Work Weekend 9/25 -26

[slamdog]

I think that I may be good to go, but will need to check....will also check with Wardy, Mace and the Chief up at camp tonight when I get in. Will update the thread later tonight or tomorrow. L

[ward]

I know mace hasnt gotten the hardware yet but IS working on it. I'll talk to him in a little bit to see what we can do for that weekend.

[ADKJack]

My focus was going to be on the steps but if we can get more done that would be great.

[ADKJack]

So if this thread looks out of order
it is
Technical difficulties beyond our control

So I will be up on the 25 and /or the 26 to get some work done on the tower. The plan is to get the steps done since we had to reschedule from last month.
I am looking for volunteers to help with this project.
Things we will need to complete the job are:
Battery operated Drills, saws and maybe a grinder.
Extra batteries, no power or generator will be available.
Wrenches, ratchets with tie strings (protect from dropping one on someones head)
Climbing or safety harness if you have one (protect you from dropping on your head) helmet or hard hats.
Happy disposition after climbing 1,800 feet with heavy tools

And yeah BTW this will be the best view of Autumnal Color anywhere in the ADK's

Thanks in advance.

[alistair]

Sorry again I can not do my part.
I bent over to read the label on a box on Wednesday and threw my back out. Even after a shot in the butt from my doctor and three visits to my chiropractor I still look like Quasimodo.

[Trail Boss]

There's a slim chance I might be able to join the party on Sunday. Slim, because I have a previous commitment. Even if I cannot participate, here are a few questions that may be on the minds of other volunteers:

Are the treads being fastened with a bolt and nut, requiring a through-hole, or with a wood-screw? If it's a bolt, will the head need to be countersunk? If so, then a Forstner bit will be need to drill a shallow blind hole to countersink the bolt's head.

If bolts will be used, what are the dimensions? This will determine the size of the drill bit(s) and socket wrenches needed.

If screws will be used, what are the dimensions? Do they have a hex-head or something else?

Are the treads made of treated wood? If so, the end-cuts and bolt-holes should, ideally, be sealed with a compatible wood preservative. This chemical is typically copper-based and toxic; there may be a regulation prohibiting the use of such chemicals in public structures in the Adk park. In addition, the sawdust from treated wood is considered toxic waste and must be handled accordingly (dust mask minimally, collection and disposal if possible). Anyway, if the treads are made of untreated lumber then this issue is moot.

[Kyler]

I think that I can help out on Saturday. Drill bit size(s) would be good to know rather than carrying a case full. I do have a cordless circular saw, but were the treads pre-cut before they were taken up?

[ADKJack]

Originally Posted by Trail Boss

There's a slim chance I might be able to join the party on Sunday. Slim, because I have a previous commitment. Even if I cannot participate, here are a few questions that may be on the minds of other volunteers:

Are the treads being fastened with a bolt and nut, requiring a through-hole, or with a wood-screw? If it's a bolt, will the head need to be countersunk? If so, then a Forstner bit will be need to drill a shallow blind hole to countersink the bolt's head.

If bolts will be used, what are the dimensions? This will determine the size of the drill bit(s) and socket wrenches needed.

If screws will be used, what are the dimensions? Do they have a hex-head or something else?

Are the treads made of treated wood? If so, the end-cuts and bolt-holes should, ideally, be sealed with a compatible wood preservative. This chemical is typically copper-based and toxic; there may be a regulation prohibiting the use of such chemicals in public structures in the Adk park. In addition, the sawdust from treated wood is considered toxic waste and must be handled accordingly (dust mask minimally, collection and disposal if possible). Anyway, if the treads are made of untreated lumber then this issue is moot.

Originally Posted by Kyler

I think that I can help out on Saturday. Drill bit size(s) would be good to know rather than carrying a case full. I do have a cordless circular saw, but were the treads pre-cut before they were taken up?

I wish I had better info than I do. I thought that we had taken the dimensions on an earlier scouting trip but it seems we did not. The Steps are attached to the metal risers by 4 bolts,seen here top and Bottom
They are galvanized steel and I can only guess at the size, so I wont.
The boards have been precut but after 93 years there has been some torque in the structure so every one may not be exactly 2'.
We do not plan on using any type of solvents and the boards are pretreated so we will take precautions around that as we drill.
I will be up around 09:00 Saturday and plan on being there Sunday as well.
Winter warlock will probably be up Saturday evening or Sunday morning.

