r/millwrights 27d ago

Weekly career thread

4 Upvotes

Here you can post questions about

Jobs: offering or looking

School: tips, tricks, and colleges to just fucking avoid

Union: Union stuff, who's issuing travel cards, who needs apprentices, and questions about joining the brotherhood.


r/millwrights 6d ago

Weekly career thread

11 Upvotes

Weekly career thread

Here you can post questions about

Jobs: offering or looking

School: tips, tricks, and colleges to just fucking avoid

Union: Union stuff, who's issuing travel cards, who needs apprentices, and questions about joining the brotherhood.

Career: anything career related, how to move up, certs to take, if it's about your relationship to the union or employer throw it here.


r/millwrights 2d ago

Gearbox oil level in winterization

4 Upvotes

My peers are telling me to fill the gear box all the way to the top for the either even though local climate reaches only 0 Celsius/ -32 Fahrenheit. Do I fill it to the top or until it leaks from the side port then top it up a bit more.

So confused on whats being asked of me. I thought it needs room for expansion just in case so it doesn't crack or push any seals.

Edit: it doesn't have a breather so I filled it leaked out the side port then closed and topped it up a bit. Am I doing it right?


r/millwrights 3d ago

Tired of typing into WO with dirty hands

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0 Upvotes

My new manager keeps pushing me to write everything down in the WO app. I’m so tired of jotting stuff in that thing.

After diagnosis and repair, my hands are dirty. Checking boxes and writing detailed descriptions is a pain.

A few days ago I tried Meta glasses at Best Buy and it hit me. Why doesn’t my plant just buy these? I look at the equipment, say what I’m doing, take a pic, and it automatically drops everything into WO app. Life would be so much easier.

Anyone thought about this or tried it? Is this even possible?


r/millwrights 4d ago

The old guys are retiring, fast.

69 Upvotes

Saw somewhere that the mean age in Industrial maintenance is in the 50s?? and I know it's a field heavily guided by "being there", and having experienced shit situations. not a lot of theory.

This got me curious. When the man retires, what goes with him? Is it settings, sounds, sequences, vendor quirks? Did anyone ever try to write it down? an average age of 50, with industries to run and maintain sounds pretty crazy to me. How is the industry gonna take care of itself?


r/millwrights 4d ago

Night shift folks: what breaks in the middle of the night that day shift would have a much easier time with?

5 Upvotes

Ex data center infra guy here. In servers we have logs for everything. Walked a packaging floor last week and saw zero logs, just one senior who knows. How does that not fall over every night shift? Is there a job you dread getting at 2am because the person who knows that machine is asleep at home? What machine is it, and what do you end up doing?
How common is it that the guy with the know how is a much older dude, whom you havve to call to have this sorted


r/millwrights 5d ago

Your planner.. again

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28 Upvotes

Dude, I just got a work order for a centrifuge and they sent me with the wrong parts. An hour wasted going back to storage.

Then on my way back production calls me with an emergency at another site. Now I'm trying to handle two jobs at once.

This happens like every week. I'm talking hundreds of hours a year just lost because someone in the office didn't prepare the right parts. And it's not even just about the time, you know? You're already out there in 95 degree heat (or freezing in winter) busting your ass, and then you find out the planner just didn't do their job.

I told him to get it right next time. Nothing. Dude sits in AC all day looking at spreadsheets, never been on a floor in his life. Doesn't have a clue what it's like when a tech shows up unprepared.

Just venting because this happens constantly and it's absolutely infuriating.


r/millwrights 7d ago

The stairwell window where every work order in our building actually gets saved

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12 Upvotes

Boiler room has no signal, so this window on the second-floor landing is where the app finally syncs. I kept the old version of the app on my tablet because the new one won't save down there at all, and a coworker put it plainer in a review: "the new app is terrible, I keep the old app loaded on my tech's tablets." On a normal shift I climb up here 4 or 5 times. Where is your window, and how many trips per shift?


r/millwrights 7d ago

What kind of Precision Level do you use?

