Dumb stuff: ladders and gloves.

[Wetstuff]

Don't ask why, but I still have 40yr old wood ladders. I upgraded to aluminum and fiberglass since but they are still A-frames. What was I thinking keeping this dangerous old crap around?!

It wasn't 'till I pulled one out of a Walmart dumpster that I learned about 'platform' ladders. (blue aluminum they must have run over it with a forklift - I cut the bottom section off.)

These Platform ladders seem 300% more steady even to someone who's become 300% less steady myself. It's radical. It's like keeping old attitudes; there are some things still to be learned - without a trip to the ER.

Gloves were meant for WORK. When I started seeing Euro auto factories on TV where everyone wears gloves I figured it was some commie, French, union tactic, to keep their hands nice and soft for when they retire at 50. 'Joke was on me.

I bought some cheap ones at Home Depot and thought; "Hmmm.." Then I found these on Amazon. I don't use them wet sanding the Sightseer but for those 'between WORK' times these are really great. My old fingers are slippery; these are grippy.

Jim

[BobC]

Don't knock wooden ladders, if kept in good condition, they can last indefinitely. Here's a link to a fascinating video about the San Francisco Fire Department and its wooden ladders:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbu1HVFELog

More here: Wooden Ladders | Fire Department

[Oldchinahand]

As a knuckle dragging old sailor who was stationed just about everywhere, then retired and worked 20+ years in labor relations, your comment about commie, French, union tactic (you left out pot smoking hippie), brought a recollective smile to my face.

More to your point, several years ago we bought a Gorilla brand aluminum platform ladder. You are right - light, (got to love light) sturdy, supportive and slips neatly into our cargo bay. But kept our old wooden ladder at our sticks-n-bricks. Don't want to stand on aluminum while doing electrical.

I have a glove collection that rivals Emelda Marcos' shoe closet. But my go to's are the cheap Harbor Freight knit gloves with the neoprene coated palms and fingers. Cheap enough to leave separate, dedicated pairs in your battery compt., shore power compt., with your dinghy umbilicles, etc. (no good in in waste water compt. )

[n0ukf]

Originally Posted by Wetstuff

Don't ask why, but I still have 40yr old wood ladders. I upgraded to aluminum and fiberglass since but they are still A-frames. What was I thinking keeping this dangerous old crap around?!

Properly maintained (fasteners and rods kept tight) those old boys can still be sturdy. And the materials make them easier to repair or rebuild.

Originally Posted by Oldchinahand

... But kept our old wooden ladder at our sticks-n-bricks. Don't want to stand on aluminum while doing electrical.

I have a glove collection that rivals Emelda Marcos' shoe closet.

Now there's a dated reference. I remember that being in the news a few years after high school.

[BobC]

I have a personal beef with Marcos. In 1957-58 I lived on Hickam AFB on Oahu where I attended 6th grade. In 1986 we were on a trip to Hawaii and I tried to arrange a visit to see my old stomping grounds but Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were being sequestered there so the base was on lockdown. What a disappointment that was!

I know that I should be over this by now, but it still pis*** me off.

[Oldchinahand]

We've reached that point in our lives where our current events are everyone else's history.

But makes for great campfire talk over adult beverages.

[nova 42qd]

Wow! $100 per foot for a ladder!? That 50 foot ladder costs $5K. I understand the concern about power lines, etc but I wonder if they have looked at other materials such as fiberglass or even carbon fiber. Not sure how the cost compares but these would not conduct electricity either.

I have a 12 foot fiberglass step ladder that I use to work on and clean my RV. Paid about $250 for it at HD. It has been a good investment. Very stable and not too heavy. The steps of the ladder are aluminum.

With my extension handle and attachments I can clean my roof without actually going on the roof.

[staggerlee]

Originally Posted by Wetstuff

Gloves were meant for WORK. When I started seeing Euro auto factories on TV where everyone wears gloves I figured it was some commie, French, union tactic, to keep their hands nice and soft for when they retire at 50. 'Joke was on me.

I bought some cheap ones at Home Depot and thought; "Hmmm.." Then I found these on Amazon. I don't use them wet sanding the Sightseer but for those 'between WORK' times these are really great. My old fingers are slippery; these are grippy.

Jim

We wore those leather gloves all the time in factory work. They do protect from all those steel slivers you get in your hands, or hot metal someone didn't mark.
When new, they suck the moisture out of your hands, so best to use a hand cream to start with. Then put they on and run warm water all over them. By the time you get to the end of your job, they have shrunk to fit your hands.
We would use a marker on top with our name, or nickname in case they got lost. They would be returned to you. They are costume made to your hand by now, and you hate to break in another pair. I've used maybe hundreds of them over the years. Even though they are hard to wear out.
Very good investment to buy a package of them, they have saved many injuries.

[LarryW]

“When I started seeing Euro auto factories on TV where everyone wears gloves I figured it was some commie, French, union tactic, to keep their hands nice and soft for when they retire at 50.”

Giving a new idea a chance worked out. That’s a good lesson to relearn.

[Wetstuff]

Clearly, Larry... I am amazed even at a ripe old age there are new things to learn.

Jim

BTW: "commie, French, union tactic" ...was comic relief. I was in the building trades outside of Chicago in the 60's, so I do not have a good opinion of unions, but I also stood near the E German border with tactical nukes - those were, and are real Communists.

[LarryW]

Tanks nose to nose. Scary times, Jim.

[staggerlee]

Originally Posted by Wetstuff

Gloves were meant for WORK. When I started seeing Euro auto factories on TV where everyone wears gloves I figured it was some commie, French, union tactic, to keep their hands nice and soft for when they retire at 50. 'Joke was on me.

Jim

Jim it is a joke.
People who work on the assembly line use the gloves because your fingers would wear to the point you would be dropping parts, so they use the ones with the dimples on them.
The trades normally use the leather, handling steel you are welding, or tearing down.

In the auto industry you have to work for 30 years to retire.
Unless you work at a stamping plant, then its 25.
I guess they think its from noise exposure, all I can't think of.
But an assembly plant is also very noisy. My hearing is proof.

If you get enough points per year, plus your age, you can retire with full retirement.
Retiring at 50, you would have to start very young.

Lee

[Wetstuff]

Lee, My mother came out of an orphanage in Wisconsin to work on a stamping line early WWII - she wore bracelets that snapped her arm back (if she was not quick enough) when the hammer came down. That had to be brutal. I'm a wuss - I wear ear protection mowing the lawn.

Jim

[staggerlee]

Originally Posted by Wetstuff

Lee, My mother came out of an orphanage in Wisconsin to work on a stamping line early WWII - she wore bracelets that snapped her arm back (if she was not quick enough) when the hammer came down. That had to be brutal. I'm a wuss - I wear ear protection mowing the lawn.

Jim

Today they would have 2 buttons to push at the same time, one on each side so you can't use both hands to push the buttons. When you did that it would activate the process. Saves a lot of fingers , at the least.
Lee