OTHER LADDER INFORMATION
Click here to see a drawing of Putnam's "Telephone Ladder". This heavy duty 11' 6" (138") Red Oak ladder was made to service mechanical telephone switches when they were housed in rows of tall racks. These ladders were attached to a rail and traveled between the racks of switches where the technician could practice his trade. Because of their height they make good loft ladders. The sides are 5" and the steps 6" wide and the ladder itself is 14" wide. When we get these ladders ( we are currently sold out )- we sell them @ $125 each, $150 with wheels. The ladders can be shortened in 10.75" increments. These are very heavy duty and also heavy in weight so it will be necessary to pick them up here in Whitefield, Maine.
Click here to see an actual photo montage of these big ladders.
There is a 95" hand rail along one side. The heavy duty bottom wheels were originally mounted in a way not useful for most of today's applications. They are 90 degrees off. Click here to see a sketch showing a possible way to mount these wheels to allow movement parallel with a wall.
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TOP HOOKS, TRACK & BRACKETS:
Stanley makes an inexpensive metal hook that can be attached to the ladder top to allow it to be attached to a track. The Stanley hook is Mfr. # 7222 Home Depot lists a SKU # 140198.
We sell used unpainted metal track currently @ $2.75 a foot and brackets to support the track for $10.00 each. These are placed every 30" along the track.
TOP & BOTTOM ROLLING HARDWARE:
Because of liability, no ladder company will sell their rolling library ladder hardware separately. This has been a problem for us, because we spend much time trying to explain this to people who think we can solve their problem.
Fine Homebuilding Magazine had an article in which a craftsman solved his library ladder hardware problems by making his own brass hooks, wooden track and wheels. Here are some pictures from that article.
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Some Library Ladder Links:
Putnam Ladder Company
Alaco Ladder Company
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A short history of Chase & Ekholm:
Several years ago my neighbor Erik and I purchased a trailer truck load of used Putnam's No1 rolling Library Ladders with hardware . Thinking that we had more than enough of these wonderful vintage pieces to meet the demands of Mainers, we sought to get posted to the internet search engines. We did, and the rest, as they say, is history. The word spread like wild fire and we were shipping all over North America including Hawaii and Alaska. The ladders didn't take long to leave, but we found that getting "unposted" from the internet is neither easy, nor apparently, even possible.