Maker of wooden ladders, Switzerland

[Bruce Mack]

I got great pleasure from watching the skill and speed with which this older couple make beautiful ladders.
https://youtu.be/RzR6mDJwEAQ

[Edward Weber]

Thanks for the link

[James Pallas]

I happened to see that also. Very interesting and the purpose is interesting also. Couldn’t do that here in the USA. You would have so many government agencies after you. OSHA, FSA, and maybe even the FBI and CIA. Good thing people are still able to do those things somewhere so we can see.
Jim

[Ken Combs]

Interesting process. Ladders look amazingly light weight for the size. Most surprising thing for me being an European shop is the lack of guards on the machines.

[Warren Lake]

if you work on your own you dont have to have guards at least here. Was waiting for him to deliver the ladder on his bike. Country side is stunning what a beautiful place. I like staying on the ground, would want one of those lift bucket things though maybe not the best driving around the tree and compression on tree roots and polluting Sure elon will be making an electric one soon.

[Jamie Buxton]

I happened to see that also. Very interesting and the purpose is interesting also. Couldn’t do that here in the USA. You would have so many government agencies after you. OSHA, FSA, and maybe even the FBI and CIA. Good thing people are still able to do those things somewhere so we can see.
Jim

The San Francisco Fire Department makes its own wooden ladders. There’s video on the web someplace.

[Tom M King]

I use ladders a lot, but won't use one with round rungs. They're too hard on my feet. I'm sure they work good for what they're using them for, but I won't be one of the users.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I was going to say the same thing - but - - I didn't want to be the boy scout that piddled on the campfire..

Round rungs can make a long day 1000 times longer.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I was going to say the same thing - but - - I didn't want to be the boy scout that piddled on the campfire..

Round rungs can make a long day 1000 times longer.

If (unavoidably) faced with round rungs, tree hooks, or pole spurs get a pair of linemen's boots. Their long steel shanks make them infinitely more endurable in such situations, plus they have low- and mid-rise versions if preferred.

[Tom M King]

I have metal plates between my tree climbing boots and the spurs. They're not that comfortable to stand on for long either, but that's mainly because the boots aren't that comfortable to start with.

https://sherrilltree.com/buckingham-foot-plates-for-steel-buckingham-climbers/

I just don't do round rungs. There is one round rung ladder here left from when we first came here. I use it to hold things being spray painted stretched out between saw horses, so they are good for something.

[Cameron Wood]

Back when I did a lot of ladder work, I wore soccer shin guards- the plastic ones that you wear under socks.

Get a little hot, but save a lot of bruises.

[Rich Engelhardt]

If (unavoidably) faced with round rungs, tree hooks, or pole spurs get a pair of linemen's boots. Their long steel shanks make them infinitely more endurable in such situations, plus they have low- and mid-rise versions if preferred.Not to worry! LOL!
On a ladder is just one of those places my ancient fat carcass isn't going to be found anymore. That's just one step behind being found running away from Ben Foster trying to kill me for suspecting me of fooling around with his wife (Laura Prepon)!

[Stan Calow]

I like the come-along tool he uses to seat the rung-tenons.

Oh, the EU has safety regulations and standards for ladders as much if not more than the US.

[Ray Newman]

I linked on just to see what a tree ladder was. As it turned out, I became more interested in the process and the machinery utilized as the video progressed. Passed it on to several non-woodworkers who also said it was interesting.

[Jonathan Pace]

Agree with @RichEngelHardt - beautiful construction and project, but it will make a long day seem impossible to get through.

[Mark Hennebury]

Cool video, slow way to produce something considering that it's only one product, could be a lot more efficient and precise without much efffort.
The jointer planer is an old one similar to the old German one that I had, the jointer tables don't pivot up on a hinge, but are unlocked, then pulled onto gates, then tipped to vertical, then the gates swings away. It's quite the workout on a 24" jointer/ planer.

500282

[Andrew Hughes]

I saw that video a week or two ago. I like the way he used his machines tablesaw to split a small tree and his jointer to get after the high spots. Just like a big upside down hand plane.
I have climbed a cherry tree in Germany with mine opa in the late 80s. I don’t remember if the ladder was hand made but I believe it was wooden. I do remember the cherrys were delicious.
Good memories

[Bruce Page]

Goodness Gracious, I am such a wimp.

[Bill Dufour]

https://sf-fire.org/our-organization/division-support-services/wooden-ladders

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXSoaeHG6B0

[Bruce Mack]

Goodness Gracious, I am such a wimp.
Me too. My projects are smaller and take longer.

[Prashun Patel]

I was moved by his dedication to not only his craft - but to work. It defines him. I think the very fact that the technology has moved on to provide better, ergonomic, more efficient solutions, yet he persists, is the whole point.

It’s his purpose.

I thought it was beautiful.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I was moved by his dedication to not only his craft - but to work. It defines him. I think the very fact that the technology has moved on to provide better, ergonomic, more efficient solutions, yet he persists, is the whole point.

It’s his purpose.

I thought it was beautiful.

Couple of things. I’ve lived in Switzerland and Norway. The Swiss have a saying, “We live to work.” The Norwegians, “We work to live.” Someone made a comment that the process could be vastly improved. Maybe, but it would destroy him and his wife. As Prashun points out, appreciate the craft and the love that goes into it. Oftentimes progress is our most important problem. I’m fluent in Swiss German so it was nice to hear it again.

