747mopar
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I have a tendency to visualize what could go wrong, if it involves an almost guaranteed hospital visit I look for other options hence the lift.
Must be the age?
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YY1
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The second week I was an electrician's apprentice I rode around with the guy running a job installing thermisters in a frozen food warehouse.
About as tall as a 2.5 or 3story building but no second or third floor and about 60,000 square feet (maybe more).
The units were all in the ceiling and there were dozens of them.
We rode around on a 4x8 high lift and the journeyman never wanted to lower the lift, just drove from unit to unit with the lift all the way up and a 6 foot stepladder on it.
More often than not, when we stopped under the next unit, the stability "safety" would kick in and the platform would drop about 10 feet real fast.
I spent most of that job clinging to the side rails at the back of the lift for dear life, hoping to at least somewhat counter-balance it.
Additionally it was about 28 degrees in there (probably colder as most of the inventory had been moved out so we could work.
We had a maximum continuous work time of 45 minutes, so every 45 min we would drive to the loading dock door (drop 10 feet in a hurry upon arrival), power the lift down, plug it in, and go on a 10 minute break outside in the 95 degree FL 95% humidity, then after 10 min, go back to 28 degrees and fearing for my life for another 45.
About as tall as a 2.5 or 3story building but no second or third floor and about 60,000 square feet (maybe more).
The units were all in the ceiling and there were dozens of them.
We rode around on a 4x8 high lift and the journeyman never wanted to lower the lift, just drove from unit to unit with the lift all the way up and a 6 foot stepladder on it.
More often than not, when we stopped under the next unit, the stability "safety" would kick in and the platform would drop about 10 feet real fast.
I spent most of that job clinging to the side rails at the back of the lift for dear life, hoping to at least somewhat counter-balance it.
Additionally it was about 28 degrees in there (probably colder as most of the inventory had been moved out so we could work.
We had a maximum continuous work time of 45 minutes, so every 45 min we would drive to the loading dock door (drop 10 feet in a hurry upon arrival), power the lift down, plug it in, and go on a 10 minute break outside in the 95 degree FL 95% humidity, then after 10 min, go back to 28 degrees and fearing for my life for another 45.
747mopar
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I would have **** my pants! A 4×8 lift never feels secure at those heights, every movement is countered by a sway.. NO WAY! We had one at work, I'd roll along at 20' as long as I was on good concrete but if it was iffy it came down before moving. We just replaced it with a Snorkel MB26J mast lift, nice tight little machine but they're coming out tomorrow to slow the jib down because it about makes me **** myself! At 26' it moves entirely to fast giving you a nice swaying feeling errr!
YY1
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I saw that same guy walk out on a 4-5 inch wide traveling overhead crane rail about 125 feet (possibly more) with nothing else even remotely close except the conduit and wiring we were replacing with a larger gauge, which was attached to the rail with sharp sheet metal stand-offs.
Absolutely nothing to grab if you lost balance. About 20 feet to the ground.
He was continually bitching me out because I refused to walk on that beam and instead sat on it and used my hands and *** to move forward about 18" at a time.
He turned out to be a nice guy and we became friends, but FCK, no thank you on any of that ****.
Absolutely nothing to grab if you lost balance. About 20 feet to the ground.
He was continually bitching me out because I refused to walk on that beam and instead sat on it and used my hands and *** to move forward about 18" at a time.
He turned out to be a nice guy and we became friends, but FCK, no thank you on any of that ****.
Back in my safety days used to do training for lifts, fall protection, etc. osha trainer. Also worked on some huge sites with dozens of these in use, some sites today don’t allow ladders unless with a ‘permit’. Used to remind some of the operators to lower the platform at least some, before moving it any appreciable distance…fell on deaf ears sometimes. One guy lost a finger, another tore off 2/3 rds of his ear not to discount a few occasions when the lift tipped over…among the accidents I had to investigate. Using a ladder on one of these on a couple sights I worked on was a $1500 fine from the GC to contractor. Nope, having been up on enough of them, the older I got the less I liked being on one fully elevated. Like a lot of things, some guys get immune to the dangers.
