On Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:42:49 -0400, Jeff Wisnia
wrote:

tony cooper wrote:

On Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:00:53 -0700, Hatunen wrote:


On Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:25:44 -0400, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:


Cable hoist, I've heard.

Come-a-longs aren't always used in vertical hoisting operations.
A lot of them are simply used at some crazy angle to pull a pipe
into alignment for welding, for isntance. I've probably seen as
many come-a-longs used horizonatlly as vertically.


I used one last summer. I helped a friend install a chain-link fence
in his yard. We used a come-along - horizontally - to pull the fence
tight at each post. Chain-link doesn't pull easily.




I think the last time I used one of my collection of different types of
come alongs was a couple of years ago when the ledger board on our
home's deck became rotten to the core because the sods who built the
place about 18 years earler didn't bother spending a few extra bucks for
a piece of pressure treated lumber.

We put temporary props under the deck, disconnected the joists from the
ledger board and swapped in a new PT ledger board.

I used a come along to pull on the deck so the joists were held firmly
back in contact with the ledger while we fastened a new set of hanger
brackets in place.

A padded piece of 2x6 across the inside of a fortuitously located open
window provided a handy place to pull against.

http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/deck004.jpg

Fortuitous is the right word. If I'd been doing that, my luck is such
that the window would have been closed.

Is that you or a little Wisnia in the picture?

Scurrilous coments about using a car bumper jack to adjust the level of
the center part of the deck will be ignored. "Pretty is as pretty does."

Jeff

My last 3 cars haven't been able to use a bumper jack, but I still
saved the one from my Buick for who knows what I''ll need it for?

It is amazing how many uses a come-along has. Beside latching my
convertible top three years now, I've used it several times.

One was the classic example of straightening a fence post. My gate
was rubbing on the sidewalk, so I unnailed the rails and ran the
come-along cable from the post the gate hung on to the next post . I
crancke the handle, but the post wouldn't move. So I ran the garden
hose for 10 minutes and the post moved fine.

The posts were 4" round wood ones, and in answer to someone's comment,
that time, or when I ran the cable around something even smaller, I
sort of kinked the cable**, but so far it hasn't given me any problem.
Maybe I wrapped it up on the spool and let it sit for a year, don't
remember.

**The ones that use chains won't have that problem of course, but mine
was very cheap, under 20 dollars.

I left a little grey line on two of those posts, but you have to get
withing 6 feet to see it, and no one will ever notice. The paint is
pitted with brown spots, looking like little volcanos, all over the
yellow posts. I think 15 years ago the paint was a lot better.