Dai Sensei
ArboristSite Member
Well with the wild weather we are having here, there looks like I might have a bit of milling to do. In the past I have used an old spare timber ladder to slide my mill on which isn’t exactly the best. I wanted a light weight adjustable one and here is how I did it (I have been building it for months, today I finished it).
I managed to score some 2” aluminium 3-way window joiner for the main struts, and cup-head bolts fitted in the slots (although I did have to grind a bit off the bolt heads for the lower slot, it was a bit smaller). I also scored some tube stock that slide inside each other and angle for the log ends. I cut the tube stock so I had two lengths of the smaller tube for each large tube. This was to enable me to have rail widths from a minimum of 1’ to a maximum of 3’. I then turned up some aluminium solid round bars to jam-fit inside the tube stock and threaded the centres to suit the bolts. I also turned up a central sleeve that fitted over the large tube stock with a jam-fit, but slid over the smaller tube stock, with two threaded holes for grub screws.
Basically I lay the main struts on the log to suit its diameter. Slide some bolts in the underside slots and attach the angle to the log ends. Then I slide the bolts along the struts to where I want the rails to sit. Then I screw the rails onto the bolts, one side at a time until the length of the rail suits the strut width. I then lock the tubes together with the grub screws to fix the rail length.
Photo1: 3-way window joiner for struts
Photo2: Strut with bolts in slots
Photo3: Ladder rail ends
Photo4: Ladder rail components
Photo5: Ladder rail tubes with ends
Photo6: Ladder rail assembled
Photo7: Assembled ladder (in tripods for demo, I don’t have a log handy) next to old one.
Now I have effectively a ladder that is 8.5’ long (the strut came in 17’ lengths), variable width from 1’ to 3’, rails that can move to suit log lumps and bumps, and log end connectors.
Cheers
I managed to score some 2” aluminium 3-way window joiner for the main struts, and cup-head bolts fitted in the slots (although I did have to grind a bit off the bolt heads for the lower slot, it was a bit smaller). I also scored some tube stock that slide inside each other and angle for the log ends. I cut the tube stock so I had two lengths of the smaller tube for each large tube. This was to enable me to have rail widths from a minimum of 1’ to a maximum of 3’. I then turned up some aluminium solid round bars to jam-fit inside the tube stock and threaded the centres to suit the bolts. I also turned up a central sleeve that fitted over the large tube stock with a jam-fit, but slid over the smaller tube stock, with two threaded holes for grub screws.
Basically I lay the main struts on the log to suit its diameter. Slide some bolts in the underside slots and attach the angle to the log ends. Then I slide the bolts along the struts to where I want the rails to sit. Then I screw the rails onto the bolts, one side at a time until the length of the rail suits the strut width. I then lock the tubes together with the grub screws to fix the rail length.
Photo1: 3-way window joiner for struts
Photo2: Strut with bolts in slots
Photo3: Ladder rail ends
Photo4: Ladder rail components
Photo5: Ladder rail tubes with ends
Photo6: Ladder rail assembled
Photo7: Assembled ladder (in tripods for demo, I don’t have a log handy) next to old one.
Now I have effectively a ladder that is 8.5’ long (the strut came in 17’ lengths), variable width from 1’ to 3’, rails that can move to suit log lumps and bumps, and log end connectors.
Cheers
