I'm glad I was brought up in a shop with a dad that had a metal fab background... I use this skillset daily... and sometimes is really pays off.

A few weeks ago my wife's friend posted a free 24' extension ladder on her social media page. It had fallen off her husband's truck going down the highway and the end got bent... bent was an understatement, the first few feet were mangled.

To him it was a destroyed $350 ladder, to me it was a free 16' extension ladder... so I grabbed it (not to mention, while there she told me I could have a bunch of other stuff for free). I just finished fixing it up last night. I ended up cutting about 2-1/2 feet off the upper section and 4+ feet off the lower section. Yes, I know the sections are no longer equal length but I don't care. It was the lower part that was mangled so I had to re-mount the feet and the "latches" for the extension functionality. The feet were bolted on and required a notch be cut in the bottom of the extrusion. The latches were both bolted and riveted on (solid AL rivets). I picked up some rivets and bucked them with a big steel backing bar, a big punch and big hammer.

And while the structural integrity may be somewhat compromised, I inspected all of the rungs and re-set the ones that were loose or shifted. The extrusion is made to handle a full 24' extension, I think only experiencing a 16' extension will offset any questionability about the structural integrity.

I bought a fiberglass extension ladder, 30 feet, $50.  It came with line hooks too.  No metal work required. 

I also do metal work.

Lucky deals don't count because you gotta be at the right place at the right time... "junk" that nobody wants because they're incapable of fixing it is another story...

Great score on the ladder... I would JUMP at a 30' for $50. It wasn't long ago a guy had a 22' AL extension ladder literally abused to death (missing a foot, missing the rope & pulley, and one of the little "flippers" that makes the latch part work) at a garage sale for $150. I offered $50 and he got all huffy and upset at the low-ball. Later that day I happened to be driving by and some poor sap was loading it on his truck. No way I would get lucky enough to find a nice one for $50 around here.

I wouldn't classify that as metal work and more as just redneck fixing shit.

The rednecks 'round me would've looked at it and said "nope, that things a goner"... there was more metal work than one might thing. Knowing how/where to backup and strike bent AL extrusions to straighten them isn't something most rednecks know. Bucking solid rivets with a BFH? 99.9% of rednecks only know 1 kind of rivet, and that's "pop-rivets".

Metalwork: 

Are those the new NASA ice cream scoops?

If he was a contractor, had his own business, has employees, etc it might not be worth it (or legal) to have a "fixed" ladder like that in service.

If something failed and one of his employees got hurt...

OSHA does not approve of ladder repairs like that, and it is not worth hurting an employee or the OSHA fine for me to use an old or damaged ladder

I spliced together a couple of scrap pieces of that metal 2"x4" shit that is used inside of walls.  Only had one big slice on my hand afterwards.

CHRIS

At work if a ladder has one questionable issue then its cut in half and scrapped. Too many people hurt on ladders in factories, and OSHA and insurance will blame the plant.

So you spent your time, fuel, money, and expertise working on cheap ladder that's now of questionable quality and safety?

Cool, cool.

As a metalworker, you may see this as a win. As a manager, I see it as.... that was pretty stupid.

That said, I worked in a metal shop in college that made long, large cylindrical bodies for a .mil contractor. Neat stuff.

Home shop metalwork.
3 gallon fuel tank to fit in a very specific spot.

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That's a good point; one I hadn't thought of. That being said, he is a sole-proprietor and I doubt that is a concern of his... I just don't think he had the knowledge of how to fix it...

Fuel: uh, maybe .1 gal... money: none spent, expertise: you're starting to stretch it, it's not like continued use of expertise "cost" me... it probably improves my expertise...

FWIW, I'm not a professional metal-worker, I'm a structural/mechanical engineer with a metal-fab background and addiction. I'm not stupid, my brother calls me a "safety Nazi". If the safety of the ladder is/was even questionable I wouldn't have touched it. The fact of the matter is the aluminum extrusions were meant to support a man at 24-foot extension. The stresses from a 16-foot extension are drastically lower; I didn't run the numbers but off the top of my head, stress should be around 50% of that when extended to 24' so I just double the factor of safety. That more than offset any structural compromises my visual inspection may have missed.

