So What's a whaler? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 04-25-2014, 01:43 PM

And the answer is not Captain Ahab.

At lunch today one of the fellows was talking about pouring a concrete wall in a basement/crawl space conversion. He started asking our opinion about how to build a whaler. I said "what's a whaler?" I knew it was some sort of a piece of wood related to the formwork but was not sure exactly what he was talking about.

One of the other fellows started laughing loudly at me because I asked what a Whaler was....I turned to him and said "F you and the horse you rode in on, I would never laugh at you because you don't know something."

(He's an Engineer so he and I often rub a little bit because of the age old Architect/Engineer rivalry.) He said didn't they teach you that in Architecture school? I said no did they teach you that in Engineering school? He said he couldn't remember, he probably learned it when he was a kid because his daddy owned the local concrete plant.

Then I just sat back and fumed a while, while he continued talking to the first fellow. In a few minutes he said to him "now is a whaler a vertical or horizontal board?" (Ahah!) I said "you're a real piece of work, you laugh at me and you don't know what a whaler is yourself!"

Vindicated I got to laugh a bit myself. The rest of the lunch was enjoyable.

I detest degrading another person for a laugh....not least if it is me!

tbomachines · #2 04-25-2014, 01:56 PM

No the correct answer is a member of Hartford ct's pro hockey team until they were ruthlessly sold out to North Carolina and renamed. Also acceptable: an aluminum boat with characteristic hull design.

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Chris W. · #3 04-25-2014, 01:59 PM

Not to mention a member of a certain Reggae band. J/K. Those were wailers.

Rgds,
Chris W.
'95 E300D 417K

t walgamuth · #4 04-25-2014, 01:58 PM

Go Whalers!

t walgamuth · #5 04-25-2014, 02:13 PM

...or a fish sandwich from Burger King...

jt20 · #6 04-25-2014, 02:14 PM

I can vouch for you, Tom. Engineers are often pricks with terrible socialization - its not a false stereotype.

Next time he pulls some BS like that : "Wow, you know so much more than I do... too bad nobody likes you..."

When I worked in concrete, Walers were the metal ties we used to hold the forms together. I always though it was because you have to "wale' on them to tighten them up. They are usually some kind of clamping system with a wedge that you beat the hell out of to tighten the forms up into true.

now, loosely, the horizontal boards were referred to as walers or waler boards because they were part of the waling system.

..but everyone uses these terms as they see fit in any industry, wrong or right. my boss came from a background of railroad work with Union Pacific.

Tell your engineer friend you might not know what a waler is, but you sure know a mule pussy when you see one. (also a concrete term for a style of waler)

SwampYankee · #7 04-25-2014, 04:01 PM

If it's not this

or this

I have no idea!

JB3 · #8 04-25-2014, 04:12 PM

Interesting. I would have immediately gone with a square rigged ship with a crows nest.

Weird that "whaler" has come to mean something related to concrete. (Is it spelled waler for concrete use?) I wonder if its regional?

I just hired a local concrete guy, gonna ask him when he comes by

barry12345 · #9 04-25-2014, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB3

Interesting. I would have immediately gone with a square rigged ship with a crows nest.

Weird that "whaler" has come to mean something related to concrete. (Is it spelled waler for concrete use?) I wonder if its regional?

I just hired a local concrete guy, gonna ask him when he comes by

Whaler is an older concrete form description of usually a horizontal form support member. Not perhaps totally universal but a well used term in many areas at one time.

For example I might have supported an eight foot concrete walls forms with four horizontal walers. Their use has seriously declined in general today I suspect. Compared especially to the day of cast metal wedges . Speed being so important has introduced other approaches.

t walgamuth · #10 04-26-2014, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barry12345

Whaler is an older concrete form description of usually a horizontal form support member. Not perhaps totally universal but a well used term in many areas at one time.

For example I might have supported an eight foot concrete walls forms with four horizontal walers. Their use has seriously declined in general today I suspect. Compared especially to the day of cast metal wedges . Speed being so important has introduced other approaches.

Yeah, the only time people pour walls in wooden built on site now is when it will not work to use manufactured forms.

t walgamuth · #11 04-26-2014, 06:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB3

Interesting. I would have immediately gone with a square rigged ship with a crows nest.

Weird that "whaler" has come to mean something related to concrete. (Is it spelled waler for concrete use?) I wonder if its regional?

I just hired a local concrete guy, gonna ask him when he comes by

Dunno. Never wrote it before.

Mölyapina · #12 04-25-2014, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SwampYankee

I have no idea!

The kitty doesn't like it when you steal bandwidth.

Can't Know · #13 04-25-2014, 04:38 PM

I hate sites that do that.

Instead I'll just download it and upload it here.

cmac2012 · #14 04-26-2014, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jt20

Tell your engineer friend you might not know what a waler is, but you sure know a mule pussy when you see one. (also a concrete term for a style of waler)

Which is, of course, where the phrase commonly heard on work sites, "Hit that mule pussy, boy!" comes from.

t walgamuth · #15 04-26-2014, 06:51 AM

A horizontal reinforcement utilized to keep newly poured concrete forms from bulging outward. Also spelled whaler. Also known as wale.

from online dictionary...looks like either spelling is used.