Masonry Magazine March 2005 Page. 34
Scaffolding Accessories
"All of the other manufacturers, up until now, made
a forklift bar that grabs hold of the vertical part of the
tower," Breithaupt says. "That is a good way to grab a
tower, but it's a horrible way to turn loose of a tower."
Instead, Non-Stop created a forklift bar that has a
plunger on either side that goes into the rung hole
openings of the tower. This allows workers to pick up
the scaffolding with less risk of damaging the uprights,
to be better able to place it in a level position, and less
likely to get into a bind with the lifting device when
setting it down. Rounding out these abilities, the fork-
lift bar can also swivel 80 degrees in either direction, so
laborers don't have to drive up perpendicular to the
wall to set your towers down.
"That makes moving the scaffold from wall to wall a very sim-
ple procedure, rather than an ordeal like it's been in the past with
other systems," he says.
Another ordeal can be packing up your scaffolding towers
at the end of a project.
"Many contractors will take an eight-foot-wide, 20-foot-long
trailer and build special fixtures within this trailer to cradle the
towers," says Breithaupt. "But as one customer described it to me,
while it looks great when it comes out from the manufacturer,
when it comes time to put the towers back in the rack for the next
job, it's like trying to put a toy back in the box at Christmas time."
CARBIDE-TIPPED HAND CARVING SET
HARD STONE HAND CARVING SET
This set features carbide-tipped chisels, which will
keep their edge and last many times longer than steel
tools. Use them for hand carving in granite, hard marble,
or anytime you're looking for improved performance in
your stone carving tools.
Set includes the following carbide-tipped tools:
* 1/2" Hand Point
* 3/8" Hand Chisel
* 1/2" Hand Chisel w/teeth
* 3/4" Mallet Head Chisel
* 1-1/4" Mallet Head Chisel
* Tool Pouch for easy storage
* Your choice of 1-1/2 lb Square Hammer [10" handle) or 1-1/2 lb Round Hammer (6" handle
Non-Stop's rack brackets allow crews to simply and effi-
ciently clamp together up to 10 towers in a four-foot-wide
bundle for easy loading and transportation.
"Then, when you get to the next job, you pull the bundles
off and set them aside, and you can go back with your trailer
and move other things," he adds. "You don't have a trailer that
is held captive because it has these tower racks."
Buy or Rent?
WHILE TRENDSETTERS in the fashion world typically have
to purchase their baubles, mason contractors have the choice of
purchasing or renting the accessories of their desires.
In some cases of short-term use, if you own the scaffolding,
it's more profitable to rent the accessories.
"Typically contractors will buy enough equipment and
accessories to accommodate 80% of the type of work that they
do in any given year," says Hydro Mobile's Baumgartner.
"When they do get a project that requires more than they own,
it is typical that they rent these items if they are only required
for a short time from a local dealer."
In other cases of long-term use, it's easy for mason contrac-
tors to own the accessories, even if they are using various types
of scaffold or renting the units.
"Beta Max provides mounting options that will adapt
our hoists to frame scaffolding, mason's scaffolding and
even special brackets for use with several of the continu-
ous-climbing scaffolds available today," says Hamilton.
"This allows the contractor to purchase a hoist system and
by simply changing mounting options, use the hoist on
several different work areas."
Conclusion
IT IS MASON CONTRACTORS who are driving the inno-
vation of these accessories. All of the manufacturers we spoke
with say that they're eager to continue providing solutions for
the industry and to help make mason contractors more prof-
itable and their work more efficient.
"We're open to suggestions for accessories, and we
welcome building them," Breithaupt explains. "What one
contractor faces now, another will inevitably face again in
the future. We would rather have a solution for him all
ready to go."