Lastly, I get the fact that this isn't serious metal work to many, but it is metal work. Make fun all you want. The intent of my post wasn't to brag, it was just to call attention to the fact that so many people are incapable of fixing things themselves due a lack of hard skills. Some of the pictures posted here are neat. I have lots of pictures too but the metal work I do at work can't be spoken of or posted online due to confidentiality, NDA's, etc. To say that I've done some VERY cool metalwork projects (while getting paid an engineer's salary to do it) is an understatement...

Correct, I was a ladder tagging mofo in my plant. They couldn't keep a ladder in working order.

My current lawnmower is one i found on side of the road. I pulled it and it started. I could not figure out why someone would toss it. Then i saw one of the front wheels was torn off and laying on the ground. It rusted to shit where wet grass clumped up around it. I ground the metal metal and did a shit job welding a piece to stick it all together. Fuck it it works. I am shit welder.

Since the thread was bumped, and so many doubted the integrity of the repair... I've been using the ladder, I even used it as a scaffold to paint in a stairwell. Prior to doing so I put it on some 8" blocks horizontal, fully extended, and walked across... it was definitely sturdy... I wouldn't be afraid to put 2 guys my size on it.

Small victories are worth celebrating, i would have felt pretty good with that repair.

Unlawful redneck work that I can't use at work.

Not metal work.

The irony of your ignorant comments are, it would be completely lawful if the repairs/modifications were blessed by an engineer.

SigOwner_P229 is an engineer. SigOwner_P229 usually does his engineering work on military aircraft which are subject to much more stringent requirements for acceptable repairs. SigOwner_P229 also develops test plans for testing and loading of structural members.

But you can keep believing it's a stupid, unapproved redneck repair all you want. I know the truth, and I'm using it on a regular basis so it's my own skin if it weren't up to snuff... there is no question about the structural integrity.

Guffaw. Burn. And etc. Nice, Sig. I would add that it doesn't matter if it would work for anyone else - he did it for himself. If as an engineer he trusts his own work then what's not to like.   Post some photos of the repair - if you did a good job that should shut down a few armchair quarterbacks. Some of you fellows should reread and take note: he did specify this repair as "simple" metal work, which I'd say was accurate. I hope that my son (and daughter) learn as much from me as you sound like you did from your pop. It feels good to have your kids come to you immediately when something breaks and say "you have to fix it daddy" because they have such faith in you.

sneaker - former machinist, toolmaker and welder.

Thanks!!! My kids do that same thing. I swear they break things just to see me fix them...

The sad thing is that I posted previously in this thread that I was an engineer, apparently some just didn't understand.

Reality is, when you're talking about multi-million dollar aircraft systems and you find a structural defect, you don't just cut the system in half and pitch it in the trash. You get your engineer and have him find a solution that maintains structural integrity. Yes, I realize it's a $350 ladder and it could easily be replaced when it's corporate dollars footing the bill. That's a cost vs benefit equation that points to it always cheaper to replace the ladder WHEN IN THE CORPORATE WORLD. IE, Option 1: Do nothing and face liability for an injured worker, Option 2: Pay your engineer (or hire one) to do the calculations, show documented proof ON PAPER that the ladder is safe (this is going to cost $5k) and bear the liability for you (most professional engineers carry liability insurance for this reason). Or Opt 3: buy a new ladder. Easy decision in that case.

However, when you're the engineer working on your own ladder and there is no element of liability to it, there is no need for paper calculations that have been triple-checked and verified by a 2nd engineer. There is no need for an expensive liability insurance policy. You do the estimations in your head and if it's even remotely close to being too risky you pitch the ladder. If it's not even close, and you're willing to accept the risk for your own body, you use it. I've chosen to take that risk; I did the calculations, I did the repairs, I did the visual inspections, I did the worst case scenario load testing just like I would have done if it were a critical structural member in a high-end system. I bear the responsibility if I'm wrong, I have confidence in my work (both engineering work and metal work).