The old gray mare is what s he used to be

**Copper Head** · 02-01-2014, 04:37 PM

Wile I am a he ,
I felt challenged yesterday , I set off for the yard with around 300 # 350 # mix pounds at best . Then I saw a Old chain link fence in a dumpster there it was at 4:45 PM . It seemed like a innocent find you know a piece of cake. I can pull truck truck close to container and roll out on to truck bed .

**** it was heavy .I pushed and part went proper and the other half went south then the whole thing fell along with it.
Ok no problem I figured HA HA .

Yard to close at 6:00 and I quickly found this was a heavy mother ******
So now I am pissed at the failed load job (should of pulled truck closer) but excited with the weight (still on the ground)

Grunting and lifting what I could , as I gained some ground I would tie what was on truck to stabilize But finally I got to the portion that was bunched and a tangle mess of Fence . a half hour had passed and now was the time to do what had to be DONE
I got under it , cleared my head and went into my power zone . Agaaaaaeaeaea as loud as a grisly bear .
and oh yeah in it went .

My truck weighed in at 750 # I figure the fence was 400 to 450 pound
how the heck I did it I don't know. But us scrappers are a sick bunch of people

**FLimits** · 02-01-2014, 05:11 PM

Adrenaline! A big ol' grizzly bear was about to catch you...

Even with all the adrenaline in the world, I would never be able to do what you did. (I'm not old and gray, but I am a she. You guys have a definite competitive advantage in the scrap-a-thon when it comes to strength.)

**NHscrapman** · 02-01-2014, 05:27 PM

Massive power in the grizzly bear yell for sure.

**Montymoose** · 02-01-2014, 06:36 PM

I'm 61 y.o. Was loading a water heater into the back of my pick-up, all bent over and ready for the lift. Twenty something year old walks by and says, "Let me help you with that. You might hurt your back at your age."

The macho part of me wanted to say, "Watch this, punk!" But the smart part of me said out loud, "Thanks, it is pretty heavy."

**sledge** · 02-01-2014, 06:48 PM

I'm only 37 and have two kiddos 8 and 5. We went to the County Fair this summer and they had one of those bungee with a bounce pad things set up. I paid my $5 bucks and strapped in- I'm jumping and flipping- forwards and back.. I got done and the guy says "Yer a tough old goat.. most guys your age puss out and can't do the whole time they are given and want to get down"

I was like "OLD?" what are you woofin me.. I'm barely in my prime! HA!

**sawmilleng** · 02-01-2014, 07:01 PM

Har!! Them rolls of chain link are hard to handle and are misleading in how heavy they are compared to how heavy they look!!! Bin there, dun that!!

But a bit more on the serious side, Copper Head, you should consider what might have happened if, on that big heave, YOU broke!! That would be a game changer, especially if you were put out of commission for a couple of weeks or months!!

I had that brought home to me earlier this year: I was putting a couple of outside lights on my house, in a hurry, and fell backwards offa a step ladder, 3 steps up. No big deal, right? Fell against a rock wall, hurt my back, my neck and got a big goose egg on the back of my head. We live 'way out of town so my wife drove me an hour to the hospiddle. No visible damage on xray or CAT scan; the goose egg went down and the neck was fine but 6 months later my back is still not right. I'm mobile and all but can't work steady for more than about 2 hours without a rest.

For me and my wife, who want to retire on our semi-remote acreage, this is very close to a life-changing event...careless use of a stepladder. Hammered the point home to me and her BIG TIME!

Please consider the next time this happens, don't be in a huge hurry!! Snip the thing apart, zipcut it, have one of those little hydraulic jack hoists mounted on your truck, something!

You wanna be able to scrap 'till they finally take you away in a pine box!!

Jon.

**Copper Head** · 02-01-2014, 07:04 PM

Ever see the movie Cinderella Man . He rebuilt him self working on a loading dock
Well recently I did some plumbing work for some one and 5 years ago it would of been hard for me and now it's like
OK
um did I work yet . Well got paid $200 so I guess I did work .
Scrapping makes a person tough .

As you know thieving scrappers are out there .
But once in a wile a casual check up from the local police always ends with your OK Guy and respect or at least they act in a respectful way .
I feel it's the stuff in the truck this is no easy way to earn and the items are not the easy pickings of a thief scrapper .

**Mechanic688** · 02-01-2014, 08:46 PM

Originally Posted by FLimits

Adrenaline! A big ol' grizzly bear was about to catch you...

Even with all the adrenaline in the world, I would never be able to do what you did. (I'm not old and gray, but I am a she. You guys have a definite competitive advantage in the scrap-a-thon when it comes to strength.)

That's where you guy's (girls) have to work smarter and not harder. Buy a cheap H.F. hoist for the back of the truck and it'll make up for the missing man. Or in football, it'll be the 12th man.

Pickup Truck Crane - 1/2 Ton Capacity

**Copper Head** · 02-01-2014, 10:17 PM

Not gona lie some times I go thu these unorganized times like I can't find my tools . Sure needed my bolt cuter . My worry was cutting my face with the sharp ends .
I know I am not super man .But I feel confident how to lift and the feeling of total impossibility. I find if I can move it with a casual lift then some how with the correct positioning it will go in truck . But correct one never knows what straw will brake the camels back .

