Anyone an elevator mechanic?

[expatriated]

The elevator at work was down the other day and I happened to be coming in when the repair man arrived. I was curious about the little toolbox and stopped him and asked him about it. He opened it and showed it to me. I had never seen anything like it but it seemed extremely robust. He said that many elevator mechanics carried one like it. It held a surprisingly large amount of tools. It had a shoulder ******** it. It reminded me of a large old fashioned brownie camera case or something like it.

With some research, I found it:

http://www.adamselevator.com/pdf/14.pdf

His was the smaller 1 drawer version.

Anyone have any experience with these things? I'm thinking of getting one for the truck.

 

[jride200]

Very interesting toolbox. What a niche, you know?... I remember my Dad once mentioning that unionized elevator repairmen can do VERY well for themselves, and I would imagine that that is indeed the case as it is such a high consequence job. I once had the opportunity to step inside the elevator "control room" atop an older skyscraper and all I can say is WOW! Hundreds and hundreds of exposed relays clattering away, with the heavy smell of ozone in the air.

 

[ironfist]

here's another style of tool box they use alot. Mostly maintenance worker use them . They usually call them bell boxes .

 

[ironfist]

You can find them at www.fibrecase.com

 

[freeskier]

guys on a site i worked on used a satchel type thing with a strap and they got the wole thing installed and working. i was amazed

 

[hibrid]

Im an elevator mehanic in local 19 in seattle. I know quite a few guys that are still carrying around an adams tool box. Mainly older service guys that have older equipment on their service route. With constant technology advancement, laptops and pda's are the new toolbox.

Im mainly in new construction and modernization, so these boxes are too small for me. I carry a custom leather tote with most of my electrical tools and some other hand tools, otherwise I work out of a couple gang boxes.

 

[route246]

Are you talking about that material? I used to have a box like that from Jensen years ago. It's really tough and seems like reinforced cardboard or something. I know the phone companies used it before the breakup.

The elevator at work was down the other day and I happened to be coming in when the repair man arrived. I was curious about the little toolbox and stopped him and asked him about it. He opened it and showed it to me. I had never seen anything like it but it seemed extremely robust. He said that many elevator mechanics carried one like it. It held a surprisingly large amount of tools. It had a shoulder ******** it. It reminded me of a large old fashioned brownie camera case or something like it.

With some research, I found it:

http://www.adamselevator.com/pdf/14.pdf

His was the smaller 1 drawer version.

Anyone have any experience with these things? I'm thinking of getting one for the truck.

 

[wilb1976]

I'm out of local 126 in Hawaii and I can say that about 80 percent of our servicemen use that style box, especially the small one with the single drawer as their main toolbox. They love that little thing. Very durable to say the least because they load that thing. Like Hybrid, I couldn't use it because its just too small. I don't have a custom bag though, just use an open top Husky bag from HD.

 

[expatriated]

Yeah, this guy certainly had his loaded to the brim. Mostly drivers and hex keys and wrenches.

I think I'm going to have to pick up one of those boxes--what do they run?

 

[jeffk14]

Not to hijack the thread but:

hibrid and wilb1976; Can you tell us a little bit about life as an elevator mechanic? I've always been curious about this as a career choice.

 

[tatra]

lots of pigeon poo...............

 

[hibrid]

Not to hijack the thread but:

hibrid and wilb1976; Can you tell us a little bit about life as an elevator mechanic? I've always been curious about this as a career choice.

Well to start, I LOVE my job...best thig that ever happened to me. Its a very fulfilling carrer with lots of interesting paths to follow. It can be extremely stressful at times do to pressure from the elevator companies, but you have to stick to your guns to provide a safe product to the riding public. Their lives can be in your hands, so obviously the level of responsibility is high.

It is pretty hard to get into the trade these days....unless there is a major construction boom, there wont be any new membership opportunities for a while unfortunatly




PS: Sorry, meant to say custom leather craft (clc) in my first post.

 

[ironfist]

I'm out of local 50 , and so far the trade has great to me . Being laid off can be a downer , but everyone goes through it , it's part of paying your dues . For the first 2 years i've been on construction , and I love it. And the last 6 months i was with the adjuster .

 

[ironfist]

Im an elevator mehanic in local 19 in seattle. I know quite a few guys that are still carrying around an adams tool box. Mainly older service guys that have older equipment on their service route. With constant technology advancement, laptops and pda's are the new toolbox.

Im mainly in new construction and modernization, so these boxes are too small for me. I carry a custom leather tote with most of my electrical tools and some other hand tools, otherwise I work out of a couple gang boxes.

How do you like mods Hibrid ?

 

[hibrid]

I was on a couple mod jobs as an apprentice and loved it. You get more time to do the work and really get to rack your brain and think outside the box to come up with a solution...everything is custom. I really enjoyed being able to make a job a real showpiece and something to be proud of.

Im a construction mechanic now doing MRLs, but would like to get over to the mod side again soon......but just happy to be working right now.

 

[Greatbear]

I'm surprised that those who were asked about how they like working as elevator mechanics, they didn't respond with "the job has its ups and downs."

 

[wilb1976]

Like Hibrid, I also love my job. I primarily do mods, with an occasional new installation here and there. I love that there are such different aspects to completing a job. I always try to one up the last job I was on.

