ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Business Related Discussion Working alone?

Other than pulling wire, much of the installation work is one-man work. I do a lot of extra walking over someone with a helper, but tools and tips won't change that.

Dave

Agreed, gismos are only part of the answer. It's well known that a 2 person team achieves more than 2 individuals working alone, for whatever reason, but DETAILED planning of every task in advance, making lists of parts & tools, making notes, (a jotter in the pocket always), these are ways in which a one-man operation can improve effectiveness.
We used to call this the Five Ps.
Poor Planning = Pathetic Performance.
- I left out the other P, as it's a profanity!
And WhiteRook, don't be disheartened by a lack of 'posted' responses, there are far more people reading than ever write in, so a post ALWAYS has value, (imho).
And my latest 'gismo'? it's the digital camera- what a boon to the memory is a good pic of a situation when back in the office.
Alan

I was interested to see the good review on the fiberglass rods. I always dismissed them as a waste of time and money. But now my brother (who also works alone) and I are giving them a second look.

One that I cam up with recently could work for someone on a crew as well. For fishing across a drop ceiling, rather than spending the money on that stupid fishing string pistol that shoots across the tile, I grabbed an old slingshot kids toy and tied on some jetline. Took me three tries to get it right where I wanted it, but saved a ton of moving the ladder around.

here's a link http://www.epinions.com/kifm-review-3A47-36CE3E0-389A0135-prod3

[This message has been edited by Jps1006 (edited 06-12-2005).]

+1 fibeglass rods, I have used those for the last 5 years I have been doing data\comm work and I am a big fan. I have seen some old school guys that laugh at my fishing poles, but then they see them in action and I get "Where did you get those sticks from ?? ". I don't like the greenlee fish-stix as they tend to splinter and crack a lot and those fiberglass splinters are a painful thing. At LSDINC.COM you can find the ones I prefer and they are made in a spiral wound fashion that I have not in a year had one splinter on me. You can get all kinds of tips that thread on to them. Once I was installing some fiber between 2 buildings and the helper tripped on the pull-string and yanked it into the underground pipe, no problem I took my zig-zag tip and hooked the string that was 20' down the conduit in 2 minutes.

JPS1006 you are exactly right on in using the rods to go over drop ceilings. When I am running MC, I can guide the rods over existing pipe, cable whatever and keep it off the actual grid. At about 12 foot in length, it really cuts down on moving the ladder as the MC can easily "hang" on the grid edges. Naturally, where it needs support, I can come back and strap it up or use the batwings to support it. They really have been worth the price. I haven't had the problem with splintering. Maybe that is just for the Greenlee brand??? For fishing down walls...they are the greatest. The fact that they come in short sections and their flexibility has really helped too.
For DougW, after you mentioned the C-clamps, I started thinking about other ways I could use them to help me and one I came up with is to use them when pulling wire (when you don't have a helper) is to use them to support wire coming off your reels in the ceiling so that your wire is not pulling at an angle from the floor, across a T-grid, etc. This will keep the wires close together and almost work like an extra pair of hands. Try it, it works good for me. Thanks again for the C-clamp idea!!
Electricmanscott...thanks for your imput too!

Using a piece of emt or pvc, straped up above the drop cieling will help on pulling wires up into the drop cieling also.

The MC will not get caught on the edges of the grid, but will slide over the pipe.

Dnk....

what brand and model number of fiberglass rod has each of you found that works best for you?

Where did you get them, and what did they cost?

How durable are they, and how long have they lasted?

How do you carry them in your truck?

For C-clamps --

Have any of you used the vice-grip type of C-clamp?

I've used them a lot for temporarily clamping things in place before I permanently attach things, and they work well. They're very quick to instlall and remove.

The product I showed earlier I got from this site :
http://www.mccartenco.com/products/wcpd/index-1785_1112.html
That is the kit I got, it consists of 20 6' sections and is $500. You can get smaller kits with less sections but for me I have a couple of guys who are pretty rough on the tools so I stocked up on them. They have different thicknesses .159", 1\4" and 5\16" The smallest ones are a little harder to keep the tip up above things in the ceiling when you are working with more than 1 section, the 1\4" are the ones I prefer, and the thickest ones don't have the flexibility to pull out of tight spaces too easily. I definitely recommend the 1\4".
I said earlier that I stocked up as I have a couple of animal tool destroyers working with me and they have yet to damage one of these so I am happy with the durability.
I havn't worked out of a van for about 2 years but when I did we had a kit that came with a PVC holder with a cap that you can just lay on the ground on the side of your van. Also when running thru cable trays or thru a J-hook path the basket attachment is the key to keeping your cables from interweaving with the existing cables. I am speaking from a tele\data standpoint and i'm sure some of my situations don't apply to you sparky's. But when I was wiring my house for data, phone and TV I used them and they made life real easy trying to locate things in the attic. I drilled a tiny hole in the ceiling right above my cutout in the wall, pushed a rod up into the attic, then went in the attic and drilled the hole down, pulled the snake up into the attic and back down into the wall with the cables attached to the tip, these things really made my life easier locating the framing members I drilled thru. I have always worked in commercial settings so getting used to the whole solid-ceiling and drilling wood took some getting used to for me but these things definitely helped ease the pain.

tx2step you can get the ones I got over at Fry's in their electrical tools section. I don't recall the brand (mine are orange)and they were about $60 if I recall. They came in a plastic tube and I just carry them in my van in that. I didn't get the different tips like mkoloj got. I would think that I could find the tips their at Fry's also. As for durability, as long as you don't go crazy and try to bend them too far they should last for a long, long time. They really are flexible. Since you are in the DFW area (so am I) Fry's or any place like that should have them. Not sure about some of the supply houses but have seen similar rods at either LOWES or HOME DEPOT. Old age, memory fails me. Vise-grip style clamps would work as well, easier on and off but in some cases the u-shape of the c-clamps is desired...what the heck, carry both kinds.
Dnkldorf, good call on the pvc and mc going over it.