Ladder Helper
This homemade rack conveniently holds small workpieces when working up high.
I was recently working on a siding job that included a lot of steep gables. There wasn’t enough room for pump jacks, so I had to use extension ladders. The challenge: How to keep a stack of precut soffit pieces within reach so I wouldn’t have to make as many trips up and down the ladder. I came up with this simple jig that slips over the top rung of the ladder and holds about 10 pieces of soffit, and it only took about five minutes to make. I folded scrap aluminum into “J” shapes for the top and bottom. A scrap piece of plywood and a few bent-over roofing nails join the parts together.
—Charles Gravel, Bedminster, N.J.
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #286
