Welding on crane boom

[Big Pete]

spring loaded centre punch

[Merlyn]

Nope, virtually non contact.

[Merlyn]

Seeing as to there are no ideas forthcoming concerning my three problems re the liners, the Golden Rivet and the B.S.B. Welders detection tool it rather reminds me of my T.T.T.T. article and as such I do fear that the B.C. ( bus conducters ) title may be lurking out there somewhere for some folks who perhaps have the C.R. ( control room ) addiction as things are nowadays down below.
In an effort to distance ourselves from this ungainly B.C. title I feel that by relating what should be a well known job to all the correct answer will be arrived at concerning the B.S.B. Title.
Anyone worth their salt must have done this job somewhen and as such has experienced what sometimes invariably follows re problems encountered en route.
Picture the scenario, a stern wind of medium strength when underway causes soot/smut deposits to be deposited on the decks.
By the process of elimination ( as in common rail diagnosis ) a diagnosis reveals the culprit to be a particular genset.
But is the smoke L.F.O. Or Lube oil?
Monitoring the situation it is discovered that a small amount of lube oil is being consumed by the engine concerned.
So out with the slide hammer, remove all injectors, pump up and pressure test ( just for the hell of it on the injector testing M/C ) and in with the compression tester.
A check on all cylinders reveals all over 400 p.s.i. and no piston slap previously being heard it's time to replace the injectors annealing or renewing copper washers as necessary.
So it's off with the rocker covers and peering in between closed valves with the coil springs in the open mode thus revealing all it's evident that the valve stem oilseals have let go, they are split and perished thereby allowing the lube oil apon its return to fall down into the guides and be combusted in the bore, up the smokestack and thereby onto the decks.
A look in E.R. store reveals that the tool to enable you to change the valve oilseals without removing the head /s is awaiting your useage.
So carefully locating the fulcrum ( remembering here moments about a point ? ) and the leverage applied reveals the Two cotters in all their glory.
Now can the problem arrive of removing the cotters without allowing them to drop.
Years of hammering the cotters up into the retaining top cap taper together with red hot oil and some carbon can cause the cotters to become difficult to detach from the stem.
By using your pinkies to attempt to separate them is not to be recommended, those dual valve springs don't like being compressed and remember all components here are of a high grade carbon steel.
So unless you don't mind having the top end of your pinkies sheared off it's out with that small screwdriver.
Now comes the dangerous and alas often encountered job.
Requiring quite some effort of twisting moments of the screwdriver sometimes one collet will fly off at a rate of knots invariably landing down below, underneath that head web casting and sat atop the block.
Forget that 12 inch studding with a blob of grease on the end, that's dangerous and often sends the cotter off down the pushrods tubes to sit amongst the cam followers. ( No shaky hands here remember )
Deep shit and we certainly don't want to go there.
I have had one of those dentist mirrors on the end of a 12 inch bendable cable which will stay in the position you have bent it in over the last 25 years or so and should the cotter be lurking out of sight perhaps the similar tool with three expandable claws will help.
The jaws akin to being like a three legged extractor which when let go will grab the collet and thus secure it in the jaws securely.
There is however a much more suitable tool to ensure safe removal of the rogue collet, I have had one since 1960 and for sure this is one tool you never, ever want to lend for certain it's such a life saver you will never, ever see it again.
Can't really recall the percentage collet leap off down below failure rate throught my years of head overhauls but stabbing in the dark perhaps it's possibly in the order of 10% or so.
So back to the B.S.B. Detection tool question, what's the name of this tool for it comes from the same family only this is " the bar version ? "
So come on R.R. And bat the ball back to me, it's lonely out here?

[Redroof]

Magnet.
Similar to the brass magnet I gave the cadet to fish out the sounding tape from the sludge tank, but for different material.

[Merlyn]

Sheer magnetism from you R.R. methinks?
Leaves only the liner and the Golden Rivet for you to crack.
Hat trick?

[Redroof]

Both quite easy and straightforward, though one is a little rude.
Got to give others a chance though, cant hog the glory all to myself.........

[Merlyn]

M.M.M.

Modest Man Methinks putting your fellow men first and not going for gold.
Or a massive bluff to smoke me out?
I am wondering which one is " a little rude?"

[Vegman]

From what I know - cranes are "optional" to be classed according to the class societies. Some offshore units that have hull and (some ) machinery classed by an IACS society choose to have their offshore cranes surveyed and inspected by a third party that specialises in cranes or by the makers rep.
For ships you have the issue of stevedores and local port rules- . In most countries with good labour and safety standards,they will definitely want to see some sort of survey and inspection regime at least equivalent to what class would do.