**Damotademon7** · 02-01-2014, 10:46 PM

Watch what you lift. At a young age I had the power of a mule and would use it all the time. I would lift car engines and transmissions by hand. I'm 43 now and am paying for it with my back. I still have a lot of power but I don't use all of it lifting stuff. Not worth having my back hurting for a couple of days. This is advice for the young guys in the game. You may think your iron man but you may pay for it later.

**Patriot76** · 02-01-2014, 11:16 PM

In summary of the previous posts, the older you get, the bigger the tool you need and the last straw is always the one that breaks the camels back.

**doyousmellit** · 02-01-2014, 11:42 PM

Speaking from the experience of having broke my back at 15 and dealing with it since, LEGS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Its a whole lot easier to use your back to heave something into the bed because its a big muscle. You can bend straight over and pick up a water heater with your back and it not hurt at all but if it does damage it doesn't always manifest as an instantaneous AAAAARGH. A year ago I slipped a disc and reinjured myself rather severely and didn't even know it until I had been sitting for an hour. Work smart, not hard.

**mseashell** · 02-02-2014, 01:01 AM

Im 33 and used to I would have done something like that myself. I had a car accident in oct 2006 and messed my back up pretty bad. Broke 26 bones in my body, right side all jacked up. Spent 28 days in hospital, 13 of them on life support. By the time I'm 66 I prob be in wheelchair. It sucks that I can't do stuff myself that I used to be able to. I'm sure everyone knows what their limit is and knows how to properly lift and all that stuff. I used to never think about that stuff. Was in good shape, but now I do. U don't want to mess ur back up, it will mess ur life up. I have meds I can take when it gets to hurting. Too bad, but I don't like taking them. I had to say something about heavy lifting and hurting ur back. The older ppl on here prob know what I'm talking about, but the younger ones on here is what worry me. U don't want to hurt ur back, cause it will give u problems for the rest of your life.

**doyousmellit** · 02-02-2014, 01:32 AM

I concur wholeheartedly. I've only been fighting my back injury for 8 years(I'm 23) and its felt like 80. be careful what and how you lift don't be afraid to bust out the comealong ramps etc. And don't play tackle football with no pads. as long as I'm tipping, NEVER fry bacon with your shirt off. That fencing can get you too I've taken down a good bit that was dividing a 20 acre plot and even after a lot of cutting we had to bust out the backhoe to handle moving compacting and loading it

**BurlyGuys** · 02-02-2014, 07:50 AM

I will be 57 in April. Not out to pasture yet but not as young as I used to be.

I will admit, though, that in the last couple of years I have become a complete p***y. I hire guys younger and stronger than me to do this stuff.

Now admittedly, since I almost exclusively do paid junk removal it is a LOT easier to justify the labor cost, and it is not practical for all applications. However, 400# of steel at $200 a tone is worth 40 bucks. I might have left this one for someone else.

**Copper Head** · 02-02-2014, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by doyousmellit

I concur wholeheartedly. I've only been fighting my back injury for 8 years(I'm 23) and its felt like 80. be careful what and how you lift don't be afraid to bust out the come-along ramps etc. And don't play tackle football with no pads. as long as I'm tipping, NEVER fry bacon with your shirt off. That fencing can get you too I've taken down a good bit that was dividing a 20 acre plot and even after a lot of cutting we had to bust out the backhoe to handle moving compacting and loading it

I will tell you this, my back was not so great at 23 . from 17 to 23 - I worked with computer portraits 1976 to 1982 I would pick up this large printer to set up jobs ,
an old dot matrix - must of been close to 4 foot wide . I was told it weighed 160 # . by age 23 my back hurting , spasms clicks in my knee as I walked . I remember saying if this is how I feel now how will I be at 40 or 50 , 1995 inguinal hernia , finally caused me to realize if I plan to do physical work I better figure a system .

I never lift with out using my legs I never bend and lift . Back straight leg power with arms . If I can't get into a proper position of power I will not try . I test move to see if it's even a go . I don't wish my self bad luck and a day can change any thing. Still I feel normal concerning my back as of my 50's . I use it proper with out thinking ( second Nature ) But hey you never know.
I find training one's self to sleep on your back is Key as is a hard mattress , some times I lay on my back on a hard floor to align the spine .

The old gray mare is what s he used to be

Thread Tools

Search Thread

Display

The old gray mare is what s he used to be

The Following 4 Users say Thank You for This Post by Copper Head:

The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by FLimits:

The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by NHscrapman:

The Following 10 Users say Thank You for This Post by Montymoose:

The Following 6 Users say Thank You for This Post by sledge:

The Following 7 Users say Thank You for This Post by sawmilleng:

The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by Copper Head:

The Following 6 Users say Thank You for This Post by Mechanic688:

The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by Copper Head:

The Following 8 Users say Thank You for This Post by Damotademon7:

The Following 4 Users say Thank You for This Post by Patriot76:

The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by doyousmellit:

The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by mseashell:

The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by doyousmellit:

The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by BurlyGuys:

The Following User Says Thank You to Copper Head for This Post:

Similar threads on the Scrap Metal Forum

A scrappers night mare.

Gray area rule part 2

Whats the gray area rule ?

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

The Scrap Metal Forum

SMF Recommended Links

SMF on Facebook and Twitter