Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Today I was a mechanic!

Today was an eleven hour work day as a mechanic. I know you're getting jealous but hold on there sport, we spent most of our day standing around. Pretty par for the course this summer. Our number one responsibility is to learn so that means watch people do stuff and hope they let you help. Luckily today the standing around was due to the fact that we were waiting on people to get us stuff we needed. We actually got to be fairly useful. We were under the "watchful" eye of Chris today with some aid from (mouthy) Adam. Chris, it turns out, isn't even old enough to legally consume alcohol (that you can't buy in Conway) but Adam likes him anyway. Adam has been reported to the ethics hotline and written up some 19 (I think) times since January for improper conduct (saying offensive or sexual things). Granted most of the time people know him and know that he's kidding but sometimes new people hear him say things and take him seriously. They seem like alright guys. ANYWAY....

Today we helped rebuild a C pump and after lunch we took out and replaced the bearings (NOT ball bearings) in a power end (the part of the pump truck that helps create pressure...it's like the engine of the pump...that's as best as I can describe it considering how I understand it). C pumps usually go down because the rubber rings in them need to be replaced so that's really all that is involved in fixing them. It didn't take long. From 1 to 6:30 we dealt with the bearings. These bearings are just sort of cuff things that fit around the drive shaft parts and create a smooth surface for them. You have to get in there and unbolt the things that go around them and it's very greasy in there. Also have to sand the drive shaft part some to make sure that it's completely smooth. Friction is the enemy. Once you've taken all of this stuff apart, the fun begins when you have to try to put it back together. It's very greasy. Also in case you've never looked inside a power end, the grease in those things is not only plentiful but it reeks. Seriously. It's bad. Like make you think about vomiting bad. At least I think so.

Tomorrow is another day in the shop but not sure who they'll have "teach" us tomorrow since Chris is going to be on days off. Maybe Adam... or someone new. We shall see. Thursday we work with a guy who takes care of the iron. Not sure what that will mean for us but again, we shall see.

No comments:

Post a Comment