[Merlyn]

Regular inspections by competent persons and inspection reports signed and dated.
This is ( over here ) so you can be held to account should things go wrong.
I have in the past heard of cases whereby in the event of a fatality the people who carried out the inspection has been threatened with a manslaughter charge.
Serious stuff.
Bet R.R. Has already been dancing on the upside down welded pulley brackets ( sat atop the boom ) for those cable idler gears with his new horseshoe magnet testing for scale excess and Bitumen excesses whilst checking for B.S.B. Welding.
He probably knows which throw the cable is ( right or left hand ) and amount of strands per winding and of course no. of strands.
Hopefully he has the correct grade SAE of the fish oil he is lubing up the centre internal rope section of the wire rope using a brush to wind it in every inch of cable.
Checking the correct throw of the cable ( left to right or right to left ) on the drum and greasing the centre shafting he them performs perhaps the most important part of the job.
Refitting his new magnet keep to prevent his sheer magnetism exhausting to atmosphere and putting it not too near his bar magnet but within 12 inches of the ships compass so he can stream to sunnier climes instead of 8 miles offshore tanker discharging buoys he is probably on course for.
..

[Redroof]

Sorry to disappoint Merlyn.
Job was cancelled as the welders were too late in providing a procedure so the ship sailed back to the field.
Without the procedure I couldnt get the management of change procedure completed so the job was postponed until the next suitable port call. Unfortunately were not a tanker but a flexible pipe lay/ subsea construction vessel, so it was back out to the field to sit on DP and wait for our client to decide what to do next, lay pipe or do some construction 2500m below us........But otherwise, 2579.3mtrs of 44mm RH Lang's lay Flexpak 1960N/mm2, pressure lubricated with Nyrosten 55, and I have a team of techs to do all the dirty stuff.........

[Merlyn]

Two/four knotter jobby eh?
Plenty of times to adjust tappets here when underway.
Tickover forever.
And all that work I did re your magnetism.
Well at least the sales of horseshoe and bar magnets have rocketed skywards so some good has come out of it.
Better slip another ponderer in meanwhile till the welding is done.
What was that special material that I used to be sent ashore for as a boy during a winter refit alongside " 12 inches boy I want, don't you dare come back with another length as it's very hard to hacksaw and you will be given the job "
Ground diameter, precision stuff, hard and not so easy to machine.
Kept coming back with 13 inches and continually bounced between the toolshop and the ship before realising after several trips that this stuff is only available in 13 inch lengths ?
To what do I refer and why only 13 inches?
Giving it a go will take your mind off magnets and sussing future B.S.B. Folk.

,

[Merlyn]

Nice bit of kit you have there R.R., have to confess reading your description of it initially I pictured loads of bouys disappearing over the horizon with grease nipples on the top and a weekly job of passing by and giving each one a few pumps til I read the depths involved.
Then I thought no, there will be a greaser each end ashore maybe.
Had to educate myself as I have never worked or sailed on that type of specialist ship.
Lot of gear which when getting older could be methinks non stop work and maintenance problems.
Looking at them online I am picturing you leaning over the sternrail in a 7 and up on tickover or hove to on the D.P. System?
Bit topheavy in a 8 perhaps all that kit painting the sky.
Headwind job?
Crawler tractor on deck?
Crew changes halfway through laying mid Atlantic?
Long trips maybe.
Interesting and certainly different.
P.S.
Don't forget the 13" .

[Redroof]

Still working on the 13" it's got me. When I get off I'll ask around in the local.....

5 week trips, chopper on and off. Pipelay tower is a big piece of agricultural crap, a very simplistic machine made complicated by those that look after it. The old girl is getting on for 9 years old. Still new to me but the gear doesn't like to be neglected. Folds down on top of the accomodation for passages.
Sits very comfortably in 8s and 9s, nice slow roll, gentle, soothing, even in the Southern Indian Ocean, heading for Australia on a south great circle down in the forties.

All she needs really is a slow speed and I'd be happy..........

[Merlyn]

Ha, another victory perchance.
Know what you mean by the " made complicated by those who look after it "
Looking at all those grease nipples on the U tubes I looked at of the set up obviously you have to go on a course to differentiate between round headed grease nipples and hexagonal ones.
Maybe there are some chain drives on your installation, a sly looksee might reveal some joiner links springs facing the wrong way of travel.
i.e. The open link facing the direction of travel awaiting for something to flick it off and wreck the installation.
Getting one over is the phrase I believe.
Must be all that weight keeping her down in a blow maybe?
Anchored to the bottom in the roaring forties blow eh?
Drop a valve and you may need to turn part of the 13 " length inch and a half ish plus diameter down to the valve stem diameter to punch/press out that cracked valve guide present on that old Wartsila.
Carbon steel centreless material highly polished here?

[Merlyn]

Picture the US dollar sign with no upright lines ?