Making work...

We are at a bit of a funny juncture here at the work site. Almost all of the work has been completed but they haven't completed the 'checklist' yet so there isn't a lot of work to do until that is finished. Until then we have to keep ourselves looking busy which is a seldom talked about skill that every Ironworker needs to develop. The checklist is something that is done by the client. Their representatives go around the site and make a list of changes or repairs which need to be completed before they will sign off on the project. Until that happens we can't start the de-mod and they can't transfer all of us to new locations or to the lay-off line. So that leaves a number of guys working hard at looking busy. Personally I find it harder to hide than to work. With that in mind I went to the tool crib and worked just outside its back door grinding the mushroom ends of used drift pins back into their original tapered shape. When a lot of iron is attached together there are only 2-4 bolts holding them together so when they want to line up the holes they simply use either their bullpin or the pointy end of their spud wrench. But when they attach big iron or bridges or need to join two or more important pieces together in a solid splice they often use a square grid with 100 bolts or more. In this case they take the double tapered drift pins and pound them in to key holes until the rest of the grid holes are lined up. When this is complete they put nut and bolt together for each hole that is still visible and then they start banging out the drift pins and replacing them with bolts. This continues until the grid has been filled in with bolts and the drift pins are all removed. I am guessing they are calls drift pins because they keep the metal from drifting apart but at this point I can't confirm this. Another apprentice with a little more experience than me said it was probably because you have to drift them so hard with the sledge hammer in order to get them in or out but I doubt that the term was used that was when drift pins first originated. We shall see. Regardless of the origins of the name drift pins work only when nailed by a big hammer. As a result of this abuse on one or both of the tapered ends the metal tends to mushroom on the ends which then represents an eye-injury hazard. Like metal wedges the way you deal with this is to use a grinder and grind it back into shape. This is made safer by using a pipe holder to keep the pin steady and then you use your 5 inch grinder to remove the mushroom end by pushing the grinder away from you through the 'mushroom'. Not the most fun but it needs to be done! Yesterday I grabbed every deformed drift pin that I could find. I went outside of the tool crib and took my time doing the best job that I possibly could removing mushroom ends. It made the time go more quickly and made me feel that Inwas being more useful. I finished around quarter to 5 and had everything cleaned up by 10 to 5. So I went in to the toolcrib where a couple of guys had spent the whole day bored as sin and I walked up to the stool beside them and sat down. At that exact second one of the senior Foreman types walked in and commented on how little work we could have got done if I had time to be sitting down! The other two fellows just laughed! Isn't that just the way it goes? Life can be a funny and fickle teacher! Have a great day! I know I will. :)