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I used to run a live theatre (1,600 seats, 300 shows a season - concerts, live theatre productions, silent movies, local dance recitals, the works). We had a Genie lift that had the outrigger safeties bypassed - you could run up the pole without the outriggers in place. Our focus height was generally around 25' from the deck, so I'd be at focus level and simply grab the batten (pipe that holds the lights) and pull myself along to get to the next light, without dropping the Genie.
Only one time did someone leave an extension cord on stage...I was rollin' along to the next light, Genie wheels caught on the cord....I grabbed the lighting batten...the Genie toppled like a dead tree as I swung my feet up to the batten and hung there like a cat, hollering for my assistant to get the hell up on stage and fly the batten in for me! He managed to get it lowered to the stage (slower than gravity, fortunately!), and we got the Genie back on its wheels before anyone found us.
I'd also always get the call to be focus monkey when the big tours came through, using box truss - a 2' square truss that traveled with the lights inside it, but you drop them down to focus and use for the show...then pull back up for travel afterwards. I'd crawl along the top of the truss (hanging 60' above the auditorium from two chain motors) and reach through it to focus the lights for the show, then climb from the truss to the Genie basket to get back to the deck.
Only one time did someone leave an extension cord on stage...I was rollin' along to the next light, Genie wheels caught on the cord....I grabbed the lighting batten...the Genie toppled like a dead tree as I swung my feet up to the batten and hung there like a cat, hollering for my assistant to get the hell up on stage and fly the batten in for me! He managed to get it lowered to the stage (slower than gravity, fortunately!), and we got the Genie back on its wheels before anyone found us.
I'd also always get the call to be focus monkey when the big tours came through, using box truss - a 2' square truss that traveled with the lights inside it, but you drop them down to focus and use for the show...then pull back up for travel afterwards. I'd crawl along the top of the truss (hanging 60' above the auditorium from two chain motors) and reach through it to focus the lights for the show, then climb from the truss to the Genie basket to get back to the deck.
barbee6043
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Heights used to make me dizzy. now days I just pass out!!
Wow, I get some true appreciation of what you did. Reminds me when I was in HS being a stage setup hand. I was pretty well-built being in gymnastics which came in real handy. The chit they had me doing was insane as I look back on it. I hung or repositioned the stage lighting and those lights back when were no lightweights. The friggin ladder I had to use was one of those wooden A-frame suckers with the vertical extension ladder. Get up high enough and the extension ladder would sway back and forth and I’d look down imaging what I might look like falling onto the auditorium seats with their metal backs. One hand on the ladder, the other juggling the light fixture, then two hands to mount them propping my leg behind a rung to avoid falling off. Damn hey: #1 I agreed to do it and #2 the faculty thought this was ok!
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Had one of those ladders in HS too. Learned the trick real early - set the extension a torso's height below the work spot. Throw one leg over the top of the extension, and hook your foot through it. Say, your left foot. Stand on your right foot, stabilize with your left knee over the top rung and your left foot hooked on a rung under that. No hands required ("look, ma!!"). Still flexed like a cattail in a hurricane, but you had both hands free to grab the batten if needed (LOL).
It's HS.
We still bounced back then!
It's HS.
We still bounced back then!
Lol, glad we both didn’t bounce off something non-bounce-able. We should start a new thread titled: How many times could ya have killed yourself.
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Well on 7/16/08, I did die...five times. Once in the ditch, twice in the life-flight helicopter, and twice on the operating table...but nothing to do with my old theatre days...
Oly chit! YOU could be the master on the subject. Gotta ask while throwing this off the rails...did you have an out of body experience? I had a buddy, now departed, who wasn't religious or let on about it anyway, who flatlined more than once. He described one time, only once, having that experience and the medical staff confirmed what he saw accurate to a tee as they brought him back. It was chilling how he talked about it...then he shrugged it off...that was good old Mike to the end.
