Closet Extremist

Recalibrating the "Eyeball"

I'm only at about 75% on my "Eyeball" calls since I've been back in the construction bidness, and it bothers me. I'm used to being able to look at something and being able to tell immediatley....no Instinctively what the measurement is, and whther or not it's "out" of level or plumb. I'm just used to noticing these things.

Here lately, I've been missing a few things that I should have caught "by rote". I guess it's just the fact that my measuring "eye" has atrophied over the intervening years. White collar work will do that to you.

However, I've had a few victories over the last few day's. As a matter of fact, this afternoon, we were "setting" a few door bolsters, and the bracketry that holds them up. Well the "lead man" (An old salt of the elevator business if thee ever was one) got called over to the three-stop elevator at the front of the building to consult on a problem. I was admosnished to "get the side brackets up" as he left.

We already had the bottom piece in place ( _ ), so all I had to do was sit the side brackets atop it, and bolt them in place ( I_I ), like so. He was gone for longer than I expected, so I proceeded to install the "header". (That's the part that installs above the previous example creating a box. (Sill at the bottom, side brackets go9ing up from the right and left, and the Header sits atop the side brackets.)

The "Headr" is a foot-long by eight-foot wide piece of stamped steel. It's not light. I had to figure out a way to put this in place (via two bolts at each end) without holding it out over the open gap that separates the platform from the emptiness that goes all the way down to the pit. I got creative, and set a two foot piece of bracket down on the floor of the platform, that extended out over the emptiness, and set a five gallon bucket of "Spare parts" (also not light) on the end of it (to support the end of the header that I wasn't working on first.)

Needless to say, my "Lead" was impressed that I had managed to set the header without his help, and the fact that I set it correctly was even more of a surprise. (There's someone who works with us, who has been there for three years, who (according to reports) could not perform the same feat. I've been employed there for Eight Days, so I think I'm ahead of the curve.

Damn, I like this job. Body-aches and ten hour day's notwithstanding. I'm thinking that I'll be a fine "Elevator Man"...Someday.