Green hand on a big tank job in Baton Rouge last spring...

I was wrestling with a fit-up that wouldn't line up and this old guy just walked over, tapped the shell with his hammer, and said 'she's tired, give her a minute'. He was right... the shell settled and we rolled it in perfect. Anyone else ever had a tool or trick handed down from an old timer that seemed like nonsense until it worked?

2 comments

2 Comments

victor_lane6025d ago

That old guy tapping the shell with his hammer is basically the grown up version of 'turn it off and turn it back on again'. In my experience the old timers have this weird voodoo where they just know when metal needs to stretch or settle or whatever. I swear half of what they taught me was just them making noise while their coffee got cold enough to drink. Your mileage may vary but I've watched a guy fix a stuck valve by cussing at it for five minutes straight. It worked. Still can't explain that one.

morgan_lewis1825d ago

My dad taught me the same trick on a refinery job back in 2018. We had this flange that just would not seal and he walked over, whacked it with a 2 pound sledge, told me to give it ten minutes and grab another cup of coffee. I thought he was messing with me but sure enough it seated perfectly after that. There's something about letting the metal relax that I still cant explain but I trust it every time now.