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Working the National 1300A
- Thread starter Natman
- Start date
No pictures, not much to see at this point, but I just set a glu-lam beam on a house that a teenager who was running from the cops at over 100 mph on a 2 lane road ran into. He got big air, 20-30 up and 50-60' distance, before hitting the attached garage about 10' high. It cracked drywall on the other side of the house, cracked the old beam, buckled the siding. Not sure who had the insurance, but the contractor told me they are paying for entirely new siding (can't color match to the old) lots of drywall, new carpet (also can't color match,) etc, probably 150 K damage, easy. Kid lived, hardly hurt. The homeowner woke up, thought it was a home invasion, (his wife thought earthquake) ran out with his pistol, to see 5 cops with weapons drawn in his front yard, luckily he saw them first and put the gun back in the house, quite the interesting beam set!
A 14 hr. day working alongside 340,000 volt lines, about 30' away. The utility rep grounded to my outrigger and to the grounding grid that is under the entire substation. Picking up new coolant radiators that go on giant transformers, swinging them around to a enclosure so they could douch them out ,getting gunk and shavings from making them cleaned out, they come dirty. I had quoted my usual hourly rate when I first got the call, I was busy and just blurted it out, usually when I get a call from an out of the area I jack it up 10 bucks an hour. When I billed this outfit I told them I was charging more than the agreed rate, and why, and if they had a problem with that they could just pay the lesser amount, so $140.00 extra for "hazardous duty" or "after hours", for a project that in total (a major upgrade to the biggest sub station in the local grid) was $6,000,000.00, I think I'll get it without any comment, no big deal if I don't. Halfway thru the day I saw we were not going to get done by 5, I was booked elsewhere the next day, and told them that, and all hell broke loose. The crew thought they had me for 2 days, my initial contact said "we'll need you for all day" and said nothing about TWO days, which still strikes me as sloppy on their part. I got a phone call from back east and had a heart to heart talk with the big boss, and the 6 million buck thing was tosssed around several times by him, really putting the pressure on me, I tossed back I had a crew of local carpenters expecting me in the morning, sorry! I've since heard from the big boss, they have no problem with my rate increase etc. 
crane operator
Senior Member
If you kind of know that its two days, but could maybe get done in one, and the crane guy says he only has one day available, then you take the one day. And hope he just shoves the other guys a day out. They are from out of town, only going to use him for two days, and don't care if his framer customer is pissed. They are on down the road to the next job.
The typical guy from out of town, always wants a discount also. Because "they are a big dog". Well if you are such a "big dog" you can probably hide my standard rate in your 6 million dollar project. Or just call someone else.
His repeated mention of it being a 6 million buck project didn't help him at all, I never get calls for a job, WITHOUT an additional mention/discussion of it possibly being two days. Probably 99% of my work is one day, average maybe 3-5 hrs, with a lot of 30 minute jobs thrown in (HVAC). His neglecting of telling me it could easily be a two day job by no means obligated me to blow off my other work, but the great thing is we got it done that day after all the drama. So, I went from being a zero to a hero! A couple hours before sundown, the foreman told me he doesn't work past sundown, I concurred. As I set the last unit down and started stowing the boom, the sun was just halfway set, we looked at each other and noidded, pretty funny actually. A 9 hour no break job started the next morning at 7, as planned.
Carport roofs, you'd think, I did anyway, that they would have more than a single center support. Turns out, after we set all 6 of them while I struggled to keep my mouth shut about the single support, I heard one of them say that after lunch they'd put the two vertical legs in. We had a apartment complex carport collapse last winter, trashing several cars, so I
was REALLY questioning the single support! I suggested rigging it at the pitch angle it was going to be final.
was REALLY questioning the single support! I suggested rigging it at the pitch angle it was going to be final.The second 50' by 100' building, where they had the trusses ganged (8) together, INSIDE, tails sticking thru the framing. I never did ask or figure out how they got them in there after framing the walls, the only way I could see would be to carry them in one by one. The first one took me 5 hrs, 4.5 hrs for this last one. I could have set them one at a time and saved them all that prep work in a couple hours more. Doesn't make sense to this old carpenter, but this crane guy liked it, just a few picks, with time off inbetween, about 3000 pounds per lift. Three of the guys there were driving 80 K+ tricked out pickups, one a 1000 hp electric Rivian that does 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, kinda interesting.
