Okay, I was thinking about my old skip box today, I've got to go move some old shingles with it tomorrow. I got it about 8 years ago, I bought a bunch of rigging on a sale, and some of the rigging was in this box. I've used the box way more than I ever have used the rigging that came inside it. We have a lot of taller condo buildings here in town, and we had a tornado that damaged a bunch of roofs in town a few years back, and the roofers love it. Put all their tools, cords, generator, cutter, glue all in it and up to the top. No worries about rigging every little thing, just throw it all in the box. Its 4'x8', just 1' tall sides. steel sides, plywood bottom. Probably the item I spent the least amount buying, compared to what I've made by having it.
Item #2 2' x 1/4" steel cable chokers Anyone in the rental game should be out setting commercial HVAC units. These usually have 4 pick points, usually two holes beside each other. The manufactures can't get together on what size or distance between them they should be, most are from 1 1/2" diameter up to almost 3". If all you have is shackles, the different sizes means you have to drag out 3 different sizes of shackles to see what fits the hole, and sometimes none of them do. I've seen guys have 1' long pieces of chain with a screw together connector link, which isn't rated for lifting. I've seen guys just hook the tips of their spreader hooks in four of the holes, and that's really not good. I had my rigging guy make these up. 4 of them 1/4" by 2' long, they are just flexible enough to get in one hole and out the other, then shackle to the nylons. When you eventually nick a wire, they're cheap to buy at 2' and pitch them. I go to lift a unit and I just hook on my 4-16' nylons and pull out 4 shackles and my 4 little cables, and I can hook most any unit, without going back and forth off the roof with 4 each of 3 different size shackles.
Item #3 This one's a little more expensive. Years ago, we only had a little warehouse hard tired forklift, only on the pavement capable. I picked up this old Allis at a sale, and wouldn't be without it. Load spreader bars, skip box, block, load and unload trucks. Load and unload mats. Pull jib off a crane. Pulled booms apart for telescope cylinder repair. Got a rigging pole for it and have set motors, transmissions, rears. We were really limited by the pavement only, and this older backwards tractor style has really opened up what we can do. I'm sure we start it up and use it almost every day. It's 6,000lbs capacity. I've got a old 12,000 capacity forklift too, but we hardly ever use it because its so big and awkward. Still use the old hard tire one in the building because its propane and can get around easier inside, but the allis is the one that really gets used. And I guess because I'm looking at it in the same picture, the old iron a-frame has got its uses also, primarily pulling engines. It and a chain fall is easier by yourself than a forklift with the boom, but I'm always taking apart something that's expensive and broke when I'm using it, so its not one of my favored tools- If I had known how much I would use it when I bought it, I would have never bought it.
Industrial grapple, my most used attachment around the property. Ed
I traded some old Harley sportster parts for a couple enerpac cylinders. One of them was an RSM500 . A 500ton pancake with a really short stroke. Never thought i'd have a use for it. I've used it 3 times where everything else failed. Does that count?
FWF ... 500 ton or 50 ton ?
48, only has a 3/4" stroke or so. But man it gets stuff done. All this time I thought 500 meant 500 ton. Oh well. It does what I ask it to.
They have a 500 ton swage press at the local logging company that they use if you ask for an eye on a cable or something.
Hands down my most used tool that I never expected is the Leatherman Super Tool 300 . Don't leave home without it ! Like a tool box on the belt . https://www.leatherman.com/super-tool-300-2.html
Had a 5 foot piece of 3/8 grade 8 chain. It was cut off from a too long hoist. I put a grab & slip hook on the ends. I wore it out. short enough to connect FEL to fence post, between tractor & chain harrow to turn without getting into the rear tires. Log tongs, fender dent pulling, bush & tree puller, third hand, log unsticker from splitter, etc. As I said, wore it out. Made another, working now.
Along with my regular pen in my shirt pocket I carry a fine point Sharpie. Try it!
As a carpenter my Stiletto nail puller, I use it to pull nails, a punch, a chisel, hammer ..... As a crane operator I love my truss hooks the framers I work for just love them, as soon as I drive in they go to my box and get them out, and I’ve had new clients that I’ve never seen before ask about them because someone else told them about them.
LOL !
Does your wife call you quick draw?
Can't repeat on this forum what the wife calls me . " You no good …... " I'm sure it's her way of saying she still loves me . That's the way I took it anyhow .
Well done, well done.
This little Wacker trench roller. I bought it at auction for a little less than $3,000. We painted it up and had a little fun lettering it. Little bugger paid for itself on the first job and has been making money for the last couple of years. Looking for another one.
I scoped out a job last week & thought about that rig . They had a trench cut trough a pond dam to drain it for cleaning out . Thought to myself … " I need CM's roller bot to pack this trench back in " That's a pretty cool unit for tight spots !
Thanks CM ! Stunt guy stood in for the gig . Insurance company was afraid I might get scuffed up .
My airplane, ( a light sport RANS S-7S, flown right out of my place) used often for scouting out jobs for access, or if the trusses have arrived yet, ot (worst of all) if they got some other SOB to do the job! Most of all for aerial pics, nowadays texted via smartphone, so no cost and little hassle for me, and a good excuse to go flying. I often will overfly a site after getting a call, and before I show up, and have a heads up as to what I'm getting involved with, whether I should back in or not, if that pile of lumber needs to ne moved. Also, it's very helpful for finding new projects that may or may not need some hoisting, it's gives me a jump start on my local competition. Many times, in our rural areas, I've flown into the jobsite, before or after the work, just for the heck of it, another excuse to go flying. The tow bar for my Toyota RAV4, on the right job, for the right person, I will leave the National on site and drive home in the Toy, saving them travel time, that's really appreciated by them. My electric bike, kept on board at all times. Tomorrow, after my scheduled job in the same town 50 miles away, I will get it out and ride about 5 miles one way across town to inspect a jobsite for access that needs a 11 ton boulder set. NO CHARGE!
Crane op, your A frame reminded me of this gantry we built years ago. Perfect tool for this job...sliding the mouldboard three parts out so we could remove the side shift cylinder for resealing.
A 500lb chain comalong is one of my handy tools. I picked it up from my rigging supplier one day as kind of a gadget thing. Turns out its super handy for all kinds of things like hooking up pendents on the conventional instead of two big guys trying to hold them and line up the pin. Lifting heavy finger pinchers of all sorts. It lives in my truck toolbox with some tiny grab chains
Yeah, same here, and they are so tiny (but mighty) they will fit in the palm of your hand! Here's another handy "tool," https://titanstraps.com/ , they work great in cold weather, the material they are made of stays pretty much the same in cold temps, AND, you can easily use them with gloves. Or in the dark. I was camped out a couple weeks ago at 8,000', and it was 19 degrees in the morning, so I can attest to that claim. You can also daisy chain them together to get any length. They have quickly replaced my misc. bungees and velcro tie downs, they are not cheap but are worth it.
The 500 ton jacks we used for testing driven piling weighed in at over 800 lbs. 16" stroke.
whiteout pen like you use in the office, labels and marks and lasts