Turned my extension ladder into an Orchard Ladder!
I have wanted one for years so I made one.
I have wild plums to pick by the creek and need a ladder to get me to the right height. I have finally figured out the solution. After a bit of rummaging the shop I came up with a pair of pieces from metal crutches, all thread, carriage bolts with nuts and washers, and two 10 foot long metal poles. I first attempted to use a few other pieces I found but each one required far more work to make than what I ended up using.
The first step was to drill out the holes in the poles to fit the all thread which is 3/8, but in order for the poles to split into legs I needed to drill them out to 7/16 to allow room. To do this I stepped up my drill holes a few times so as not to break bits trying to take too much at one time. I started at 1/4, then 5/16, 3/8, and then finally the 7/16. The 4th pic down shows the all thread inserted in the pole and the amount of space that is visible around it.
The next step was to drill the holes in the on crutch piece. The delineated holes are all the right size but they are on the wrong axis for the poles to attach to. In the channel of the piece is the hole where the crutch screwed together. I drilled this hole out to 3/8 on both sides. The bottom of these pics shows the 3/8 hole in the channel and since it is aluminum it drilled very easily.
The final step was to attach all the pieces to the ladder. On the brackets I used the pair and was JUST able to get my bots to fit with the washers to attach them to the ladder. It is surprisingly solid and is attached extremely well. I have to loosen it to center it a bit better but that is easy. I have fender washers in between things to keep any parts from catching. I will probably be doing some finishing mods like shorten the all thread, pop other holes in the poles so I can make different length legs, and adding a second nut on each end of the all thread.
Cheapest damned orchard ladder I have ever found I had to make. Beauty is that the poles pop off and the ladder goes back to a regular extension in a matter of 2 minutes. Super stoked. Now off to harvest the wild green/yellow plums that are super sweet and tasty, though small, but are covering the couple of trees. More on that later.
Check out my blog @flemingfarm
Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce
All images are original works of Fleming Family Farm unless otherwise notated and credited.
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It's cool life huck! 👍 And please tell what is the metal subject behind the stairs at the last photo ?
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That is my satellite dish that I have been using to dry kale so far this year. I have used it for separating the dried beans from the hulls since the dish is made of mesh metal so the small pieces of chaff fall through. It worked okay when I used it for that but it is far more handy for the drying.
Interesting idea:) I think it can be used to collect sea-buckthorn
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I was wondering about that too @flemingfarm and I actually thought it was a satellite dish - I guess I was right, but now I know what you use it for!
That is excellent! I really like the idea!
Nice hack ;)
I'm happy to see your DIY @flemingfarm - You did good!
Wow! Super cool creation! Way to go.
Hello @flemingfarm, thank you for sharing this creative work! We just stopped by to say that you've been upvoted by the @creativecrypto magazine. The Creative Crypto is all about art on the blockchain and learning from creatives like you. Looking forward to crossing paths again soon. Steem on!