An HVAC job on a burger joint, with a parapet wall blocking my view. Before the camera I would have sat there wondering what the holdup was, now I could see the gas line was the problem, it keeps me more informed and not just sitting there on high alert, lets me screw off/make phone calls or whatever, knowing I have downtime. Without it I would have been clueless, as they didn't bother to tell me it'd be 15 minutes or so. Turned out to be 30 minutes.
An HVAC job on a burger joint, with a parapet wall blocking my view. Before the camera I would have sat there wondering what the holdup was, now I could see the gas line was the problem, it keeps me more informed and not just sitting there on high alert, lets me screw off/make phone calls or whatever, knowing I have downtime. Without it I would have been clueless, as they didn't bother to tell me it'd be 15 minutes or so. Turned out to be 30 minutes.
This '46 Federal truck in a farmer's junk pile gave me the idea I could buy it for scrap price, and put it up on piers behind the 6' wood fence at my crane yard. I'd put my almost never used jib on it, with my signage on it, and call it advertising. On the way back home I spotted this log cabin going up, and after driving over and meeting it's builder, got the work to put those ridge logs you see up. That money, as it came from having the plane (he had already scheduled someone else, canceled them and used me, and a good thing as the other guy couldn't have reached) will all go towards the plane, not that it takes much to keep it flying, I made enough $ to pay for the next 36 hours flying time of gas. I offered the farmer $500.00 for the truck, no response, a week later $2000.00, still no response, guess he wants to keep it. In the meantime I ran across this '46 GMC dumper just a few miles from my yard, he wanted $2500.00, I offered $1500.00, then $2000.00 and that's as high as I'll go, and I'm waiting to hear back still. It would be easiest to set the jib on, the needed structure already there, I'd just secure it to keep it from sliding (and pad it first), and still have ready access when the jib was needed. The GMC is drivable I'm told, at least enough to get to my yard just 8 miles away.
NO callback on the '46 GMC dump truck, the deal was "by noon, yes or no." I guess he's holding out for the full $2500.00, ain't going to happen, not by me anyway. No work today, but I think I just made/saved $2000.00 For a few bags of redi mix concrete and using steel I already have, I could mount my jib in the same area and get the same advertising, I just really like both of these old rigs, and I guess others do also thus the price.
crane operator
Senior Member
You thinking the poles will be the right height, that you can drive up, swing main over, and pin it to main, then swing it and stow it? That way you don't have to have a forklift or anything to put it on and off the rack?
That's the setup I have now, in the back of my yard, it's still requires me to have a helper if I want to re-install it on the main boom. I did it once or twice by myself, but it was a still a hassle. If I had a remote, it would be a piece of cake, like my 17 ton Terex had. Luckily I don't need it more than once every couple years it seems, and the last few times I did need it, my customers had a forklift onsite, and a trailer to haul it after I loaded it. I pretty tell them if they want me to jib up, they have to help! If I use an old truck as a jib rest, I'll do similar:crane it off onto a trailer.
I checked out 4 ongoing and future jobs this morning, in one flight. Here's pics of two of them
This one is at 7,000', in a mountain resort area, and I think I'll drive past the truss stack to set up, picking over the trees won't be a problem if needed, with the cameras help. The one thing I don't want to do is set up right near the trusses, and have to boom way the heck up/cable down every time, I want to drive past them and have more of a even radius as possible between the house and the truss stack.
The second one is a fire station, I set all the wood trusses and glu lams, and the steel erection company that just bought the new 40 ton National boom truck set the steel. 85' radius with 2800 pounds, and he said he was about all done, that's with no counter weight on it, not sure how much stick he had out.