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Nah, nothing fun like that. Head traumae from the accident along with LOTS of injuries - compound fracture R tib-fib; shattered (17 pieces) L femur; broken L hip; collapsed R lung; 4 broken ribs; 4 broken vertebrae; lacerated liver; bruised heart; torn R rotator cuff; closed-head trauma to the stem, and to the frontal lobe (and all the pain to go with all of it) pretty much shut down my mental recorder for the better part of 2 weeks. Apparently I was conscious and talking during my 2 week stay in shock-trauma (and quite violent)....but zilch for memories. Guess my noggin figured "this hurts more than we need to remember" (and I'm sure the drugs didn't help). For years I simply HAD TO REMEMBER, and it was driving me mad. Drinking to excess, sullen, hair-trigger temper, no motivation....finally with the help of a good therapist, I got to the point that it was OK that I didn't remember what happened, or the aftermath, or any of it - and I didn't need to know. What mattered was, I'm here, I'm alive, and although I'm a completely different person than I was before (and my life has made more left turns than I ever expected it to!)...that's good enough.
I just do the best I can, because I can, every day.
I just do the best I can, because I can, every day.
That is fantastic to hear; meaning you’re a lucky guy to have survived it all and to be all back at it. Yeah wondered as we hear of the strange stories now and then…what might be…beyond. In my old buds case, he suffered from Crohn’s disease for years losing internal organs needing dialysis 4 times a week. He went through that so many times, his arms had mountain tops protruding from all the dialysis. Great mechanic, working his butt off long as he could. He finally got tired of it calling his brothers and me to have breakfast (we’d get together every month or so). He matter a factly announced: “This should be the last time you see me alive as I’m stopping the dialysis…I should be dead by Thursday.“ Just like that, no emotion or such. He still joked around like he usually would. Sure enough, got a call from his brother Thursday night saying Mike’s gone. Next time I saw him was in a casket. Never forget when he got out of the car returning from breakfast to walk in his house, he turned back to us with a wry smile and a wave goodbye. Well sorry, I ran this thread off the rails. Back to the regularly scheduled program
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The last several years, as part of my "get it all done before...." campaign, my friend and I did a lot of building
of porches, carports, canopies, all that jazz - and metal went on all the roofs, including the garage.
By the time it was down to the last piece of the puzzle, the house itself, the job required removal of the
original shingles as well as repairing any issues with the plywood decking.
By then, I'd had enough. My vertigo would hardly allow me up there and gravity worked against my
lard butt, too - so we hired it out. The company was well recommended by the roofing manufacturer
and did a fine job.
Once it was done, it was such a relief to me. I knew my wife would never have to worry about roofs
after I was gone - ever.
50 year stuff is SO much heavier (and therefore better) than the standard stuff....
When my ticket is punched now, it'll be ok.
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Yeah, I don't know why we keep updating this farm and adding to it. Our son will sell it immediately upon our deaths. He has zero interest in living in Vermont.
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Oh man, I am so sorry to hear that my friend....
Has anyone else in immediate family shown a fondness for it?
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Lol. I do know exactly what you mean in all accounts. Our asphalt prices are around $500/square up here and tin can be up to $1000. Condition forced my hand on this roof. 35 year old shakes were done. I just finished in time for snow to hit. Needless to say it didn’t rain all summer.......until it was stripped. Got paper on as the rain started. 4 days to strip and haul the shakes. Two days to lay asphalt. A couple more days of repairing facia and the snow came. Wet heavy snow! If I never do this again it will be too soon. it was about 34 square. Oh ya, I’m too old to do it again! It won’t be happening in this life.
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Nope. All too old to want to do the farm work and the property is in the country amongst other farms so no commercial value. I mean, Tim didn't grow up here so he has no ties to VT. He's a city man now, if he could live in downtown Tokyo he would be happy. Could care less about being outdoors, owning any car, owning anything really. He just cares about Nuclear Physics and research. Period. And that's okay, it's his thing. We are proud of him.
Well - we do NEED smart people like him.
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