Spent 4 hours chasing a drift pin that just wouldn't budge

Old industrial hammer. Been doing this 12 years now. Client brought in a 1940s press brake that needed the main pivot pin punched out. Simple job, right? Not even close. That drift pin took a 20-ton press and 3 hours of heat cycling before it popped. I just stood there watching it laugh at my sledgehammer. First time I ever had to walk away and come back the next day. The whole thing made me question if I'm still good at this. Anyone else had a job that should take 30 minutes but ate up a whole day?

3 comments

3 Comments

alice92813d ago

Four hours is nothing. I've seen guys spend two days on a single pin. The old presses were built like tanks, not like the crap they sell now. That pin has been sitting there since the 40s, rusted in place, never been moved. You didn't lose your touch. The machine beat you this time, not the job. Go home, drink something strong, and come back fresh. Tomorrow it'll pop right out.

carr.abby13d ago

Wait, @alice928, did you hear about my buddy Dave from the shop? He spent a whole shift wrestling a seized pin on an old press, gave up, came back the next morning with a coffee, and it slid out like butter after one tap. Guess the machine just needed a good night's sleep too, huh?

fionafoster13d ago

Read a forum post once where a mechanic said old equipment has a kind of memory. It picks up on the tension in the room and just holds on tighter. @carr.abby's friend probably proved that right, the machine took a break too. Sometimes the metal just needs to cool off and forget you're mad at it.