When I was a kid, about 10, I would play lineman on the skinny trees in the woods. I would take off my belt and thread it through the two front loops of my pants and tie the belt around the trunk. Ten or so feet above the ground , all 65 pounds of me hanging back just like the linemen from two belt loops.. I would drive nails into the tree to have something for my feet to grip. I had no idea how dangerous this was. But it was a leather belt and the jeans were Levi-Strauss so they did not fail me. My career was tamer electronics servicing.
Goodness me! That sounds really dangerous indeed. I'm glad you didn't get hurt. All that said though... BRILLIANT campfire story. :-D And I must admit, quite adorable, too. ;-)
Can’t wait to start with y’all this coming year… I’ve been climbing sketchy ladders and walking second story top plates for 4 years now, figured I’d give a man’s trade a try and so far the school work was a breeze. Onto the physical class for the next 3 months then onto climb school. Stay safe out there! Hope to see some of you soon
Hold up bro? Are you a former mason laborer? That’s what I am. I used to set up scaffolding for a union. Working at heights and doing sketchy stuff was just part of the trade. But now I’m in school for lineman
I have no clue when it comes to english line terminology. But it's great to see Americans use two clutches(?) (Two safety ropes) rather than a single D-link. In my country we use a one rope attached to the centre of the harness and the other end around the pole in a loop. And an extra rope for climbing over obstacles which is attached to the D-links. We use totally different shoes though. I tried the north American style once but my legs didn't like that at all. I prefer to stand completely level with my feet.
I have been a cable TV lineman for going on 15 years now, I know not the same as you power boys. The first 7 years of climbing were done with the old style single clasp safety. Now I have the double clasp safety, just the regular old one not a bucksqueeze or anything like that. The whole time I have climbed it has been free climbing, even when I was just starting out. It has always felt uncomfortable for me to hitchhike, except on the rare occasions when the pole is twice as fat as me. On the job training is the best training.
Back in 1970 when I was in the Army, trained as a field wireman. We never used the belt to climb, just to "safety in' when we reached our work height. I can see where it is much safer to use the belt while climbing, but it was much faster to climb without the belt, and use it only when needed. Guess that was before OSHA got involved in the lineman trade.
None Ya I'm a telephone lineman. I hitchhike nearly every pole now. The poles are always full of shell rot, or surrounded by trees. And I'm just not as nimble as I used to be. But it's super rare that I ever get over 40ft and I'm totally ok with that.
The cinch lock looks nice. I'd like to have it or the super squeeze with a rope inner. I have a regular buck squeeze with the belt inner but gotta use what the company provides
cynch lock is what i use to climb not to many people that i went to school with used it and liked it but for me it grew on and me and lesrned to love it
Never used bucksqueeze, but i'll totally vouch for the cynch lok belts. They're safe, and very work friendly. Pretty much any adjustment can be made one-handed.
I'm currently an apprentice electrician and I really want to be a lineman. This looks pretty scary but do you get used to it? Hights never really bothered me but I've never done anything like this
Hey I'm looking into becoming a lineman and I gotta ask is the pay pretty good for the work you put in? And is it a job thats high in demand right now?Thanks!
The pay is good, the linemen I work with are getting paid near $40 an hour, that's the first class guys though, takes about 5 years to get to that point from what I know. But just think, everyone uses electricity so jobs in that field are always going to be needed, I'm actually just about to start line school here in a few months. Some companies are harder to get into than others but all can be dangerous and pay well
NICKELBACKLOVER69 your money will be with the union ie better pay retirement, healthcare, and overall general safety. non union will of course be easier to get hired.
FerreneMachine really enjoying it, it's a lot of fun but there is a lot of work that comes with it. It's one of those things you really take pride in doing due to the work you put in, I'm just in school but my dad is a lineman and like I said I am lucky enough to work with them and see what they get to do. The climbing is real fun too, it's cool to be able to go to school and climb a 70 ft pole or a lattice structure, change out arms, insulators, work on transformer settings and more in your free time at least where I go to school I would give it a try the more you do it the more you want to do
What I mean is the trade seems to grow on you, I look forward to doing it as a career, and it's not hard to get up and go to school when you really enjoy what your doing
Nice job. The bucksqueeze is a hard way to climb. I was never trained on it only with a single belt and I hate I mean with the bucksqueeze but a lot of guys are good at it and efficient. It can also make you complacent climbing where you going to keep your butt out since you can't cut out with it on
+Jed VanDyke (The New CB919 Kid) I free climbed my whole career, of 36 years, I guess OSHA had something to say about the dangers of pole climbing the old fashioned way.
+yayaya1193able It all depends. Some poles are in pretty bad shape so your gaffs can sink in pretty far or cut out easily. They're the worst when there's about half an inch of ice on them.
I don't know about the US, but the Bell Canada network is so widespread and old that poles installed in the 1940s are not uncommon. Yet, it's the ones installed in the 80s that are actually the most problematic
Because he is not here to impress you. And maybe he felt like going home that night instead of earning a few extra cool points before he fell 65 ft and ended his career.
hardmarine You know what they say about assuming. Do you have your Journeymen's Card? Im a 4th step apprentice and I have alot to learn but not sure you are REQUIRED to free climb or it is PREFERENCE. Good skill to have but not applicable to all people in all situations, everyone does things different.
Hardmarine it's thick headed people like you that slow the progression of safety. He's using fall protection not because he's afraid to climb without it he's using it because it's required at almost all utility companies and WILL be required by OSHA after April '15. Look up Charlie Morecraft, he and his fellow workers thought it wasn't "cool" to wear proper PPE or follow strict company policies set in place to send you home at night and he paid the price.
Because that's how you die and its verry illegal hear it's a 5000 dollar fine if your boots are 10 ft or more off the ground without fall arrest. Not to mention if you free climb that your a fucking idiot
