That damn heavy belt!

As you know I finally brought my belt to work with me. I figured it was a good time to start because I wasn't connecting or bolting up so I wouldn't have to fill the Kuny bags with bolts making the belt around half of its maximum weight. So I was going for the gradual work up as I knew the full weight of the belt might be a little crippling at first. The ironworker's belt is his toolbox. There are several standard items that most Ironworkers have. The belt itself is a flat piece of leather a little thicker than the one holding up your pants. If you are smart you have a back support on there as well. This makes it look kind of like a weightlifting belt. In fact some guys simply wear a weight belt. Before adding tools you need the thing that hold the tools. The first things are the Kuny Bags for holding bolts. Most folks carry 2 and each has a bullpin holder on one side. On one side of your body you have a couple of clips or caribiners that hold your 12' adjustable wrench and either a 4lb or a 6lb hammer. Usually the hammer has a nut welded beside the handle on the bottom of the hammer head that the clip goes through. On the other side of your body is your frog and possibly another bullpin holder. The frog is a piece of leather folder double that looks kind of like a cartoon frog's head. Adding to this illusion is the fact that it has 2 holes in it for your spud wrenches. Ironworkers carry 2 spud wrenches in their frog that are sometimes the same size (when you are working on only one size bolt that gives you one for the bolt's head and one to tighten the nut. Sometimes they are different sizes for different size bolts and when this happens the adjustable wrench is used to hold the bolt. Spuds also come as adjustable but apart from price they aren't as solid as the ones that aren't adjustable. My buddy Brian Gamache was torquing a tough nut with one last winter and snapped it so there is a lot to be said for the one sized units! The spuds hang pointy end down through the frog's eyes and yes they do bounce off your leg all day. But you probably don't notice it as you also have your sleever bar (like a straight crowbar with one end wider and flat and one end pointed that is used for a lot of things but mainly prying)and your sleever being longer bounces off of your kneecap! My sleever is hanging from my bullpin holder but lots of guys used spare time to weld a little clip to their frog so that it is easier to reach. And then there is the bullpin. The draw pin and the punch. Bullpins are tapered 'nails' six or so inches long with a flat end and a pointy end. When you are trying to line up the holes between a column and a clip you hammer you bullpin through one hole and it lines up the others so that you can bolt them. You then whack the pointy end releasing it and move on to the next connection. The draw pin is kind of similar but is tapered at both ends. The punch is more like the bullpin but is little and is used to make a dent in the metal for running your mag drill through. My point here is that the belt is around 40lbs with the tools and around 70 lbs if your bags are filled with bolts! So yesterday I got all suited up with my new (used) belt. For the first hour I felt manly as hell! It was a hot and. Er humid day and in the second hour as the sweat soaked everything it started to hurt. By the third hour I was hurting enough that I was considering a career change to mattress testing. By the end of the day when I stripped down I discovered that the weight had embedded the band of my underwear permanently into my hips! I had to run down to the med center and have them surgically removed! I am back today. I will wear that belt again despite the heavy rain. But when I get home I am going to look into getting shoulder straps! Have a great day!