One of the things I noticed was that he and his wife left their bicycles unchained in plain view. Color me cynical but those unlocked bikes wouldn’t last more than a few minutes in most places in this country.

[Mark Hennebury]

Most people who do woodworking have tools and machinery.......why?.... because it is more efficient then scratching wood with a sharp stone. You can off use a sharp stone, but it will be harder and take you longer.. on the plus side, think of the love you get from scratching with a stone. Of course it would take you longer and the work may be a bit sloppier, ridiculously expensive, and of course you would starve to death and so would your family, but it's a small price to pay.

I understand that he is retired and doing it for fun, so he can do it whatever way he wants, and doesn't have to worry about money now, but his shop was at one time a commercial business, and had to sell a product at an acceptable price, he got paid by how many ladders he produced. Customers are not going to pay you five times the price because you are slow and inefficient, not if they can go to a guy down the road, that produces as good or better for a lot less. It takes nothing away from the product, if the man in the video set-up stops instead of measuring and marking each rung hole.... that's progress, that's more efficient, that's faster, that means he gets more done in less time, makes more money, makes a better product, gets to go home and spend more time with his wife. There are lots of ways to be more efficient, efficiency is not evil. His shop is not set-up to efficiently produce ladders, maybe it changed and he got rid of the production stuff, who knows. If you had one or two ladders to make, maybe you would work the way the guy did in the video, but if you had to produce them to make a living, that's not the way to do it. Try it sometime. People may have worked like that in the stone age, but only because they had no choice, and everyone worked the same way with the same equipment. But he is not from the stone age, and I don't understand the mentality.

I went to a workshop where they made Adirondack chairs, the owner worked in his office, he had a salesperson and advertised in big magazines, had big orders, and half a dozen guys working for him. The shop was pathetic, if he had given all of his equipment I would have thrown it in the dumpster. It was garbage, ancient hobby-shop stuff, cardboard templates that people used to mark pieces out with, then cut on a 10" bandsaw, then rough sanded with a belt sander, so everything was different. Totally insane to me, filthy dirty dusty workspace, sloppy, inefficient poor quality work, no sensibly quality equipment of process....why? this was a business, not a retired guys hobby. With An investment of $25,000 in equipment, they could have doubled their output and quality. I don't get it, I just don't understand the mindset.



Couple of things. I’ve lived in Switzerland and Norway. The Swiss have a saying, “We live to work.” The Norwegians, “We work to live.” Someone made a comment that the process could be vastly improved. Maybe, but it would destroy him and his wife. As Prashun points out, appreciate the craft and the love that goes into it. Oftentimes progress is our most important problem. I’m fluent in Swiss German so it was nice to hear it again.

One of the things I noticed was that he and his wife left their bicycles unchained in plain view. Color me cynical but those unlocked bikes wouldn’t last more than a few minutes in most places in this country.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

I don't get it, I just don't understand the mindset.

Obviously.

[Mark Hennebury]

Feel free to explain it to me.


Obviously.

[Bradley Gray]

Mark, I totally agree with your point. I have products I have made for over 30 years and every time I make a batch I change some aspects of the process. Continuous improvement is a way of life.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

Mark,

It doesn’t always have to be about increasing production or making money. I watched the video assuming it would be about some aspect of woodworking. But actually it was about a lot more than that. I saw a man who has achieved a great level of satisfaction through his work that brings great joy to his life. How many people can say that?

As I noted earlier, I lived in Switzerland and am fluent in Swiss German so I didn’t need the subtitles. Perhaps there was something lost in the translation, or maybe you watched the video from a completely different perspective, focusing on the business rather than the human being.

[Bruce Mack]

I agree with you. The man takes pleasure in his life. He may not need the money but he, like the rest of us, needs a reason for existence other than eating and griping. I applaud him and his wife.



Mark,

It doesn’t always have to be about increasing production or making money. I watched the video assuming it would be about some aspect of woodworking. But actually it was about a lot more than that. I saw a man who has achieved a great level of satisfaction through his work that brings great joy to his life. How many people can say that?

As I noted earlier, I lived in Switzerland and am fluent in Swiss German so I didn’t need the subtitles. Perhaps there was something lost in the translation, or maybe you watched the video from a completely different perspective, focusing on the business rather than the human being.

[Donald G. Burns]

My grandfather was a master lead crystal glass cutter. He worked with a cutting wheel producing handmade products. A mold and a machine could turn out more products in a week than he did in a lifetime. It's called craftsmanship. A Japanese Katana maker could punch out a sword in a few minutes, but instead spends a lifetime mastering the old way.

[Mark Hennebury]

Finally, someone who can define what Craftsmanship is, for the rest of us. Thank you.

I, for one, thought the man in the video was a craftsman, I see now, according to your definition, that he is not.

Apparently he stopped being a craftsman, when he opted for efficiency and turned to power tools, table saw, jointer, planer, drill-press and chain mortiser.





My grandfather was a master lead crystal glass cutter. He worked with a cutting wheel producing handmade products. A mold and a machine could turn out more products in a week than he did in a lifetime. It's called craftsmanship. A Japanese Katana maker could punch out a sword in a few minutes, but instead spends a lifetime mastering the old way.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks for posting this Bruce. I enjoyed watching it.