ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Fun with apprectices

I've sent more than a few for
wirenut lockwashers
a #12 De-crimper,
a lube gun,
switchgear polish,
and a 1' extension for step ladders

The sky hooks are called "Siemens air hooks" here.
I never actually got them, but when working for the railway company, painting a loco, a mate told the engineer who was supervising our work: "Hey, move that loco a little so he can put up a ladder at the front. Or is he supposed to paint hanging from a Siemens air hook?" We all had a good chuckle.

One of the apprentices at the Ford plant where I worked was VERY late in arriving to help a journeyman reverse rotation on a conveyor belt motor. Just as the journeyman finished the task...the kid shows up, so the fun got under way.

The kid was told that "we need to reverse the direction of rotation on this 5 Horsepower Baldor motor (and the kid starts writing down the nameplate info in his book) which is controlled by an ITE Full Voltage Non-Reversing Combination Motor Starter (and the kid keeps writing).

The journeyman proceeds to open the box, pull the fuses, put them back in the clips upside-down, close the box and turn the motor on to show the kid that it worked.

The kid dutifully wrote ALL this down in his book.

The entire shop had a week-long laugh about that one.

(Not to worry, we straightened the kid out before we sent him out on his own)

The last time I got to send an apprentice off for one of these it was a "Blue handled" Sky hook. He proceeds to check out several of our material trailers, and runs into one of my sub-foreman. He tells him what he has been sent for in these HOT, METAL Con-ex boxes in the middle of August. The guy says "Oh, George is pulling your leg" "I thought so" the kid says. "Yeah, we gave the blue handled to the carpenters, we only have the red ones left" The young'un proceeds to spend the next 3 hours in these ovens looking for a red handled sky hook.

The one that got ME as an apprentice, and was, of course, passed down....was an underground 4" run (only rigid in those days) for comm, we're getting ready to vac a line in...Hey George, put your ear to this pipe and let me know when you hear the mouse coming, I'll slow down. Yeah, it was awful chilly in those soaking wet clothes in October. Ya just HAD to pass that one along.

How about " a yard of paint" storeman dips brush in paint and paints a line 3feet long on the floor. (the other 5 or 6 paint lines should have given it away).

Or sent for "tartin dye" how else do you make kilts?

Ahhh the trades bike. I used to have one of those. I deliverd groceries for the co-op. All my school pals laughed me till Christmas came. Old dears just loved getting there groceries taken home for them

Paul dont you dare start calling me "Granvil" lol

Too old to fall for any of these mentioned. Many journyman have tried but all have failed. When on a large job once I went to look for what he asked for but went for a extened luch instead. He was upset I was gone for so long. I told him if you want me to look for something that does not exist, I will take my time looking for it. That was 2.5 years ago. No one since have asked me to look for something that does not exist. If they do ill be at lunch at least till 1:30,
Steve ancient apprentice

[This message has been edited by steve ancient apprentice (edited 10-11-2006).]

Steve,
we can't give ALL our secrets out here in print

Someday, we will get you - you may even be a jman (if you're not already?) by then....and we will STILL get you - when you least expect it...we will get you - at the most inopportune moment...we will get you - you might be in a job meeting with all the big cheese's...we will get you - you might be in the porta-john...we will get you...
...
...
...
It's what we do

I used to be famous at the one company I was a foreman for. I sent a guy into the presidents office to ask him where the greenlee tube bender was, sent men to the general contractors trailer to barrow a left handed torque wrenches, I had one apprentice that would fall for anything so I sent him to another jobsite to get the red sky hooks. I told one apprentice to be sure to unplug all extension cords because they are just laying around and the general contractor was concerned about the volts leaking out and piling up in the corners. All though this was humorous to watch I did hear a bit of grief from the other trades when he went around unplugging their cords. I was working close to an airport so I had an apprentice be on the lookout for certain "aircraft" for me namely the
B-1-R-D and the G-U-11 . I convinced one apprentice that fuses were " current directive" and if installed upside down they wouldn't work. Then I left him alone and snuck back to peek on him and sure enough he was checking the fuses in the disconnects and turning some over so the writing was right side up.
I got my dues one day when I sent a guy out to my truck to get some greenfield couplings. After about 15 minutes he came back in and handed me 2 straight connectors and a rigid coupling, then said the jokes on me. I looked out side he dam near emptied my truck on the ground looking for these parts.

Celtic,
Now i cant stop laughing. I needed it today. Not a J-man yet a little less than a year and a half. 5100 and counting. 2900 to go.

Funny stuff!!! When I was a helper on a big job I was sent for a "sky hook" by a worthless J-man. I spent all day flirting with the warehouse women "looking" for it.Told my forman and he fired the J man that did it. Best day I had on that job for 3 yrs. Rod