STEEPLEJACK'S CORNER 2012

[Stanley]

He was a bit too close! I've never understood this compulsion to see the crack appear. It makes no difference to whether the chimney falls or not. Far better to keep clear! He moved very quickly when the band fell......

[David Whipp]

John looking at the band hung on the fence after making a hasty departure from the base of the chimney. He heard it break and come away from the brickwork, which prompted him to make a quick move.

[Steeplejerk]

The band could have snapped at any time,the band bolt was the problem,nothing left of it,so any variation in temperature, ie heat, would cause expansion of the band,luckily nobody was putting ladders up the stack ,the slightest tap would have snapped it,all down to lack of maintenance for many years..

[Stanley]

Dead right Tom, lack of maintenance. Here's a more serious failure, a third of the cast iron top of the Salford Destructor chimney fell away with four men on top of the stack. Peter heard the bolts snapping and warned everyone. He said the top of the stack rocked nicely when it went. Pic is blurred because I had to grab it!





Most of the CI shattered when it hit the ground but this piece demonstrates how dangerous it could be if it hit you!

[Invernahaille]

Tom,
Has band fitting changed at all since the 1950s. I was with Ronnie when he put bands on a chimney in Accrington.

[Stanley]

Robert, Tom will no doubt give you the definitive answer but I suspect there will be more H&S about than when Brooke Edgeley took all the bands off at Ellenroad in 1991. They put them back using two bosun's chairs and laddering wedges to rest the bands on while they fitted the bolts. Dead simple, quick and affective.



They pointed a section and then replaced the refurbished bands off the same set up. No doubt they marked the levels when they cut the mortar out.

[Stanley]

Bands at Ellenroad laid out in sets after being cleaned and given two good coats of bitumen. Ready to go back on the stack with new bolts. 1991.

[Stanley]

That pic reminded me of Peter Tatham who always specified Wailes-Dove Bitumen paint. He swore by it! It's still made and used.....

[Stanley]

I got Daniel Meadows small book on Peter working at Salford Destructor chimney yesterday. Don't bother looking for it, the edition has sold out before release! Good pics....

[Stanley]

One of Daniel's pics of Peter at Salford....

[Steeplejerk]

I remember Peter having a box full of a4 size b/w photos from the Salford job,think most of them were yours Stanley..

[Stanley]

Could be Tom, I gave him a lot of pics over the years.



Here's a rare pic, 4 blokes on a ladder. Top to bottom. Peter, Higgy, Andrew and Daniel at the bottom.....

[Stanley]

Slightly depressing to note that 40 years later, the top three are dead.... Ah well.....

[Steeplejerk]

I had exactly the same thought Stanley !! ,all three died young.

[Stanley]

And Daniel is poorly as well.... Do you think we are bulletproof Tom?

[Stanley]

We had a welcome visitor yesterday! Here is a rare image of Tom Philips in thoughtful mood. He couldn't remember where he had just been to to help an EH surveyor inspect a church tower.... Mind you, he is getting on a bit now!
It was good to see Young Tom and he's in good condition. He was telling me why he left Warbuton's and why they never finished pointing Bancroft stack. He's with another firm now and says he is very happy with them. Thanks for calling Tom, it was appreciated....

[Stanley]

As he was kitting the surveyor out with his harness and safety ropes before taking him up the ladder the man said to Tom, "I can see why you blokes complain about this lot!" I suspect Tom trussed him up like a chicken!

[Stanley]

Not a good day for the jacks, too much wind to be comfortable at height. Peter had a healthy respect for the wind, he used to say that when the flaps of his leather jerkin started flapping that was the time to get down. I remember when he had Swabs laddered and was doing an inspection and taking photographs he decided it was getting a bit too breezy and came down the ladder two rungs at a time. The only time I ever saw that done.....
I think that was the day the lens fell out of his box Brownie!

[Stanley]

Another day of very high winds. I suppose they have an anemometer these days to judge when conditions are too dangerous....

[Bodger]

Heres one for the Jacks,

[Stanley]

An interesting site Bodge. Isn't it amazing the amount of information there is out there.....

[Stanley]

1986 keeping an eye on work on the chimney at Ellenroad. It fascinates me looking at images like this from 30 years ago and reflecting that there are some things I may have to give up forever! I was very lucky to be in the place I was at the time because I had a good jack, Peter Tatham, and he encouraged me to start climbing and participate fully in the work. Mind you, when it came to a difference of opinion about how to do the job, Peter always had the casting vote!
I forgot to mention that when Tom visited me the other day he told me that the GRP venturi had come loose and blown off the Ellenroad stack· He said it sailed over the Total factory like a giant Frisbee (about ten feet in diameter) but did no damage. I never saw it go on, it was installed by the firm who made it, and was puzzled how it could have come loose as we installed stainless steel bars in the base of the drum with holes in each end. The intention was for the outside holes to be useful for the jacks who had to rig the chimney (much appreciated by the BEST men) and on the inside we planned stainless steel bolts to reach up to the rim and act as anchors for the venturi. Tom told me they were never used, the installers simply drilled into the concrete rim and used Rawlbolts or similar. If they'd used my idea it would still be on there.... Ah well....

[Stanley]

I've just remembered something that Peter said to me that bears repeating. We were discussing climbing stacks and I said that I had a rest half way up using the Tatham approved method of sticking one leg through the ladder from the back because I was always aware of what would happen if my arms and hands refused to obey me, I would drop off. He said "Why do you think I do the same?" He told me it was healthy and showed respect for the ladder, he reckoned that when you lost that it was time to give up.... Nice bloke Peter......

[David Whipp]

A good tenet to live your life by, Stanley.

Although I don't believe it's all about climbing ladders, if you get my drift!

[Stanley]

Funnily enough it can work the opposite way round. For many years I drove on the principle that you had to be aware of what the other drivers were doing and it protected me well. But then the objective observation became fear of the other drivers because so many of them were crap. That's when I sold my car and gave up driving. On a chimney climb, as long as you trust the ladders, the only other factor is your head and your grip on the ladders. Evidently I was thinking on the right lines.
Incidentally, Peter taught me two other things; always grip the sides of the ladder, never the rungs. Try to keep your arms below the level of your heart. it improves circulation to the muscles.... Reaching up is a common fault and not productive.