"Modern Marvels" ship yard

[jeremy levine]

Anyone see this episode , if you can catch it they show the 125 hp. lathe used at Newport News ship works , along with some other huge tools.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Yep! One of my 'must see' shows. I also never miss 'How It's Made".

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Some years ago, I worked in a public shipyard. They had a lathe that was used for turning engine shafts for aircraft carriers that was soooo big that the operator sat on the cutting tool inside a booth to guide the cutter along!

-Jeff :)

[Pat Germain]

I used to work at Newport New Shipbuilding. I was a sailor assigned to the pre-commissioning unit for USS Theodore Roosevelt (a nuke Aircraft Carrier). Oh yeah, I saw some mighty big hardware while I was there, including the reactor vessels before they were fueled.

NNS also has one of the largest cranes in the world. (I think the largest is in Japan.) I lived and worked under it for many months. The Navy actually moves the crew aboard while construction is still underway. The also moves in an out of the drydock while it's in "shakedown".

NNS is actually a downright miserable place to work. It's dirty, noisy, dangerous and located in a very rough section of town. Just wanted to throw that in there in case anyone was thinking of submitting a job application. ;)

[Ken Porter]

I haven't seen the lathe in person, but I've seen a huge lathe. I've also seen the press they use to flatten/bend 6" steel. I'm not sure if they have a wood shop there but I bet they have huge machines there as well.

[Pat Germain]

Ken, are you actually in the yard, or up in an office? Last time I was there, they had built a fancy new building with a pond around it to make it look like a ship moving through the water. :) It was strange to see because on the lot where that building sits used to be a bunch of crack dens.

My brother was a structural welder for NNS for a few years. He worked on the George Washington and the Stennis. After that, he had enough and left for something less stressful and less dangerous. He became a rodeo bullrider. Seriously.

[Ken Porter]

I'm working on the USS Carl Vinson right now. I'm a test engineer so I spend all my time in the ship. The building you're talking about is probably VASCIC. I've never been there but I'll get to go in a couple weeks for a school.

[Bill Lewis]

I've been to NGNN (Northrop Gruman newport News) shipyard before, and yes you can't even begin to descibe what "huge" means. Everything is on such a massive scale.
I've been to the keel of a carrier in the dock. And walked it from the bow to the stern. The thing is so large that it fills all of your field of view, so much so that you really can't take it all in, untill you start moving about, and even then you have to "work" at it to get pieces of the whole picture.

[jeremy levine]

I Tivo 'ed it just to watch it again. My family would go up to Maine when I was a child and I would force a visit to the Bath Iron works as often as I could. At the time (30+ years ago ) they had the largest crane in th western hemisphere.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

An interesting shop in the old shipyard was the Pattern and Mold Shop. They made all the unique casting patterns for the foundry using wood. These were the days when all the patterns were hand crafted well before 3- and 5-axis CNC machining became commonplace, as well as 3D CAD. Suffice to say, the pattern shop had just about every type of sanding machine I ever saw, as well as some very old and experienced craftsmen.

Wood molds are still used for casting of mostly unique parts. I understand that mahogany is the wood of choice. However, three dimensional routers are used to create the shapes which follow a series of programs generated from a master CAD drawing. Here are some pics of a recent casting for a large magnet that will be used in a fusion energy research device. The first picture shows all the mahogany parts (in color) that will be inserted into a 'core box' (in brown) which holds the whole mold together. The second picture shows a portion of the mahogany pattern. The third picture shows the resulting raw casting before the final machining process which brings the magnet within .020" tolerance. Each magnet costs $450,000 to make!

-Jeff :)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/explode-1900x600.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/P72908101024x768.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Beff2/B-3ReadyforScanning855x642.jpg

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I Tivo 'ed it just to watch it again. My family would go up to Maine when I was a child and I would force a visit to the Bath Iron works as often as I could. At the time (30+ years ago ) they had the largest crane in th western hemisphere.

It seems that every shipyard touted that they had the largest crane at one time or another. I think is was a demonstration of the local manhood! :)

In Philadelphia, the Naval Shipyard had a hammer head type crane that would install gun turrets on New Jersey class battleships. It was so big, that the head of the crane where the operator sat looked like a cape cod house. It was so big, that it never got used and eventually was painted with a red and white checker pattern as per the FAA to help line-up commercial aircraft approaching the Philadelphia International Airport!

-Jeff :)

[Jason Boushard]

lol guess where I am? NNGN I have duty today on the USS CARL VINSON or as we call it the USS CARL PRISON. lots of big stuff here lots of shipyard workers that use my spaces for toliets too (I am sure Ken isnt one of them). There are some hammer head cranes in this area but they look tiny compared to te gantry cranes they have here. Ken what do you look like so the next time I am doing baggage check I can give you a hard time lol.

