Bench
From the shop
Shop notes on fabrication, plasma work, welding and the jobs that leave the yard
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From the shop checked
How AESS steel gets its finish, from the blast to the field touch-up
An AESS finish does not stop at the weld. How exposed steel is blast cleaned, primed and painted, fire coated or galvanized, judged against the mockup, and touched up after erection.
8 min read
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From the shop checked
What a beam cope is, and why the drawing calls for one
A cope is cut metal removed from a beam's flange and web so the end can land past a flange it would otherwise hit. What the detail is doing, where it shows up on a drawing, and what it is not.
5 min read
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From the shop checked
How Pregnancy Medicaid Works in Texas and Who Qualifies
A plain guide to Texas pregnancy Medicaid: income limits, coverage during and after pregnancy, how to apply, and what documents to gather first.
5 min read
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From the shop checked
What the mill certificate tells you before the first cut
A mill certificate read at the bench before the saw: heat number, ASTM grade, yield and tensile, and what the paper does not prove about the plate under it.
6 min read
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From the shop checked
What the cut edge says about the pass that made it
Top edge rounding, dross on the bottom, a few degrees of bevel and the kerf: what a plasma-cut edge records about the pass that made it, read at the bench.
6 min read
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From the shop checked
The fit-up check that happens before the weld goes in
Root opening, bevel, root face and hi-lo, read with a taper gauge, a protractor and a caliper on one groove joint, with the numbers as they came off the bench.
6 min read
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From the shop checked
Coping beams so they bolt up in the air, not on the phone
A cope gets cut and checked on the bench: cut dimensions, the clearance to the supporting member, the gage line on the angle, and what the tape cannot prove.
6 min read
