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Dan Clyde "A Caving Tribute" |
Everybody knows what a cable ladder is, well how about a
web ladder? Several years ago I was in a situation where I need a cable ladder,
but didn’t want to spend the money for one so I came up with this idea. A cable
ladder made out of webbing and PVC pipe.
The problem with cable ladders is they are expensive,
bulky, tangle easy, and will start to break at around 800 pounds. The web
ladder on the other hand is cheaper to make, compact, doesn’t tangle as much
and has the tension strength of 4000 pounds if built right. They work really
well for a big group that you need to get up a wall. The first person takes the
ladder up and hooks it up then everybody else climbs with a belay device or top
belay,
So how do you build one? First you need high strength,
continuous woven shuttle loom 1” tubular nylon webbing, 4,000-pound test. This
is what all the cave suppliers’ sale. The next thing you need is 1-inch
schedule 30 PVC pipe. How much you need depends on how long you want the
ladder. For a 30-foot ladder with 6-inch wide step 11 ½ inches apart you will
need around 100 feet of webbing and 15 ½ feet of PVC pipe.
First, cut the PVC pipe into 6-inch lengths. Then sand
the inside edges smooth so they don’t cut into the webbing. I rounded mine.
Next cut 10-inch long strips of webbing for you steps. I used 31 for my 30-foot
long ladder. If you want loops on each end of the ladder, then you will need to
cut the remaining webbing in half. If not leave it in one piece and minus one 10-inch
strip of webbing.
Start from the top of the webbing measure down 10 ½
inches and mark a mark with a felt pen. This is where the first rung will be.
You will need all that 10 ½ inches of webbing for the loops. Now mark every
11-½ inches until you run out of webbing. If you are not going to put loops on
the bottom then I would recommend that you fold the webbing in half and mark
both sides at the same time so they are even.
To make the loops you fold 5 ½ inches over and sew up 2-½
inch, which will give you a 3-inch loop. If you think you are going to use the
ladder a lot I would recommend that you take a 5-inch piece of webbing and sew
it inside the loop for wear
I can’t sew so I had a professional do it for me using
high strength nylon thread. On rope
is an excellent book to get your sewing and thread information. First he sewed
the top loops. Then he went to each tick mark and sewed 1-½ inches of the
webbing strips on. When he got one side done he put the PVC through the strips
and sewed the strip to the other main piece. As you can see in the picture the
ladder sides are not flat, but vertical and the steps are sewn above the rungs.
This creates a down pull on the thread not a side pull, which is stronger.
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