[Keith Outten]

I spent some time in the Yard at Newport News...QID in the nuclear pipe shop. There were 30 thousand people working at NNS in those days and I hated the place.

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[David Epperson]

Some years ago, I worked in a public shipyard. They had a lathe that was used for turning engine shafts for aircraft carriers that was soooo big that the operator sat on the cutting tool inside a booth to guide the cutter along!

-Jeff :)
AO Smith, a manufacturer of fiberglas tanks and pipe, has an old WWII torpedo tube lathe that has a 12' swing and is 44 feet between centers. And yep, it's got a traveling operator chair as well.

[Pat Germain]

AO Smith, a manufacturer of fiberglas tanks and pipe, has an old WWII torpedo tube lathe that has a 12' swing and is 44 feet between centers. And yep, it's got a traveling operator chair as well.

But does it have a template guide, like Norm's? ;)

[David Epperson]

But does it have a template guide, like Norm's? ;)
LOL. I don't think so...But then again all they make are hollow forms. :D

[Jesse Espe]

I'm on Carl Vinson as well. 22 Months, not that I'm counting or anything.:) Almost time for me to go. In response to Pat's previous post, from everything I hear, downtown Newport News has been cleaned up pretty well over the years, relatively speaking. A lot fewer crack dens, as NGNN has teamed up with the city to buy the old buildings and knock them down.

You are right about dangerous, though. The inside of the ship somewhat resembles the inside of the Borg Mothership - hoses, vents and cables running every which direction. And then there's walking around the yard...

As far as VASCIC (Virginia Advanced SHipbuilding Carrier Innovation Center?), it's a pretty interesting design. Conference rooms are nice and fancy - much better than the NGNN trailer park. Some interesting mockups there as well. One of the big uses for VASCIC is a meeting place for all the self-importants (they know who they are) to lovingly express their opinions to each other and tell each other how great they are and how great their team is doing. :p

Cheers,
Jesse

[Lee Schierer]

I recently interviewed with a company that makes the giant steel rollers for rolling out steel ingots. Some of the ones I saw being turned weigh more than 300 tons. They also hand several lathes for turning them.

[Pat Germain]

NNS is the only place in the world where Nimitz class carriers were built. (They are now in the planning phases of a new class of aircraft carrier.) The scale of a carrier and everything associated with it is just amazing.

Whenever I see the shows on TV about carriers, they go on and on about how many miles of wire, how many meals are served, how far it can go without refueling, blah, blah, blah.

I'd like to see a show about how long the lines are just to get one of those meals, or to get a haircut, or to visit the store. Man is it frustrating to wait in line 90 minutes to get something at the store only find out it's out of stock on just about everything. ("Oh, I don't need shoe polish or a a soapdishes, so I guess I'm outta luck.") Grrrrr! Having lived aboard an aircraft carrier, I think I know quite well what it's like to live in a communist country.

I had a rare opportunity to do a swim call while aboard Theodore Roosevelt. We anchored near Guantanimo Bay, Cuba. (After jumping off the elevator, I had enough time think about whether it was such a good idea. But hey, by that time, it's too late.) When I hit the water, it was clear enough to see the underside of the ship. As mentioned previously, it's so huge, it's difficult to take it all in. It just goes on and on.

[Keith Outten]

NNS is an incredible place. There isn't anything they can't build or any technology they don't use. "Big" takes on a whole new meaning when you roam around The Yard. When I was young I had a summer job as a tool keeper/truck driver for Newport News Industrial Corporation, a subsidiary of NNS. I had the opportunity to visit every square inch of the yard picking up and delivering tools and equipment for NNIS. I visited the main machine shop lots of times and stood beside the horizontal boring mill which is supposed to be the largest in the world. The metal lathes are so long they don't look anything like a conventional lathe and there were micrometers hanging on the wall that were so big they had to be lifted with a crane.

Years later when I quit working power plant construction I took a job in QID but I just couldn't get used to working in a space with 30,000 people, the traffic and no parking. My father retired from NNS with 35 years as a piping supervisor, most of his time he worked missile compartments on subs. My grandfather worked his whole life in the Yard as well as a painter and retired at 65 but didn't want to leave.

NNS never changes, even with ownership changing hands several times over the last few decades The Yard stays the same. It makes no difference whether NNS is privately owned or currently owned by Tenneco or Northrop NNS, The Yard never changes...but they build the best ships in the world and always have.

Pat, I spent a few years in the Navy as well so I can sympathize with your feelings about the Navy's lack of coordination skills :)

If I had one wish I would wish that the Naval Weapons Station at Yorktown be put on the base closing list. We could close the Coleman Bridge permanently and weld it shut. The USN shows absolutely no respect for the civilian population here and I will be so glad when the Weapons Station is history.

