Welding Tips and Tricks

can someone please tell me why welding chrome heavy wall pipe is such good money ?? i Recently heard of a job at work where they had to hire some guy to weld some chrome pipe in a battery plant i work in and every one was talking about how much it cost to bring this one guy in to weld . But anyway he did his job took about 1 week for a 20" inch pipe that carriers some chemicals for the batteries the plant had to shut down one of the lines and i had the chance to go home early lol . So anyway why was every one so pissed on how much it cost to bring this guy out ??

Heavy wall chrome pipe for what is likely hazardous service. Falls under some strict code rules. It takes attention to detail and practice and training. There was also added cost for third party inspection and also probably X-ray testing. Plus I’m guessing he wanted to make a profit while adding in some cost for any potential rework. If it was attached to a part of a system that made it part of a pressure vessel then there may have also been paperwork and documentation costs.

mikelove316 wrote: So anyway why was every one so pissed on how much it cost to bring this guy out ??

Because people don't understand how expensive someone is when he has a certai set of skills, especially one that very few of the few have. If he can weld chrome pipe like that, most likely that is all he does and he is damn good at it and makes his living with only that and does as he wishes. I know a few guys like that. They do as they wish and charge the snot out of it because no one else can do it

Those who bring a premium are not usually a Golden Arm. But rather carefull and reliable. There skills often overlap greatly. They get called for almost any job when there is only one chance to get it right.

And if those who bitched or crowed at the cost only knew what it takes to do it, and have it pass, they too would charge those rates. "Mock what you don't understand..." should be piped at them.

cj737 wrote:And if those who bitched or crowed at the cost only knew what it takes to do it, and have it pass, they too would charge those rates. "Mock what you don't understand..." should be piped at them.

Some chick I go to school with was shocked when I told her inwas making roughly $40-$50 an hour making my steel roses once I sold x number of them. I told her that in the low end because I'm paying for tools only. I'm not paying for health jnsurance, rent/mortgage, don't have children to feed and so on. An independent tradesman is expensive because he has a skill you don't and has the tools to do it.

A lot of people don't understand the difference between how much they get paid and how much something costs to do.

They're getting paid X, and think that is how much something should cost because they don't understand how much back end work and expense goes in to the entirety of a given job plus shutting down a production line.

mikelove316 wrote:can someone please tell me why welding chrome heavy wall pipe is such good money ?? i Recently heard of a job at work where they had to hire some guy to weld some chrome pipe in a battery plant i work in and every one was talking about how much it cost to bring this one guy in to weld . But anyway he did his job took about 1 week for a 20" inch pipe that carriers some chemicals for the batteries the plant had to shut down one of the lines and i had the chance to go home early lol . So anyway why was every one so pissed on how much it cost to bring this guy out ??

Good question ! Was it costing them personally ? If not they should STFU and do what they were hired to do .