Please notice that we have a new writer for this column - Adam Bondeson of Lodestone Adventures, Inc. in Big Bear Lake, California and of Signature Research, Inc. He is pleased to take on this job, and he already has several columns ready to go.
The Board of Directors of ACCT and the ACCT members want to thank Bobby Tod for his contribution to the Builder's Toolbox, and Adam is honored to follow in Bobby's footsteps
I love to look for tools that need a little tweak to become the perfect ropes course tool. We generally build climbing walls by attaching horizontal 4 x 6s to power poles. Vertical 2 x 6s or deck boards are then nailed to the 4 x 6s. As boards are placed onto the horizontal cross pieces, some have a bow in them. To keep the gaps to a minimum, we have had wrestling matches, kicked them, sued a chisel to move the board over, and several other not-so-comfortable maneuvers. After a lot of walls, we realized how much energy we were wasting trying to get boards in place. I kept thinking that there had to be a better way, but hadn't found it yet.
One of my "hobbies" is to search through gear catalogs and tool magazines to find things that I might be able to be used on a build. I was hunting around in a discount tool catalog when I came across the Cepco Tool BoWrench Decking Tool. This tool was designed to take the bow out of deck boards when building decks. By attaching to the support boards, the tool can create a lot of leverage on the face boards.
Because most climbing walls are basically vertical decks, we have experimented with the BoWrench quite a bit, and it has saved us a lot of time and aggravation. By attaching the tool to the horizontal support beams, the face boards can be maneuvered over. It is possible to take the bow out of even the most stubborn boards - the force that this tool can create is incredible. Once you get used to the tool and how it works, it can actually hold the board hands-free while the builder nails it in. The BoWrench is a great addition to any tool box.
You can order the Cepco Tool BoWrench Decking Tool from Tool Crib of the North (which partners with Amazon.com on the web) and through Harbor Freight, at www.harborfreight.com. When ordering the tool, make sure to get the adjustable bar clamp that allows it to be used on 4 x 6s. If you use 4 x 4s as the horizontal supports, the bar clamp is still needed to fit the lumber because the tool is designed to be used on 2 x 4 stock.