Oh yeah I was standing on a pier right beside the Nimmitz when it left NNS after construction. I was shooting xrays on an old destroyer weld repair and suddenly felt like the pier was moving. The Nimmitz was so big you couldn't see it moving or even hear the tugs on the other side pulling it away from the pier. I had to look straight up to see the lights on the deck moving as it was early evening. What a monster!

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[Jason Boushard]

NNS is an incredible place. There isn't anything they can't build or any technology they don't use. "Big" takes on a whole new meaning when you roam around The Yard. When I was young I had a summer job as a tool keeper/truck driver for Newport News Industrial Corporation, a subsidiary of NNS. I had the opportunity to visit every square inch of the yard picking up and delivering tools and equipment for NNIS. I visited the main machine shop lots of times and stood beside the horizontal boring mill which is supposed to be the largest in the world. The metal lathes are so long they don't look anything like a conventional lathe and there were micrometers hanging on the wall that were so big they had to be lifted with a crane.

Years later when I quit working power plant construction I took a job in QID but I just couldn't get used to working in a space with 30,000 people, the traffic and no parking. My father retired from NNS with 35 years as a piping supervisor, most of his time he worked missile compartments on subs. My grandfather worked his whole life in the Yard as well as a painter and retired at 65 but didn't want to leave.

NNS never changes, even with ownership changing hands several times over the last few decades The Yard stays the same. It makes no difference whether NNS is privately owned or currently owned by Tenneco or Northrop NNS, The Yard never changes...but they build the best ships in the world and always have.

Pat, I spent a few years in the Navy as well so I can sympathize with your feelings about the Navy's lack of coordination skills :)

If I had one wish I would wish that the Naval Weapons Station at Yorktown be put on the base closing list. We could close the Coleman Bridge permanently and weld it shut. The USN shows absolutely no respect for the civilian population here and I will be so glad when the Weapons Station is history.

Oh yeah I was standing on a pier right beside the Nimmitz when it left NNS after construction. I was shooting xrays on an old destroyer weld repair and suddenly felt like the pier was moving. The Nimmitz was so big you couldn't see it moving or even hear the tugs on the other side pulling it away from the pier. I had to look straight up to see the lights on the deck moving as it was early evening. What a monster!

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what about all the comrails(volunteer work) we do in the area to say we have no respect for the civilian pop is bogus. My family helped found princess anne county in the 1600's but as soon as I put a DOD tag on my car I noticed that I was treated alot worse by the "locals" because I wasn't from here. I love the look I get when I tell them my family has been here since the beginning .

[Keith Outten]

Jason,

I certainly don't have a problem with individual sailors who live here or anywhere else, I mentioned that I wore the uniform myself and my father served during WWII and Korea. My uncle retired as a Senior Chief and he had two sons who retired as well. In a nutshell my family have been sailors for many generations and we are proud of their service to this country.

Thirty years of driving Route 17 has taught me that the Navy shows little respect for those of us who must cross bridges in the local area when they refuse to schedule traffic interruptions around rush hour. Its not an insignificant thing in my mind as we have to go to work to build and pay for the big gray things (ships) and the salaries of those who serve. Businesses lose huge amounts of money every year when their trucks and people are stuck in miles of traffic backups caused by naval vessels. Most of the problems could easilly be eliminated by scheduling egress to and from the Naval Weapons Station during off hours.

I remember a trip I made to Washington DC while assigned to the Coastal River Squadron II out of Little Creek. Our tiny little PT boats had very tall fiberglass antennas that would not clear the Potomac River Bridge and the Lt of our boat laughed as he caused the Bridge to open during a high traffic period watching the civilians sit and wait for us to pass. It may have taken us just a few minutes to lower our antennas, it was more entertaining for us to show the civilians that we were the United States Navy and they had to yield to our insignificant little boat.

The ill feelings that our local population had in the past for sailors have long been forgotten but I remember the signs in Norfolk when I was a child that asked "All dogs and sailors keep off the grass". The reputation that sailors had in those days was well deserved and it took the Navy decades to reverse the poor behavior that sailors constantly displayed in public.

Newport News Shipbuilding being in our area also contributes to the large percentage of our population of sailors and their families who call Hampton Roads their home whether temporary or permanent. The Yard and the people of Hampton Roads have supported the Navy well building nothing but the finest ships in the world. During times of war and peace we have supported the Navy as their host and as a community who provides the ships they need to do their job.

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[mark page]

I was an in-flight tech on E-2C's and our airwing deployed on the Forrestal CV-59. A small carrier by todays standards and even smaller after being at sea for 6-7 months. But put one pierside and compare against an automobile and they sure are behemoth. We flew out of NAS Norfolk, and have visited the shipyards several times. Nice place to visit but I........
Don't know how long ago the Forrestal and sister ship Saratoga were decommed and scrapped, but would be ironic if my jointer bed were made from their scraps lol.