 

[ironfist]

Like Hibrid, I also love my job. I primarily do mods, with an occasional new installation here and there. I love that there are such different aspects to completing a job. I always try to one up the last job I was on.

Mods is something i would love to try , hopefully I 'll be on one before i write. Change orders were alot of fun , loved doing them .

I was just thinking I don't think i have ever seen any one with those tool boxes before. The ones with 1 or 2 drawers. I just seen the bell boxes . Usually the guys with the bell boxes are the old school guys . They don't look all that big . Does anyone have have any more pic 's ?

 

[Up And Down]

I am a union repair mechanic in Boston, MA. Those Adams boxes seem to be very popular with a lot of the older maintenance mechanics.

 

[ElevatorBoy]

I'm a 10yrs elevator mechanic in Montreal; Local89 and here's the best tool case used in our trade (if you can afford it!~230C$): www.multi-caisses.com/en/products/multi-caisses/elevator-technician-case/

 

[ElevatorBoy]

I've been installing escalators in Montreal's subway 4yrs, elevator inst.&mod. For almost 6yrs and these days i adjust and install hydraulic elevators.

 

[ElevatorBoy]

It's a great job there is so much to it, you never stop learning... Elevator mechanics are really resourcefull and probably the best "know it alls"

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Not to hijack the thread but:

hibrid and wilb1976; Can you tell us a little bit about life as an elevator mechanic? I've always been curious about this as a career choice.

I thought I would hear "Alot of ups and downs" from the mechs.....

 

[Dello]

That’s what maintenance guys use here (( mostly the older guys ))I am an elevator mechanic from Montreal

 

[Dello]

Maintenance does a lot of stand by ((( on call ))construction and maintenance are two different worlds

 

[mowkep]

We used to machine the brake arms and mating pad holders for elevators. That was late 80s, early 90s. Nasty cast iron castings. Easy to machine but quite the mess. I imagine an elevator somewhere still has these.

 

[kctyphoon]

I thought I would hear "Alot of ups and downs" from the mechs.....

Dammit.. I wanted to post that.. lol

 

[sucking chest wound]

I know this thread has been resurrected from the dead but.. damn it is cool to hear about the life and times of niche tradespeople. More! What are the go-to tools in the world of elevators. What are the hardest problems to solve. What are the most common? Do jokes about the shaft ever get old, etc.

It would be great to hear from other niche tradespeople. Lets hear it from shipboard mechanics, and peeps who fix luggage tugs or whatever (new thread possibilities!)

 

[Tduby]

Dammit.. I wanted to post that.. lol

As a guy who works in the hydro electric field and will kill the next person who asks about my dam job I bet anyone who works in elevators is sick of that joke.

 

[RoyArms]

I work elevator construction, modernization. For the most part the tools are the same stuff every other trade uses, milwaukee cordless everything, normal hand tools going up to large sizes. Somewhat less common tools would include magnetic drill, hoists, and rigging.

I took a couple pictures of some cool stuff tool wise that I could find.

A wind up elevator safety wrench, for resetting old otis safeties.


Some odd sized wrenches I found in an old otis tool box. 1 23/32, 1 13/32, 1 19/32, 1 5/32


A door pressure gauge, for measuring door closing force.

 

[wolf_from_wv]

There were a lot of ups and downs being an elevator operator (3 months). You could start out at the bottom and work your way to the top, but it seemed like as soon as you got to the top, you were on the way back down. But, as long as things didn't go sideways, you were usually ok...

 

[zbyler]

Roy, awesome pics. I haven't seen one of those old safety wrenches in a long time.

I'm not a mechanic myself, but I'm a field engineer for an elevator company and I spend a good amount of time out in the field. I have to add that elevator mechanics DO NOT get the credit they deserve for how dangerous their occupation is. Stay safe out there!

 

[VinceG]

Can one of you Elevator Techs go fix Leonard and Sheldon's elevator ?

 

[RoyArms]

I don't have really good before pictures showing how crammed full of equipment this room was. But before...

During...


After...

 

[American Locomotive]

Those modern units are so boring compared to the old gearless DC elevator machines. Probably won't last half as long either.

 

[itstippy]

I worked in an office building for decades and all the elevator maintenace guys over the years were named "Otis". If you want to get into the field your name had better be "Otis".

 

[IUEC Medic]

What are the most common? Do jokes about the shaft ever get old, etc.

It’s called a hoistway, not a shaft. Local 8 repair mechanic here...

 

[Jlbc212]

Not an elevator mechanic, but as a firefighter (local 146) I went to plenty of calls for persons trapped in stuck elevator cars. The best alternative was to wait for an elevator mechanic, but there was rarely one available to respond within a reasonable time. We would challenge ourselves to safely remove the elevator car occupants without causing any damage to the elevator. In most cases we did not cause any damage, no tools were needed and the call only took as long as gaining access to the elevator machine room to either recycle the power or completely shut it down. However, every so once in awhile we had to resort to halligan bars and/or "the jaws of life." After every incident the power did get shut down, locked out and a notification was sent to the state elevator inspector.

 

[6PTsocket]

I'm surprised that those who were asked about how they like working as elevator mechanics, they didn't respond with "the job has its ups and downs."

I KNEW that was coming.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[gearhead1]

No, not an elevator mechanic - the music just isn’t for me. I do like the toolbox though! You don’t have to dig everything out all the time because of the drawers.