[TowerTalk] Cad Welding tips

[Patrick Greenlee]

Safety should be JOB ONE.  Recently I was flown to San Francisco to help 
deliver a 45 ft trimaran to Catalina Island and provide HF comms.  The 
trimaran (Dolphin Spirit) was tied up near a bright orange 97 ft 
trimaran flying a Chinese flag. The Chinese single hander sailed a 
couple days ahead of us, bound for Singapore via Hawaii. The 50 year old 
was off to set a single handed record. The boat was found adrift about 
600 miles from Hawaii with no one aboard. The sailor's safety equipment 
was on board, apparently unused.

Standard practice is to use safety harnesses attached to jack lines 
(safety lines) which prevent you from going overboard while on deck 
attending to sailing. Apparently that guy didn't think he needed to use 
his safety equipment but was wrong, dead wrong.

Tower climbing, cad welding, and working oh HV power supplies also have 
standard safety precautions which can often be ignored without incident 
but consider this... There are old tower climbers and bold tower 
climbers but precious few old bold tower climbers.

Wanna be a short blurb on the news or a client at your ER, just keep 
tempting fate, you'll make it.

Patrick        NJ5G

On 11/2/2016 3:36 AM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
> I don't know how to say this nice, but will endeavor to do so. My goal 
> is to save someone some serious pain, or worse.
> When I read about someone getting seriously burned using Cad Welding, 
> I often wonder if these people ever learned to use safety procedures.  
> Cad Welding Arc Welding (stick, MIG, TIG, and torch), climbing towers, 
> and working on amplifiers. These are all inherently dangerous Some a 
> bit more so than others. Accidents do happen, but following the rules 
> can help to minimize the number and the results.
>
> Cad welding is one of the less lethal on the list, BUT, use common 
> safety rules fer Christ sake! Wear welding gloves, or at least a good 
> pare of leather work gloves. Safety glasses are a must.  Use a 
> comfortable and STABLE working position! IOW, one where you aren't 
> going to fall into the HOT stuff. This "stuff" will burn through 
> concrete. REMEMBER THAT! USE an ignition powder, rather than some home 
> made, or substitute method of ignition, unless you are thoroughly 
> experienced and skilled in its use.  Don't use Cad Welding, or any 
> welding near flammable materials or fumes.
>
> Mess up a one shot and lose the igniter powder or mix it in with the 
> regular powder.  The safe answer, starts with a question. Is the cost 
> of that one shot worth a trip to the ER? Not to discount the 
> discomfort and inconvenience caused by a serious burn.  Do not look 
> directly at the flame from a working CadWeld reaction, or you will be 
> seeing spots for some time!
>
> Sure, there are safe ways to ignite it, but for the inexperienced, 
> Don't be cheap,  just pitch it and I do not mean, throw it in the trash.
>
> Throw brain into gear before starting. Use the same precautions you'd 
> use with ant arc, molten metal, and extremely bright light.
>
> One last note. Don't wear synthetic materials that melt! Imagine 
> pouring melted plastic in your lap and then trying to remove it as it 
> sticks to "anything" that comes in contact with it.
>
> There isn't a process that someone out there that someone won't do a 
> serious job of screwing up, sometimes with serious consequences. Don't 
> be the one who does it!
>
> 73
>
> Roger (K8RI)
>
> On 10/31/2016 8:12 PM, Bob K6UJ wrote:
>> I will be connecting no. 6 copper wire to 8 foot ground rods and plan 
>> to bury the
>> connections.  I did my homework reading Tower Talk archives and have 
>> concluded
>> that I will cad weld the connections.  I am a newbie at Cad Welding 
>> any advice,  and where is the best place to get cad welding supplies ?
>>
>>
>> Bob
>> K6UJ
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