Getting Up To The Top of Big Bertha

Getting Up To The Top of Big Bertha

I mentioned a week or so ago the problems with the stepstool I have been using to reach the eyepiece on Big Bertha 2.0. It wasn't quite tall enough, it's a little rickety, and in the dark, it is very easy to get disoriented.

I took one step to solving the elevation problem by lowering everything by about eight inches. I needed to bore the interior of a short segment of 6" OD aluminum tubing to 5.7" ID--but my lathe wasn't big enough. A former co-worker has an older Atlas lathe, and was happy to turn it for me. The Atlas as a power feed (meaning that you don't have to advance the cutting tool by turning a crank). The more I watched this, the more tempted I was to get the power feed for my lathe. Anyway, Big Bertha's eyepiece is now quite a bit lower, less chance of banging into the top of the garage door when moving it in and out, lower center of gravity--all the way around a big win.

I think I may have found a combination of price and functionality that make sense. Louisville Ladders makes this rolling warehouse ladder that has casters that let you roll it, but as soon as you step on, the weight locks them. The top platform is 30" high, which I believe would be high enough. (The stepstool I use now is 20" high, and it is only a little stretch to look through the eyepiece in a couple of odd angles.) It has handrails, and a rail at the top of the platform so that you don't have any risk of falling over the top. Load capacity is 350 pounds--which might be useful if two people are both at the top at the same time. And it is only $235. (I suspect shipping isn't going to be real cheap, however.) There is also a a 40" high version for just a bit more money--perhaps worth getting.

It appears that Louisville Ladder may make this in America, which is nice, and really not surprising, when you consider that shipping costs on something this large might wipe out the advantages of cheap Chinese labor and the absurd yuan-dollar exchange rate.