Standard Applications

Today in the Morena Welding Inc. shop was all about two large residential handrails with mean curves and a solid steel gate. Juan and Jose were torching a curved handrail to bend it just right towards the end of the day. Earlier Juan was finishing up on a gate with custom curved and flattened tips. Sean was around earlier in the day to help with the curved handrails and clean up the shop a little as usual. The guys are really good about keeping the shop clean and it shows. I am always more productive when my workspace is clean so it is nice to see others that take the same care in their craft.

The Busy Holiday Week

With a short week because of the upcoming holiday, projects are in full swing. The guys are all in the shop today trying to tie up any and all small projects. First, there was a pair of black dinner chairs that needed to be welded back together. Jose took care of that within the first couple hours and moved on to a handrail with a mean curve on it. Actually there are two curved handrails in the shop right now in the beginning stages of fabrication. Sean was helping hold the rail in place as they did some preliminary welds to solidify the shape of the rail. By now they are probably both welding the legs on them. Juan is completing two detailed gates that he has fabricated from scratch with half inch square steel bars. The first thing he did was bend all the bars to match each other. Then he placed it all together and started on his spot welds. It is looking like they should be ready for galvanization or paint by the end of the short week. Juan also just completed some two inch square aluminum gates that look super clean and are so much lighter than their steel counterparts. The day is coming to a short end because today is our holiday dinner/lunch at the fabulous Olive Garden. With hearty food, great company, and a covered tab the rest of the day for Morena Welding Inc. will be filed with extra happy campers.

Tools for Repair Need Repairs Too.

Tools are a very important part of any shop. They can make your work much easier or much more difficult if used on the incorrect application. Usually these day to day tools of the trade are taken for granted. When we start a project it is expected that the tools we need will work, and when they don't the project doesn't move until they do. For instance, today one of our trusty grinders was on the fritz. Luckily it was towards the end of the day and of course we have more than one. This doesn't mean we get rid of it, just let Juan play Mr. Fix It for an hour or so and that grinder will be good as new. Other than the fixing the tools of the trade the guys were working on a large light post, a square tubed aluminum gate, and Sean went on a portable welding trip to reinforce a staircase with a half inch piece of steel. All in all, the day went by pretty quick and the shop looks squeaky clean for a fresh start tomorrow morning bright and early.

Big Trailers to Intricate Gates

With a rainy start to the week, us bloggers enjoyed staying inside and out of the cold. While the guys in the shop have to throw on the jackets and get things done, at least all the big projects we had going last week are completed and delivered. Sean did have to attach some steel bolts to a trailer but he used the fork lift to bring it into the shop. This trailer is used to attach fifth wheels and before the bolts were welded to it they just used, what looked like massive staples, to latch the female ends to a steel mesh covering. It is hard to explain but my point was that it was very unstable before. Sean powered through it in one day so he could go out and do some portable welding yesterday and today. Jose usually goes with him out on portable welding gigs but Sean must have been showing some extra initiative lately cause Jose has been staying in the shop working on a detailed steel rack. Juan has been fabricating a gate from scratch, putting all the separate pieces together one by one. You would think from an outsiders prospective that our large projects such as those stairs from last week, or those four massive ADA handrails, would take the most production time. That is rarely the case. The small projects are more difficult to work with and take up more time on the drawing table as well. Plus, the less surface area there is to look over the more we notice little errors. What can you say, doing things the right way takes time. Cutting corners only pushes problems and responsibility down the line and that isn't the way we do things around the Morena Welding Inc. shop. It just makes everything better when things get done right the first time.

Friday is for Finished Projects

Today at Morena Welding Inc. was all about finishing up that large ADA handrail project for our friend at the Morena Business Association, Gilbert. There is a total of five separate handrails that surround a building on West Morena Blvd., across the street from the Arco gas station. Sean and Jose where out installing them today, leaving Juan all alone in the shop. Juan gets superman style productive when he is alone. It must be easier to focus without all the grinding, welding, and talking that happens when the boys are in. He was working on three lamp posts for UCSD housing that needed new base plates. The original base plates were on 3/8 inch thick so Juan replaced them with 1/2 inch steel plates for added stability. He then put a coat of primer on them and painted them black. Juan also put a new top to one of them and found out that bird/pigeon poop is sticky like super glue, who would have thought, a natural glue. We all learn something new everyday, more than properties of bird droppings usually. Next week the guys are starting on some residential gates that are going to be beautifully intricate. Looking forward to seeing the skill that we have come to expect from our guys. Have a great Fall weekend everyone!

Full Steam Ahead

With a couple of large projects being completed in the last couple of days, it is time to get back to all the other jobs on the board. The massive staircase made to access a loading dock has been completed and painted on site. The fork lift had a fun time getting it onto a flatbed truck for transportation since it is so darn heavy, but Sean has become a pro fork lift operator and handled it like a seasoned veteran. The client was happy to receive the order since they needed it to complete their job. It just goes to show how every job, no matter how big or small, makes a difference in the end. We understand this and it is the reason Juan and Jose put in some overtime to get the job finished. The ADA railing project was return with a hot dipped galvanization and ready to smooth out. Sean was hand buffing that railing today and with how much area there is I am sure he will be doing it again tomorrow. Just the way it is when things are. Doing things right takes a tedious amount of time.

Back in Action slightly Heavier.

Back from the first holiday of the season, the guys seem more confident than usual. I heard somewhere that courage comes from the gut so maybe those big turkey dinners did us all some good. With business picking up and some big projects needing to be completed ASAP, any help will do. The big project that has been taking up all the guys time is this rock solid ten inch steel staircase made to access a loading dock. Juan fabricated the railing while Jose created the main platform. Sean helped by grinding all the rust of these steel columns and cutting the stairs and the stainless steel cheese grader grip in the right size pieces. Yesterday and today was all about making sure all the i's where dotted and t's were crossed. In other words checking to make sure it is code compliant. The whole project will be completely fabricated in-house as well as painted here. The client is even going to come pick it up, so no install is necessary. Considering this project weighs a ton, I am sure the guys are tired of lugging it around for a week anyway. They will be glad to see it completed and out of the way for more "lighter" pieces. Check back tomorrow for the completed shots after paint.