Anybody out there ever built a library ladder?? I’ve got a customer who wants three of them. I called the local Woodcraft store to see about hardware and they told me to go to Rockler, I went through the catalog but didn’t see any hardware…
They want them made out of red oak which I feel is a fine choice. Are there any small details I should be looking out for?? the design seems pretty straightforward and I don’t see any problems with making them, although any details (good or bad) in what to look for would help….Thanks!!!!
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there is a commercial source for them made of virtually any wood you can imagine.. It's in a fine home building artcle but I'll have to reseach for a bit.. I thought they where better and cheaper than I could make myself.
Hardware is a significant cost of them
I looked on a website last evening myself and found a company who's prices start at $1100.00. I was leaning toward a ready built one myself, never having built one or even thinking about buying one. This is being built for a little old lady with a huge house and she wants one for each room she's got bookcases in, she doesn't want to get one of the type you can move from room to room...she's got the money to have them bought and installed but she wants home made, just like the door I built for her last year, so now I'm scouring and trying to find sources.....From what I've seen in the websites, the big choice is red oak, about 1x4, and the treads are 1x4 1/2....from the limited pics I've seen, a few cuts here and there, some routing and some joinery and then finish and install......
You might want to consider using 3/4 inch instead of 1/2 inch for the treads. Cost would be about the same, 3/4 will provide much more strength.I used 3/4 treads when I built a ladder for the kids' bunk beds.Leon Jester
Yeah, I was planning on 3/4 inch stuff...shouldn't have seperated the 4 from 1/2 when I typed the other message, I plan on using the 1x for all of it....
You can get hardware from putnam rolling ladder and them build the ladder yourself
http://www.putnamrollingladder.com
Thanks for the info....I'm hoping to be able to build for her cheaper than buying, even factoring in the time spent building them....they look straightforward as I mentioned earlier....
The problem with building from scratch is that the bottom rollers run on the on the sides and the top assembly actually slides up and down so that it can be placed tight up against the cabinets when not in use.
Not meaning to bud-in here but do use very straight grain lumber. You don't want the wood grain running out much as, it could fracture under weight and possible injury and lawsuit.
Say what part of Okla. you living in? I'm in Tahlequah, about an hour SE of Tulsa......Dale
I'm in Yukon.....been here a couple years now....and yes, I was plannning on getting some nice straight grained stuff from Woodcraft......
I was raised in OKC and we had family friends in Yukon. Used to go the the Sat. Night movies at the downtown theater (1960's), probably gone by now. If you ever get to eastern OK. look me up, we'll go looking at sawmills. Bring your pick-up and some dough if you want some lumber.......Dale
Hey Dale...have you got more trees up there than around OKC? I came here from upstate NY (way upstate) and was used to real trees everywhere, down here it just looks desolate for someone who's used to having a lot of lakes, rivers, trees, etc.....I think the furthest I've been north in OKlahoma is Edmond...never got up around the Tulsa area or where you're from....
The futher east you come the more and taller the trees get. I'm located on the western edge of the eastern hardwood forest. Our trees are not as tall as trees in NY but they will saw....Dale
P.S. They don't call the Great Plains that for nothing......At least you can see a long way, and Yukon has some nice sunsets.
Nice to hear..I left my chainsaws at home when I moved here, I sure miss 'em...won't be long now and we'll be getting the 30-50 degree temp changes over the course of a few hours...got nyquil??You do carpentry/construction for a living???
You may find this hard to believe but, I be a forester. I woodwork after 5. I started a web page last week: http://www.beautifuwoodwork.com take a gander at the site. The site is still in the rough stages, I'll post a link, if I don't forget.
Ya, I hate OK summers! I sweat worse than a race horse. I like OK winters. I never been North during winter. I take that back, I've visited Mich. once during Christmas, different for sure. I guess it's what you are use too........Dale
Don't see a link button, I think my site is highlighted
A forester!! Never thought I'd run into one of those down here.....like I said earlier, I left my chainsaws at home when I moved here, a big 72cc Jonsered and my little Stihl limbing saw......the summer before I came here I cut about 300 full cords of firewood for a buddy of mine, he's got almost 200 acres of land in upstate...all hardwoods, little pines...mostly oak, maple and cherry.....we lost a lot of trees back in 97 or 98 with the big ice storm....it topped out a major portion of the trees....but theres still plenty more........
I tried clicking on your website and it said it couldn't be found....help???
I've got to learn to spell better. Having a long name for a web site is a no no.
http://www.beautifulwoodworks.com
Dale
nice looking articles! you do nice work...I was a bit taken back by the cost, but then again i've never been in the business of "making" things like that, I've always been more the remodeler and from the ground up builder...this is one reason I started this forum on building a library ladder.I'm not saying your prices are too high, you would know more about that than I do as far as what to charge. I know I've spoken to people following up on quotes I've given for projects and some of them scoff and some of them don't...my closure rate is about 67 percent right now and I'm usually busy 366 days a year, lately I've taken a couple days off to relax and get some new bids together for some bigger remodels around the city.....I need to find a couple more good guys willing to work who are dependable...it would even be nice to find one qualified to be a super....
NY'er,
I too moved my family from the Northeast (Boston area) to the great Midwest...and was devestated by the lack of trees..relatively speaking. I felt like I was living on top of a bowling ball..noting to grab on to..one false move and I'd slide off....took some time to adjust.
We moved back here after 13 years...and guess what....all these trees, can't breathe, can't see nothing...took some time to adjust. Maybe its change I really don't like...lol
I'm here around the OKC area and the lack of trees here really takes getting used to. Lately we've been thinking of moving back to NY and getting back upstate where the air is clean and the water is the same. I miss the St. Lawrence and the Adirondacks..the rivers down here don't even qualify as a muddy creek where I'm from, and I heard a few months ago that oklahoma doesn't have one natural lake in the entire state, they're all man made reservoirs, people would be shocked to see a river 4 miles wide at points and so clear you can see your fishing lure a hundred feet below the surface.....
BTW...was just on a website in my old hometown and they're predicting wind chills in the minus 20-30 degree range this afternoon with heavy lake effect snow....God, how I do miss that weather!!!! (seriously!!!)
Not meaning to bud-in here but do use very straight grain lumber. You don't want the wood grain running out much as, it could fracture under weight and possible injury and lawsuit.
I agree.. See if you and make/find hand-split ash or hickory.. SPLIT not sawn!
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