Re: Anyone do owl boxes

SteveB wrote:
"Jerry Avins" <jya@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:nL6dnbqHxu_uef_anZ2dnUVZ_uTinZ2d@xxxxxxxxxx
SteveB wrote:
"Jerry Avins" <jya@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:C6mdndRGu4ImWf_anZ2dnUVZ_sbinZ2d@xxxxxxxxxx
SteveB wrote:
Thinking of putting up some on a crank system so I can lower them for maintenance. Anyone else do this?
Are they so heavy that a pulley up top and a cleat below won't do?

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.
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Your sig line about says it all. I think I might like to try a crank because I can use cable which would last better than line in my climate.

I am considering using some pulley/crank system because a friend of mine put up some in Bonsall, California, and had a dickens of a time putting them up, and now just about can't get up there if the thing gets full of crud or whatever. I did some work on the side of our cabin on a 16' extension ladder, and that was plenty shaky. Plus, I think one could make a higher one if they didn't have to ever get up to the top. Just put some guy wires. Or do you think the guy wires to about half staff would be a danger to the birds?
Last things first. I don't mind shaky ladders as long as I can be sure the top won't slip sideways or the bottom slide out. I'm OK with them being limber. Guys to restrain sideways motion would be fine from halfway up or higher. They don't need to be taut, but they do need to be firmly enough anchored to do the job. Keep in mind that if the guy is holding the latter erect, the pull on whatever it's fastened to will be along the direction of the guy.

I see no reason why you can't run cable over a pulley, just as you would a rope if that's what you want. Eighth-inch stainless is best, and plastic-coated steel may be a good compromise with cost. I would use 3/16" braided Dacron halyard to be fauncy, more probably 3/16" or 1/4" polypropylene line to be sensible. I've had a length of 1/4" polypropylene laid line out in back as a tether for a 90-lb. husky for over two years now, and it shows little wear or deterioration from UV. Whatever you use, make a loop of it, like one does with a flag. You can't rely on weight bringing the owl house down; you may need to pull. A side benefit is that you don't need to coil up the excess when the house is raised. The amount of rope/cable is the same either way.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.

Thanks. My big concern is that if I EVER have to go to the top on a ladder, the noodly nature of a tall pole would make it an iffy proposition. I really don't want to spend the money on schedule 40 pipe, but if I can get some scrap at a decent price, that's the way to go. Otherwise, if I use thin stuff, there's a LOT of flex on a long piece. Maybe even not enough strength to withstand the lateral force from the ladder pushing on it.

Heavens, no! A tall tree is one think, A pole or a piece of light pipe is entirely another. How high do you want to go?

I take coumadin because of a heart valve replacement. A fall from that height could be fatal. So, I'm trying to figger out how to do it from the ground.

No need to climb. You can easily get up 20 feet with 1" PVC pipe. Higher if you need to, but why?

Last ladder experience I had was at my cabin. Had to put some tin over
holes chipmunks had made in the siding for entrances. Got out a 16' extension, roped it ten ways to Sunday. Had it on uneven ground and shimmed with blocks. Managed to climb to the next to last rung and hang out with a screwgun and put on several patches. Got to the ground and thought, "What's wrong with this picture?" Everything worked, but there was a big pucker factor. I've done a lot of high work, including walking around the top girts and water table of drilling derricks on top of platforms in the Gulf of Mexico not tied off. But the ladder at the cabin scared me.

Been there. Long story. Too far off topic. Here's what you do:

Attach a nice (stainless & nylon dinghy fitting from a boating supply) pulley near the top of a length (or coupled lengths) of plastic pipe. 1" nominal is good for the top 20 feet, but 1.25" might be nicer. Attach guy ropes above the pulley, so they don't interfere with the house sliding along the pole. Nylon and polypropylene stretch too much. Use galvanized wire (a lightning attractor) or low-stretch Dacron. Faxhion a ring attached to the pole that a "chimney" on the house van pass through, and tie one ned of the halyard to the top of the "chimney". Fasten a loop near the bottom of the house that fits around the pole and allows the coupling to pass. *The elegant way to couple the pieces is with an internal piece of pipe that fits snugly. Then there's no bulge.) The house is secured top and bottom when it's all the way up, and should run up and down smoothly.

Set a piece of concrete with a socket hole cast into it in the ground where you want the pole, and guy anchors around it far enough away to rise about 60 degrees from vertical. Two people should be able to raise the pole (house near ground end) with the help of one of the guys as a hauling rope; three will make the job easier. When all three guys are loosely fastened, adjust the lengths to plumb the pole and hoist the house. When the owls are gone, you can raise a flag.

Jerry
--
Engineering is the art of making what you want from things you can get.
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
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