Work experience

Zylo · Postby **Zylo** » Thu Jul 01, 2004 10:28 pm

Agreed, solder is not pleasant. I've never caught a gun, but I've been hit with a piece of barely-not-molten solder (still around 500F I estimate). Not fun.

Ozymandias · Postby **Ozymandias** » Fri Jul 02, 2004 8:32 pm

OK I'm posting today because its fresh in my mind. Ignore Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for the time being. -->Friday<-- Got in. Started 5 fresh boards. Got them all up to the end of Stage 1 (see below), managing, somehow to put my little finger right on the hot part of the iron. Its burned. My manager said "If you want something to break the monotony, Franky (Francois - a french lady who makes the helmets for pilots) needs some help. So, down I go and discover that she's got 72 chinstraps to do. Each chinstrap has 2 parts, a left and a right. I start on the right side This has 2 parts, a strap and a buckle. So i sit there threading each strap through each buckle checking every 5th one and they're all fine. So 72 straps later im done. I thought. She puts another box on the desk with a sort of cable. Not electrical cable What I have to do now is thread each strap+buckle onto this cable thing which is then attached to the helmet. When I thread the strap onto the cable I have to hammer 2 rivets in (one at each end) *Break for lunch* Continue. Finish all those. OK, so now thats 144 rivets and I'm feeling pretty monotonous. I start to wish I'd stayed assembling radio units upstairs. But then.... ...I get another box and its the left side of the strap. Joy oh joy <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... /sleep.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sleep.gif' /> This side is even worse - there's a small leather pad for under the chin. Its glued shut. So each one I have to unglue the end before I can put the plug for the buckle in. That's OK. I don't mind. We're talking now and its not so boring. There are like some tweezer things that you have to put through the strap and grab the buckle, and pull it back. After holding this device in my hands for half an hour its quite slippery, so I have to hook my burned finger in behind it and use that to pull with (this is probably making no sense. Don't worry) So I do 72 of these straps, my little finger's killing me, and then, rivet time again. Same as before, only this time I'm quite pleased because it gives my little finger a break <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... /smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /> So I finish that at 4pm. Work ends at 4:30. I ask the manager what to do and he suggests I check them ALL Yes, plug 72 straps together, and release them. Although, its a good thing I did because there were 2 straps that I did wrong, both of them on the right side. Luckily they took less than a minute to fix. And that was Friday. I think if I get a summer job that I'd like to do the electronics side of it even though it is tricker and all.

mrpwase · Postby **mrpwase** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 5:33 pm

I remember my work experience last year - a lot more cushy. I worked at a primary school down the road from my school - no extra travel requirements, and all I had to do was stand there. All day. For two weeks. <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... ns/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' />

norsenerd · Postby **norsenerd** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:36 pm

That's mroe cooshie?

mrpwase · Postby **mrpwase** » Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:40 pm

Well, no work = more cushy for me...I can stand and think. <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... /ph34r.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='ph34r.gif' />

Ozymandias · Postby **Ozymandias** » Tue Jul 06, 2004 5:18 pm

OK Monday was weird. First off I made 3 boxes to Stage 2 by 11:45 (since 8:30), I had to check 200 boards to see that all components were there (I'm suspecting this was a distraction whilst they found me summat to do)and then I was checking product cases and drilling screw threads. Turns out they put me in charge of stock management. So I gotta drill, check and rivet 50 of these. Then the same with the smaller cases. Was doin this all Tuesday except for a bit where I stuck stickers in French on the 26 finished cases. That was cushy cos I got to sit in my manager's chair to do it whilst he sorted summing out in the workshop) Just got the small cases left but only checking! So that was Monday and Tuesday. Hopefully something better tomorrow. Oh, yeah, and they say they're gonna talk to me about a summer job on Thurs of Fri <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... iggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Ozymandias · Postby **Ozymandias** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 7:34 pm

I am one lucky bugger. I was nearly blinded Wednesday. Some bloody solder oxide sprayed at my eye. Just the one eye, my left eye. It landed on my bottom eyelid, just where the eyelid ends (above the bottom eyelashes). I wouldn't have been able to drive, probably, cos my right eye is pathetic. If I find the eye test I took once I'll tell u just how bad.

Zaaphod · Postby **Zaaphod** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 5:01 am

Ouch! That's not good at all. I hope it's not serious.

Burning Sheep Productions · Postby **Burning Sheep Productions** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 7:15 am

Ooh... Close one there.

Ozymandias · Postby **Ozymandias** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 11:12 am

nah its good. Work Experience finished yesterday. I was hoping to finish what I was doing, but I didn't quite get there. FRIDAY: First thing I was doing more power leads with really annoying solder joints and naff wires. Then I got a large box put on my desk and was told to check to see there were 150 pieces of leather. There were147, so I had to count them all again, and ther were still 147. Then I was given these 100 packets with antena bases in, and a scalpel. I had to >slice off the cardboard top and bin it. >Take out the smaller packet inside and place the big bag to one side. >Slice the small bag open and bin it. >Take some big tool and break off 2 MEHTUL things on the actual fitting. >Bung it all back in the big bad >Roll it up and smoke it <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... tongue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tongue.gif' />. No, not really. Roll it up and tape it shut. It felt like I was preparing fish at some factory. I got 97 done! 97! so close! Anyways they gave me a cheque for 20 and a job at 5 an hour for 6 weeks (Im goin on holiday tho so itll be more like 4 weeks - still good tho <img src='http://definecynical.mancubus.net/forum ... iggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />)

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