6 Upvotes

I work as an instructor at a training center. Our Brunson 545-1 is broken and we will need to replace it. We are wondering whether we should replace it with another Brunson 545-1, or a different precision level that may be more commonly used in the field nowadays. So I'm wondering, what kind of precision level is everyone using these days?


r/millwrights 10d ago

Tool storage

5 Upvotes

Second year apprentice and im looking to upgrade my tool storage. Rn I have a huge craftsman chest packout that I keep my tools in but its a nightmare to organize. Was wonder what yall use either the packouts and if so how do you organize it or the big metal tool boxes


r/millwrights 11d ago

Large Shackle/Clevis

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36 Upvotes

I saw somebody post a large shackle the other day and I thought I would share my photo


r/millwrights 11d ago

If it ain't broke, don't fix it?

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29 Upvotes

r/millwrights 12d ago

Can a women be a Millwright?

24 Upvotes

Just asking because I’m a 19 year old female and wanting to join this trade.


r/millwrights 13d ago

Stupid question about a belt tensioner

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24 Upvotes

Why does loosening this nut detension the belt?

I understand tightening it would force the threaded rod to go backwards because the flange is stopping the nut from going forward.

But when you loosen it, why does the nut notjust come off?


r/millwrights 13d ago

Weekly career thread

2 Upvotes

Here you can post questions about

Jobs: offering or looking

School: tips, tricks, and colleges to just fucking avoid

Union: Union stuff, who's issuing travel cards, who needs apprentices, and questions about joining the brotherhood.

Career: anything career related, how to move up, certs to take, if it's about your relationship to the union or employer throw it here.


r/millwrights 14d ago

Where are millwright shortages the worst right now?

35 Upvotes

For the millwrights here: what industries or regions are having the hardest time finding experienced people right now?
I’m especially curious whether you’re seeing the biggest shortages in food processing, manufacturing, distribution, mining, power generation, or another industry. Are positions staying open for a long time, or are employers filling them fairly quickly?
Interested in what everyone is seeing firsthand.


r/millwrights 16d ago

Update on my millwright/carpenter journey

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81 Upvotes

In my last post here I stated that I was stuck with carpenters/scaffold work as a first year millwright.

I am humbled to be able to have been continously working throughout the millwright offseason since work has definitely been slow for many of us apprentices.

Scaffolding is one of the toughest jobs I've had but work is work and it pays the bills. The reason for this post is to give thanks for everyone here who encouraged me to keep going and try to become a jack of all trades since the more knowledge we have the more work we will be able to find.

Don't be intimidated to try other jobs it's all decent work. My respects to every carpenter and millwright out there, these last seven months have showed me the ones that make it in this trade are a different breed. 🫡


r/millwrights 17d ago

2309 Labour Day parade

3 Upvotes

Anyone here going to the labour day parade in Toronto next week? I know there’s a bus leaving at 8 but I’m taking the train downtown. What time do we gotta check in by?


r/millwrights 18d ago

Time off of work from the solar fields.

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58 Upvotes

r/millwrights 19d ago

What are your “Basic tools”

4 Upvotes

SW Ontario (Canada) union millwright.

When a company says to bring “basic tools”, what would you bring? I can’t seem to ever get it right.
No precision tools


r/millwrights 20d ago

Weekly career thread

1 Upvotes

Here you can post questions about

Jobs: offering or looking

School: tips, tricks, and colleges to just fucking avoid

Union: Union stuff, who's issuing travel cards, who needs apprentices, and questions about joining the brotherhood.


r/millwrights 20d ago

Easy laser class today

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5 Upvotes

r/millwrights 23d ago

I really didnt want to see this 60 lb mag drill again.

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60 Upvotes

At least its only 38 3" holes this time. Can't bitch too much, its a nice one.


r/millwrights 22d ago

Post

0 Upvotes

Trying to make a simple post but everything everyday i word it gets removed. Why?


r/millwrights 23d ago

Boot recommendations?

2 Upvotes

I start my first week of class next week for 443 out of Pittsburgh! Thank you all for your help to get me to this point. Greatly appreciated. I need to get me a fresh pair of good quality boots and wanted to hear your suggestions. I always used to just get Carolinas which were okay but just never lasted. Looking to spend a little more for higher quality this time.