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Submitted by: Mark Cushman – it is my own photo of me via Submit a Kludge!
Favorite Comment: Fixer CaffeineAddict says, “If he breaks a leg, he’ll just get his friends to plaster it…”
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If(when) he topples and gets impaled on his phone, will it autodial 911? Otherwise, a decent kludge
ORLY…this guy has it all figured out! Drywall sucks…
Hey, at least we know what happens to his tools…
If he only breaks a leg, one guy gets that work boot and another guy gets the stilt.
Kludge-spotting fail.
Kludge: (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kludge) “…inelegant, inefficient, clumsy…”
The “plasterers’ stilts” in this photo: well made, effective, decently elegant alternative to the stupidly expensive “real thing” http://www.ulka.co.uk/
Concur — these look safe and well-designed.
Yup. They are totally not a kludge as they are done right. They may not be the fancy aluminum ones, but perhaps they needed some shorter stilts. And they’re well made
Snowboard Bindings and 2×4s. I wanna see him when he’s putting this contraption on. sit down and buckle or stand and buckle?
Sitting on a ladder, the way one does with “real” plasterer’s stilts. These are an excellent answer to an expensive problem. I would use ‘em.
most kludge stilts are 5 gal. mud buckets bolted to boots, they work good but are tricky to navigate on stairs. These are nicely made.
If he dies, he can keep his gear.
But for do-it yourself stilts, they don’t look half bad. I guess that’s the difference between a fine craftsman and someone with a half-baked idea and a full roll of duct tape.
I like these. Probably just as likely to fall off a ladder, but this way he can move a lot easier.
If you look at the bottom, there’s actually a spot for the rungs to fit. So this is really well made with at least quite a bit of forethought.
that’s weird to say on “There, I Fixed It.”
Pros use stilts like these (aluminium though) to pull ceiling joints and these look like made out of snowboard gears. Pretty nice!
Yeah, I was going to say all sheetrockers use strap-on mini-stilts. These just look like home built ones.
Those stilts at fist glance look flimsy, but look again. you could use those as jackstands.
I got dibs on the kidneys!
dang. guess I’ll have to settle for the liver, then.
Hmmm… what goes best with that? Fava beans?
…and a nice chianti.
No, fava beans are only good with brains… BBBRRRAAAAAINS!
Not sure this qualifies as a kludge. Stilts are standard use items for dry wallers, and those look very usable.
My friend’s snowboard got stolen recently. I’ll console him by letting him know he can use the boots for something useful again.
I do not see a kluge, am I missing something?
Or is it something about the text on his shirt that I cannot read?
Nor do I understand the post title.
Am I FAIL for not getting the humor in this?
So the shirt says, “If you die, we split your gear.”
The post is FAIL because it’s not a kludge. The guy made his own plasterers’ stilts, but just because something is DIY, it is not automatically a kludge.
Given that I initially thought the shirt said “If you die, we split your rear,” it actually could have been a lot worse.
When I fail to get it, I read the responses. Lots of people see things better than I do.
He didn’t get it because there is no “Fail” here. Just someone doing a nice job of creating a solution.
Might just be the angle of the picture, but those stairs do not appear to go anywhere …
It’s just the angle of the picture. This is obviously the basement of a house, and those stairs lead up to what is presumably the main floor.
How do I know it’s a basement, you ask? Easy: He’s standing on a concrete floor, and there’s a adjustable-tension support pole in the far-right of the picture. Those two items are commonly found only in basements.
Yeah, but isn’t there usually, you know, an opening at the top of the stairs …Looks like you’d bonk your head when you got about half way up (depending upon your height).
Guessing by the hard shadow line, I’d say that there’s a gap in the ceiling that goes from the top of the stairs off to the right hand side of the photo…
Well, I hope so or the poor guy just sealed himself in and has bigger problems than what he’s standing on!
Noes, the stairs are for light bulb replacement.
I don’t even know if we can call this a kludge. It’s more like expert-carpentry meeds improvised-footwear. Good work, whoever built these stilts. He turned scrap lumber into specialized footwear!
I wonder if the carpentry plans for these are online somewhere?
They look sturdy and well made to me.
Actually, those look pretty fantastic, and I’d like to get the plans for them. Sturdiest thing I’ve ever seen on this site!
You don’t make PLANS for this kind of stuff– you just make ‘em.
Drywall stilts are illegal to buy in a lot of places, so this guy probably had to roll his own.
If he breaks a leg, he’ll just get his friends to plaster it…
EPIC WIN
we won’t split his gear, he has to die for that.
This is really ingenius I was just trying to figure out how to make some stilts for my frankenstein costume next year without having to pay anything
you forgot to add “..except for medical bills after the fall, facial lacerations, and severe head trauma.”
(which would add realism to the costume BTW)
On the plus side I can now date taller women. On the down side, I have to wear bell-bottomed pants and I can’t take them dancing.
Very nice, workmanlike drywall stilts. Now, homemade *jumping* stilts – that would be remarkable (and please don’t show me any pictures).
This is genius! Very well made & engineered. But like any other engineer, I can’t leave well enough alone because it always need improving. Rev A? Hydraulic scissor lifts.
