Welding Tips and Tricks

Where would I go to find out about welding carnival rides? Both repair and fabrication.I'm pretty sure it must be fairly heavily regulated due to safety concerns and the amount of stress they must go through every fair that they run in. Is there a code book for this type of thing?

I knew a fellow several years ago who built carnival rides. (He's no longer with us.)

If I recall, he welded under AWS D1.1, so there were no special requirements to do the work. I know he had an NDT program in place, though I don't know what type, and the guys who worked for him were some excellent welders. He also employed machinists ,mechanics, electricians, and fabricators. I believe he carried $5M in liability.

I'm going to take a guess that repairing those rides now falls under the fairly new AWS 1.7 "Guide to Repairing and Strengtening Existing Structures"

Steve

Thanks Otto/Steve,

Do you know if he (R.I.P.) did the design/engineering inhouse or was it jobbed out?

I'm going to look into this a little more, maybe there is a community college somewhere that has a program for this type of work. It's seems like it would be a very interesting line of work........but maybe not. I once thought that it would be fun to build parade floats. Was I wrong! It was the worst job I ever had!

Steve

Hi, Steve,

He didn't do any of the design work. As an established builder, he was granted contracts to build customer designs.

No "bar napkin sketches" at his end of the job, and I suspect the design/engineering end is the critical part. No drawings from "Bob's engineering and tire emporium" It's a bit of a specialty, designing big machines to do unorthodox maneuvers, and then call them "person-carry rated".

If you can find a company that builds these rides, there may be a way inside without actually getting a job there. It depends on how young you can look. I did a little bit of "industrial espionage" once. I worked for an ambulance rebuilder as project manager, and we were looking to expand into fire equipment. Everyone in the industry was very tight-lipped, so I posed as a college student pursuing a BS (no pun intended) in Industrial Technology, and got a mid-sized manufacturer to give me incredible access to the inner workings of their facility, a three-hour guided tour, sample drawings, and permission to take pictures, under the premise of writing a paper and presentation on designing a production facility. My "angle for the 'A' " was choosing an industry where it's not a straight assembly line because each customer has his own requirements.

You wouldn't need to be so elaborate. A welding "student" exploring more interesting options than simple production welding might get the nickle tour. (I just don't get to tell that story very often... )

We never did do fire equipment, so no harm, no foul, but I had my "James Bond" moment.

Steve

I'd imagine that anyone who designs, engineers or builds rides would have to be very well versed in materials selection, hydraulics, motion control, conveyance systems, motors, electronics, safety systems,etc... not to mention the fact that the rides must be able to be taken apart and put back together fairly easily and then lightweight enough to travel on a semi trailer.

I don't think I could easily pass for a student anymore,but that's a great idea!

"Non-traditional" student?

"Vocation rehabilitation?"

Career change forced by the economy?

The bigger the lie, the easier the belief. (Unfortunately true.)

I guess I could always say I was doing pre-production for a reality television show about carnivals. That's believable given the amount of reality shows on tv now.

delraydella wrote:I guess I could always say I was doing pre-production for a reality television show about carnivals. That's believable given the amount of reality shows on tv now.

Now you're thinking!

You've got a devious gene or two floating around your DNA, too!

Honestly, I prefer the direct approach, but when I encounter tight-lipped "secret society" attitudes over what, in the end, is just a damn job, some little voice inside me says, "Oh yeah? Watch this, dumbass!"



Steve

It's probably not so much a secretive attititude about what's just a job to you, but essentially you are going in as possible/probable competition to them and you are viewing their complete production process and possible trade secrets and could eventually put them out of business with that knowledge.

Hey there, as an active employed welder and a carnival game owner. I can tell you you wouldnt want to work for a carnival ride owner as the pay sucks. You are better off going into business for yourself offering repairs. Most of the work is all mig and stick welding. Most show owners employ all their own welders that repair and fabricate anything they need. The best way to go would be to try and get hired on with a ride manufacturer. There are several US builders and multiple foreign companies. Some of the american companies include Wisdom, Dartron, American ride manufacturers they are based in ohio. There are others that you can google as well. These established companies would offer the proper pay grade and room for advancement. F.Y.I there is a food concessions mfg that fabricates really high end trailers in wintersville ohio. His name is Fred Schwarts and his company is called Hitch-hiker mfg and I hear he is a really good guy. Hope this helps and if you have any questions just ask. There isnt much I couldnt tell you about the carnival biz.

Thanks!!


Do you know if there is a school that teaches ride engineering or design?


Other Steve

Im not sure but I will ask some of my friends that own rides. I was a concession/game owner so they will know more about that than me. I don't think there are any specific courses or programs related to carnival rides but I will find out. What you could do is call or email a ride manufacturer and ask them what type of education you should persue if you want to go into the field.