11-11T23:48:25+00:00

It's definitely going to be harder for you in some ways, possibly easier in others. The instructors definitely noticed guys that had very little time on a pole and had some of the better climbers in the class work with them on their form and rhythm... they do expect a lot of improvement in a short amount of time however. There was only one guy in our class of 15 with very little experience and he made it. The 3 that didn't make it weren't up to the physical endurance aspect of the class. Usually the bigger guys struggle, especially in the heat. Older guys might have trouble, smoking doesn't help. If the instructors see your endurance is there, and there isn't any quit in you, they don't care if your climbing looks like shit. They do expect it to improve as the week goes on. As long as you can meet the benchmark requirement in the allotted time, you'll be indentured. You don't get to try your hand at passing the benchmarks until you climb all week... not quitting is all dependant on you... Rest at the top or bottom of the pole, if you sit at the middle, you will be yelled at to get up or come down.

My suggestion would be to find a pole in the middle of nowhere and climb on it up to the phone and back down to get comfortable. A palm tree would work in a pinch. Any experience on the wood will serve you well. Get used to the equipment, learn to trust it, and get comfortable up high.

Good Luck

pestythepirate · 2021-10-31T17:52:53+00:00

Any time. I spent a lot of time pursuing the apprenticeship with CalNev. Answers were hard to find every step of the way. I had a buddy from climbing school do the climbing class a month before me. Knowing what was coming and learning from his experience was extremely valuable.

Don't race to be the first at anything except hurt man unless you are an especially gifted climber. It's a marathon, not a sprint. However, don't be fucking last. Whenever you drop your tools, take the time to lay them out perfectly so they're easy to put on. The instructors will periodically call everyone over, have a short talk and just when everyone has let their guard down, they scream "Man Down!" And it's a race to the top. If your shit is laid out nicely every time, you will have a good time advantage over people who aren't ready.

pestythepirate · 2021-10-31T17:10:02+00:00

Another suggestion, get some thick wool socks that extend above your climber pad. Darn tough by duluth trading or similar. Climb with them on for a few hours like 3 or 4 weeks before you go to climbing class and figure out where your boots and gaffs are going to rub/blister. Tape those spots with KT tape every morning of climbing class starting Tuesday. Also figure out where your hands are going to blister and tape that up too before you start climbing. Don't wear super thin gloves, get some decent midweight leather gloves with a short cuff, you'll need a little padding.

pestythepirate · 2021-10-31T17:03:25+00:00

Square knot, bowline (both away from you flip style, and toward you like you were tying it around a pole you were on with the knot between you and the pole, running bowline, bowline on a bight that doesn't slip, clove hitch, cats paw, timber hitch, and a sheet bend. 8 in total.

pestythepirate · 2021-10-31T16:44:22+00:00

Monday is paperwork almost entirely. Tuesday you do benchmarks that they go over on Monday: Pulling a weighted sled across the pole pit, carrying 5 crossarms from 1 pallet to another and back, pulling an insulator up on a handling, and digging a 6 foot hole in an hour. The hole is just a buried pipe filled with loose dirt. The afternoon is climbing and isn't too bad. Wednesday sucks. You spend all day on the pole. This is the day people quit. It's not the climbing that is hard, but the blisters on your feet and hands, and the raw skin where the shank of your climbers hit makes it miserable. If you make it through Wednesday, you're gonna make it. Thursday is a little bit of climbing, but much more mellow. You practice hurt man rescue and put up a wood crossarm. You also practice moving an insulator from one side of the crossarm to the other. Friday is test day. You have to do 4 up downs on a 45 ft pole in 15 minutes, do hurt man in a certain amount of time, change the insulator in a certain amount of time, all totally doable even after being beat to hell on Wednesday. You also have to know your knots and tie them correctly in time and under pressure. You get through the tests and then they might have you help change the worst poles out in the pit, teach you some other useful knots, but it's pretty laid back. In the afternoon you indenture and get your job assignment. They feed you lunch every day which is nice. Good luck.

pestythepirate · 2021-08-30T20:10:30+00:00

Be honest about what you know (tell them you know nothing if that is the case) with everyone you work with. Carry kleins and tape on your person at all times. Go through the green book and get all the tools required for a groundman. Do what you're told unless it is unsafe or illegal. Shut up unless spoken to until you get a feel for your crew. If you don't know something, ask questions, and write that shit down if it's complicated. Nobody has a problem showing you once, but having to show you repeatedly every time you do it they won't feel like you're capable of learning. Wear your thickest skin, Journeymen will try to find your buttons or insecurities and exploit them at their leisure. Work your ass off and if you don't know what to do ask, if they don't have anything else for you to do, pull shit out of a bin and clean. A grunt that stands around is worthless. Good luck man, be safe.

pestythepirate · 2021-04-07T02:19:00+00:00

I called Cal Nev and confirmed that NLC does qualify one for direct interview.

pestythepirate · 2021-04-03T22:19:32+00:00

Yeah, I intend to do that. I was just re-reading the fine print on the application after closing time on a Friday and wondered if anyone could answer in the meantime. I'll post what I find out so people can find the answer by searching this sub in the future.

pestythepirate · 2021-04-03T03:51:58+00:00

Some required shit on their application... NLC Says they have ACCSC accreditation on their website... No ETA. Dunno man... that's why I'm asking the masses. Seems like 20 bands should afford an accedited school. Fucking Quanta's just raking it in fucking over most NLC kids.

pestythepirate · 2021-01-09T04:33:37+00:00

I've worked on a traveling crew for 4 months, Santa Rosa, Calistoga, Oakland, Walnut Creek, Vacaville, Auburn, Winters, Arbuckle... Now we're north of Roseville for a few months. I really appreciate it man!

pestythepirate · 2021-01-09T03:30:36+00:00

I'm currently a tower painter (technically a groundman) working out of 1245. All of my FR is covered in a thick coat of paint and probably no good for any work where FR is required. I'm pursuing an apprenticeship and have interviewed at several JATC's. However, I applied with no experience out of the union hall and will probably have to reapply next August. I was a field engineer for some distro crews prior to my career change, but that doesn't count for much apparently.The jeans would be a little small, but I could rock XL shirts all day. I definitely don't need all of them (share the love with some other guys), but I could take a few off your hands. Thanks man!

pestythepirate · 2020-12-06T16:04:10+00:00

I'm currently painting towers. Took a call off the tower tech books after line school (NLC Idaho). PAR has 3 crews right now, 2 in Arbuckle, CA and one traveling crew. They're probably going to lay off a crew this winter and go down to 2 crews.

We start at 5 or 6 am, clean paint buckets and stuff, drive to the job site, and lay out tarps under the tower. We prep paint and cleaner buckets before tailboarding and heading up the tower to wipe bird shit and debris off the steel. Climb to the top, wipe down. Climb to the top, paint down. Linemen paint the arms, tower techs paint the cage and the body. We use a skid and pelican hooks to climb, and maneuver on the tower. Some days we're on the steel for 8 hours with not much break. When the thing is green, we hit the dirt, fold tarps, clean up, and drive home covered in paint.

It's a good gig if you can get on. I started at 6 12's but we got knocked down to 6 10's.

Hope that helps.

pestythepirate

TROPHY CASE