[ADKJack]

Sorry folks but it looks like there will be unhappy wind conditions on Saturday morning. Gust up to 30mph at newcomb feel like 60 on the tower(trust me on that)
Do not want to risk injury.
I will be in the area but not working on Saturday. I plan to be in the parking area on Sunday between 08:00 and 09:00
I apologize for the late notice.

[ADKJack]

Halfway There,
This morning I was presently surprised to have Kenmore arrive at he Parking Area at 08:00. I had gone up Saturday afternoon to bring up a large selection of wrenches, ratchets and adjust wrenches along with some other implements of destruction in an attempt to zero in on sizes reducing the need for anyone else needing to bring up various and sundry tools that would not be needed.
I left the ones that would fit up top and brought down the ones that did not.
So today I only needed to bring up the portable drill with 2 batteries (still pretty heavy, not 4 board heavy but not exactly ultralight )and a hammer.
Kenmore and I waited around to about 08:30 and headed up leaving behind a bolt and nut I had removed on Saturday at the trail register so if anyone else was going to join us they would know what size tools to bring.
Two other gentleman had gone up before us and we had the opportunity to talk on top. Seems that one of them, Dritter is a member of the forums though has not been following lately and has been the secret data feed for Neil and his trips to the whites small world.
Two other gentlemen came up when we were ready to take a lunch break. One of whom happens to have the 46r number directly previous to mine. Small world again
Other than a father with two sons heading up as we were on our way out that was all the folks up there today. They were all very gracious and thanked us and the foundation for taking on the restoration.
After struggling with some newer non galvanized rusted on bolts on the first tier we got a system down and knocked off two more flights before calling it a day. 20 of the42 steps are now complete. We reused as many of the old original bolts as possible. These are the ones in the pictures in the post two up from this one. They are 5/8 galvanized and the big square bolts are actually easier to remove than the newer 6 point ones.
Without Kenmores help there is no way I would have gotten more than 6 stairs done today.
Thanks again Ken, it was great to finally meet you and your help and company was of the highest caliber.
If anyone may be thinking about heading up anytime in the next couple of weeks drop me a PM. I left some wrenches up top so all you would need to bring would be a drill, vice grips and a friend and you could knock out a few steps as well. Again if you are thinking about helping out at a time more convenient for you drop me a PM and I can tell you where the wood and tools are stashed and particulars on how we did he prioect so far.

[Kyler]

I was planning on getting up there today, but ended up having to replace some clutch
hydraulics on my car. The car goes away for winter storage this week, so I couldn't put it off. I may be able to get up there in the next few weeks though.

[Laurie Rankin]

Nice work Jack and friends! We were thinking of you as we were painting tower steps in the Catskills yesterday. Lots of hardware to deal with, not much working space which even makes teamwork difficult, but you made some pretty good progress from the sounds of things. Thanks much to all of you!

[Kenmore]

Hi Jack, great to meet you and glad I decided last minute to make the trip down to help out. It was a good day up there and a fun project. The first riser had me thinking twice about how far we'd get with its rusty/frozen bolts but once we got higher up things went a little more smoothly. Likely the bottom riser gets the worst of the weathers abuse being buried in snow for part of the year which resulted in some tough work breaking the bolts free. That said, it was certainly an enjoyable location to do some work once the morning clouds backed off a bit - though the "commute" is a bit of a beast. Big hats off to the crew that hauled all those boards up the mountain. I got tired hauling a few boards up a couple of levels on the tower!! .

I might add to Jack's suggested tool list - a hammer - if anyone is heading up to do some work. While the boards were expertly cut, a few of them needed some gentle "convincing" to slide into their new home.

Looking forward to see the progress on the tower and with luck I'll be able to make it down again for another work session. Here is a link to a few pictures I took.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7909583...7624927569563/

[Rob S]

Really nice photos Kenmore!

Thanks to both you and Jack, the new treads look great!