A near miss with a cracked ladle last Tuesday morning

We were pouring a big batch of 4140 steel in the main bay, and I saw a hairline crack in the transfer ladle's lip right before we tipped it. I yelled 'stop' and we backed off. The foreman shut the line down for an hour while we swapped it out for the spare. If that thing had let go, it would have been a real mess. Has anyone else caught a flaw in a ladle that close to a pour?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily5111mo ago

Good catch spotting that hairline crack before the pour. We do a quick visual check on all our ladles before each shift starts, just a habit that's saved us a few times. That extra minute can really make the difference.

tarak171mo ago

Smart habits save lives, for real.