The other two jobs I flew over are coming up, one is way out in the boonies, now I know how best to drive there, the other is still waiting on trusses, which I could see. I really should see about claiming the plane as a business tool, but I don't want the hassle.
This one is at 7,000', in a mountain resort area, and I think I'll drive past the truss stack to set up, picking over the trees won't be a problem if needed, with the cameras help. The one thing I don't want to do is set up right near the trusses, and have to boom way the heck up/cable down every time, I want to drive past them and have more of a even radius as possible between the house and the truss stack.
The second one is a fire station, I set all the wood trusses and glu lams, and the steel erection company that just bought the new 40 ton National boom truck set the steel. 85' radius with 2800 pounds, and he said he was about all done, that's with no counter weight on it, not sure how much stick he had out.
The other two jobs I flew over are coming up, one is way out in the boonies, now I know how best to drive there, the other is still waiting on trusses, which I could see. I really should see about claiming the plane as a business tool, but I don't want the hassle.
Welder Dave
Senior Member
In the 1st pic. the owners sure better hope there's never a forest fire building amongst the tree's like that. A wildfire went through my property in 2010. I didn't lose much but there was a house lost that was built in the tree's. It looks cool building in the tree's but there's always a risk. Same with people who build on the edge of a cliff. Quite a few years ago some million dollar houses were lost when the embankment gave way. One house had to be torn down. A D8 was used to anchor the excavator that tore the house down.
A flying buddy called me and said if I had time I ought to stop by the airport and see a new bush plane that was passing thru. I MADE time and eyeballed it, then went on to my job. 3 hours later I get a call, "HOW FAR CAN YOU REACH?" And a text pic that showed the same plane half submerged, half on the riverbank. It looked like a 300' reach, and by the time I got done with work they had rounded up 4 paddleboards and enough help to float the 1000 pound plane across the river to a gravel bar and then into a farm field. Pilot error, gusty winds didn't help, but error nonetheless. The only damage was one prop tip, a borrowed prop got him on his
way. Another job I missed out on, because I don't have a big enough crane! 
way. Another job I missed out on, because I don't have a big enough crane! Welder Dave
Senior Member
I recall an Air Tractor having a problem when swooping down to scoop up water for fighting wildfires. Can't remember if the lake got too wavy or what happened but the prop. hitting the water isn't good. Air Tractors are super cool complete with a full roll bars for the pilot. Watched 4 of them fly over my property at less than 200 feet fighting the fire that did go through my property. I was somewhat lucky I got the edge of the fire and wasn't right in the middle. 3 Cat operators were even luckier. An idiot from the county sent them in to make a fire break. Problem was the smoke was so thick they couldn't see. One operator said if my track wasn't there to back onto they might not have made it out. The flames went right over the 3 cats. One of them was an open station with no cab. Fire boss reamed the guy and the county fire chief out.
A grain silo operation asked me to lift a 1800 pound roll of plastic tarp material, while I was doing so, I noticed a group of Hispanic women walking over from another area of the complex, and they proceeded to just hang out. Two guys climbed up and proceeded to unroll the tarp, at a 90 to the grain pile, still folded.
Must be breaktime I thought, while 45 minutes went by while the rest of the male crew got their act together. A really long break I thought, then I saw why they were there: 8 of them dispersed up one side and down the other, and while hollaring back and forth, all 8 pulled at the same time and darn if they didn't get that tarp unfolded and spread out, over half the length. I moved, and the second time was the same, while the men watched from below. All while sinking knee deep into the grain, those ladies kicked butt. Got an aerial view the next day.
Must be breaktime I thought, while 45 minutes went by while the rest of the male crew got their act together. A really long break I thought, then I saw why they were there: 8 of them dispersed up one side and down the other, and while hollaring back and forth, all 8 pulled at the same time and darn if they didn't get that tarp unfolded and spread out, over half the length. I moved, and the second time was the same, while the men watched from below. All while sinking knee deep into the grain, those ladies kicked butt. Got an aerial view the next day.