Utility pole spikes

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they supply a lot of hardwarw to BCHydro and a lot of other utilities ask for Peter McMillian.

Yeah. And then be very careful. Climbing with "spikes" is not as easy as it looks.

They are often driven in like a spike, and maybe screwed in a bit further. A big lag screw would work.

The only spikes ( read gaffs ? ) I ever saw were pressed and peened over into the leg irons. AFAIK, they were not replaceable as such. As the spikes became worn down by sharpening the critically shaped (pointed) end of the spike was no longer considered serviceable. When the spikes were worn down sufficiently to require replacement, the entire leg iron was replaced.

Don't hold me to this - it has been a long time since I did any of that sort of work.

Bob (not bragging but when I climbed poles, the squirrels would stop to admire me) Swinney

This became a semantic type of description.From one of the posts they are called "pole steps".Before asking I thought I had used every angle to describe this on Google.Kept getting info on climbing spikes strapped to your leg.In the past have climbed using pole steps and they started to bend.This was in the days of backyard clotheslines.Looked in the Yellow Pages and there are no more listings for these poles and gear.Found a website that has the steps and will give a trial run to make sure they don't bend.Thanks for the posts.

LOL

Replacing spikes on climbing spurs is done all the time . Not hard at all . Get a railroad spike rough shape it and weld it in place . Fine tune it with a file . New ones bolt in as everything is aluminum except the spike . Still the railroad spikes work perfectly they are free and so easy to sharpen . I spent a fair amount of time on tree spurs but never got past the feeling of riding my face all the way to the ground . To hard on the knees and kidneys anymore so I try not get roped into it these days . Ken Cutt

Bob, I believe the original poster is speaking of "pole steps" which are large, "L" shaped rods with a rough thread on the end which enters the pole. Typically driven in with a small sledge hammer, then turned a few times to "seat" the threaded part and end up with the short leg of the "L" pointing up so your foot doesn't slip off when climbing up them. As for the replaceable gaffs on the climbers, the not all are made that way, but some manufacturers have made them replaceable because the same leg irons can have either tree gaffs or pole gaffs installed, depending on what is needed. Cheaper units are made as you mention with the gaff sort of "riveted" into the leg iron, and are in fact not replaceable. The replaceable type are installed with a countersunk, flat-headed socket head screw, typically two places, but the gaff itself has a pin or two which fit into the leg iron so the screws are not taking all the shear forces. Ken (who has more hours strapped into climbers than I really want to remember, but who also still uses an old set for climbing trees while getting firewood for the winter)

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net (ED ROGERS) wrote in news:7851-408ABF92-41@storefull-

3137.bay.webtv.net:

Anixter is a good place to go.

If you can bend a 5/8 step, well...I don't know what to tell you.

Would a suitable substitute be the screw-in steps that deer hunters use for getting into tree stands? Available most anywhere they hunt deer. Wrong season now, but you might be able to promote some by mail order. Do a search for deer stands, the same outfits should have the steps. They've got a better shape than those old utility pole steps anyway.

I haven't seen those pole steps since Eisenhower days. Most utilities are underground around here and those that aren't are serviced from bucket trucks. Haven't seen guys actually climbing poles for decades.

Stan

The pegs the hunters use was one of the first things I looked at.Had my doubts on their strength based on the shortness of the screw part.I am not a lightweight and don't want to be in any more hospitals.Last time the bill was over 200k.and it took over 3 years to pay my part of the bill.

They all moved here. In fact during a heavy storm, or after it that is, men come from all over. I love the flatlander that never had to contend with a 4' diameter tree across a telephone trunk line or using half inch cable between trees to hold up the cable until a new pole is put in.

The crew that was working on my place - I have 3 easements - were all smiles. Never had they had so much fun and experience is a short time.

Martin

And putting the hot-dip galvanized steel step bolts (meant to be put in a dead and creosoted telephone pole) into a living tree isn't going to do the tree much good... Either through the zinc or rust, introducing diseases and crap to the inner layers of the tree from driving them in, or the wide open hole you leave when you remove them.

(The Phone & Power Companies pound treated dowels into the abandoned holes in poles to plug them when steps, bolts, and other hardware is removed - most hunters aren't going to think about that, and a living tree is going to be far more sensitive to injuries like that than a dead pole.)

You could call Cinch or whoever makes them for phone poles and see if they could run a batch in Stainless for you to use in trees, but I already know the answer - either "No Way!" or "Pay us lots of money and we will make anything you want."

If you're going to be climbing different trees, and the same tree more than once only occasionally, just get a set of climbers (gaffs) and have someone teach you the right and safe way to climb with them. Make sure you use tree gaffs on trees (pointy part that sticks into tree), they are about twice as long as the ones for poles.

If you are repeatedly climbing the same tree, get a ladder. ;-)

Oh, and there is a BIG liability to putting in permanent steps - if they go all the way down to the ground it creates an "Attractive nuisance" for passing children (and fools) to climb them without taking the appropriate safety measures, and then fall from the tree or pole... You need to use step sockets (lag nails with special slotted heads) and backing plates, and removable steps for the first 8 feet up or so.

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In Michigan it is illegal to use climbing aids or treestands the 'injure the cambium layer' of trees on the 4 million acres of State Forest land. This means no spikes, screw ins or permanent attachments.

There are many folks teaching tree climbing for non-professionals these days. Get the right equipment and a little knowledge and preserve the resource. After all, there are few trees that people would want to go up into, and it won't take long for those few to be destroyed by carelessness / thoughtlessness.

Karl Pearson - recreational tree climber

My whole purpose was to bring down fast growing "garbage trees".They are a hazard from fall season on.Winds and ice build-up cause them to snap off.Don't want to be at odds with the neighbors over these trees.

Roger that. I still like a tied in ladder and a harness (almost any one will provide safety for this) and ropes around strong limbs. Don't know about you, but I'd be sure to spike myself somehow with gaffs - if only when I tried to take them off.