It would have to be hydraulics, because pneumatics would bounce like a mother…
Miniature cylinders, a multi-articulated scissors for the lifts, and two miniature four-way spool valves. That will get jammed with taping compound and paint splatters…
The killer being a hand pump and oil tank light enough to hang from your belt. Or a powered pump from an 18V drill motor and battery…
quote:
It would have to be hydraulics, because pneumatics would bounce like a mother…
/quote
So, how does a mother bounce? If my mother taught me anything in this regard, probably zero.
I imagine pneumatics would bounce more like a rubber ball.
Give it a bouncin’ Splat!
Yeah! And hydraulic scissor lifts have wheels– all these need are a fun roller-skating aspect, and you can sign me up!
Or, maybe some kind of merger with RC cars, if you’re the kind who likes a little more control over your inventions…
Reminds me of the platform shoes from the 70’s. Disco. Leisure suits. It couldn’t get much worse.
I like these a lot. Going to make some. You can’t rent stits at the rental shops in my area for liability, and the home stores don’t carry them eiether. Beats tying a couple buckes to your belt and standing on them…
Helmet optional.
I think I need a set of these.
They look good enough for me to make my own to do my ceilings with! No “kludge” here, just ingenuity.
That’s no kludge. and what is the deal with “if he dies” How many people do you know die or break a leg falling 1.5 feet?
It could be possible if you fell up against a pair of scissors stuck in a wall outlet or severed your jugular falling on a jagged-tooth tree trimming saw. And what do you think your chances would be if you fell into the arms of a hungry zombie?
Vern.
When he decides to climb the stairs to answer the door, not taking off the stilts, is when he’ll die. Or maybe it’ll be later, after breaking both legs and hitting his head on the bottom step. That sort of thing happens all the time on TruTV.
Luckily, he’s had his will printed up on his shirt, so no questions there. And I assume he didn’t take the photo, so he probably has adult supervision. But just in case, better not let the insurance company see this post.
Plenty – you can die from slipping on the floor (zero feet off the ground). Hit your head just right and you’re out. Probably wouldn’t break a leg, but maybe a hip or arm…
I stand corrected
Thanks guys.
Notice the ad next to this, for Plumbing Pros. “Cold” on the faucet handle is backwards. Is that an attention-getting device, or a FAIL?
Not a kludge. Those are simply well-made, home-made dry-wallers stilts. How can anyone not have seen dry-wallers using stilts?
Did he bring his cordless phone from home?
I have actually seen that design before, but they usually use an old pair of workboots. Those stilts would be strong enough to hold up a standard SUV assuming he didnt cheap out on nail/screws and wood bonding.
These are the opposite of a Kludge and are actually regularly used in many types of construction.
Im sorry, but this entry isn’t just a FAIL it’s an ignorant one.
This is amazing! The tallest platform heels I’ve ever seen were only about 4.5 inches, and THOSE were what you might call “ten minute shoes.” The most astonishing part, though, is that they coordinate so well with the rest of his “gear,” though I bet they come in any color you want. Work it!
It’s thanks to inventions like this that the Hire The Hobbits movement has gained such momentum.
WHAT?!?! no silver tape?!!?
actually, professional painters wear little stilts on their feet. Maybe not made of 2×4’s but it’s the same thing. Gets them close to the ceiling so they don’t have to go up and down ladders.
oh. drywallers. well, I’ve seen them on painters’ feet, too.
“Let me see, a splash of paint, some carpet, a few pieces of furniture, a refrigerator, an 8 foot flat screen, and I’m ready to call all the boys and invite them for the Super Bowl.”
Judging by the text on his t-shirt, there’s a couple of guys in the corner drinking beer saying “I got dibs on his belt buckle.”
Outrageous. Safe and convenient, I should say. Not a cludge, he used screws instead of duct tape.
So are you a caver or a rock climber?
These are also very effective at preventing Pants On The Ground.
yeah, these are a win. during my short stint as a carpenter/assistant my boss wouldn’t spring for the stilts either, but insisted on using saw horses like the one in the photo to do the ceilings. i got pissed and duct taped 2 empty mud buckets to my feet instead. that was much more of a kludge than this.
Those actually look sturdy and stable. I wish I could see more closely how they’re attached to his feet, what sort of bracing he’s got going up the leg. But for homebrew, that’s really good work, and he’s got maybe $15 all in, compared to $300 for “pro” rocker’s stilts.
The snowboard bindings are screwed into the 2×4’s like a snowboard. The boots use a ratchetting strap for easy on & off.
To top it all off, he’s a rock climber! That shirt is from Seneca Rocks, WV. He’s used to living on the edge!
guys,
stilts are a problem at the best of times. see some guidance from australia:
http://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/wsinternet/worksafe/home/forms+and+publications/guidance+notes/use+of+plasterers_+stilts
what are the chances that if you don’t bother to buy the right gear you do everything else right?
i have those exact same bindings on my snowboard! this must just be your off-ski season job.
I wish this guy had drywalled my house.
That’s actually pretty clever
if falling doesn’t kill him sanding that mess will he should have called a professional
I only do this job so I can go snow-laddering on weekends.
Old snowboarders never die, they just…take up plastering?
hopefully his balance is good ! Good bit of ingenuity nonetheless
It’s not a Kludge, but it *is* a Jury-Rig, so it’s still valid – “Epic Kludges + Jury Rigs”
Here in Brazil, men are prohibited from using this equipment. Women with short skirts can.