Many years ago I purchased this inexpensive rolling scaffold to use while cleaning/waxing the RV. It spent 99.9% of its time stored against the wall in the garage. I recently assembled it to use while insulating pipe in the basement. It was still up when I started the project to build a workshop hutch for my brother. It has turned out to be an incredibly useful, multilevel, moveable storage rack. All the material for the project stored in one place and it can be moved around as needed. Shoulda thought of this sooner, but I'm sure it will be used much more now.
"You'll want to stay pretty active on that project so the lumber doesn't sag over time."
Sag could be an issue if it were long term storage or very thin material, but this is a short term project. I'm doing all the measuring, cutting, dadoes, rabbets, etc. here in NC and will be taking everything to VA this weekend to assemble in my brother's basement. He was here to help for a while and we completed all the drawers, which he took back with him.
My next project will involve lots of smaller pieces than this one. I plan to come up with some temporary shelving to rest on the rungs of the scaffold to accommodate those. I could do the same if I had to alleviate a sag problem.
Retired IBEW electrician for 44 years here. That's how we stored all our materials on the job. All the different sized conduit on the upper rungs and platform full of all the fittings and materials. Pulled it around to wherever was conveniant. Great memories.
When I graduated with an EE degree (used my VA benefits after being in the USAF), I realized I didn't know anything about bending conduit or pulling wires, so I applied for the IBEW apprenticeship program. They accepted me, and I spent several years learning how to actually do the things the EE's designed. Didn't go the full four years to become a journeyman, sort of regret that. I was offered an engineering job in the control center with a power utility and decided on that route.
I opted for the industrial electrician side, as opposed to residential (pay was better) and I like working in industrial settings. Lots of work in paper mills, steel foundries, and various military installations. Quite a bit at military installations, like the Polaris Missile Facility (nuclear warheads), as I still had a TS clearance from the USAF, and that was needed. Work was always different, challenging, and the fellow union members were awesome to work with.
Now at age 66, I find myself still liking the work. I freelance as a contract field engineer/technician doing hands-on work at job sites, pulling low-voltage cable, installing network racks, troubleshooting and fixing issues on-site, etc. Yesterday, I was on a ground lift and the roof of a building toning cables and doing continuity tests back to a controller room to diagnose why a camera was not working. Not as steady at heights as I used to be, but I survived. And I still wear my electrician's tool pouch full of Klein tools I bought over 40 years ago.
Next month I am booked seven days a week doing maintenance on the controllers in Walmarts and Sam's Clubs. There apparently is a real shortage of people willing and able to do this kind of work, and I receive dozens of calls and emails a day from contractors looking for people to do these jobs. I pretty much name my price, or I stay home. Their choice.
I absolutely recommend trades to young people. Get with a good union, they will train (classroom and on-the-job) and pay you at the same time. Starting wages are good, and journeymen wages are great, especially if you are willing to travel. And your job will never be off-shored, as there is no way to replace someone being on site and doing the actual hands-on work.
Stay with the union as an employee, or take the jump and become a contractor with your own business. If you are good, in the right area or willing to travel, word will spread, and you can easily hit $100K net within a couple of years.
You indicate: "There apparently is a real shortage of people willing and able to do this kind of work," I believe that there is a shortage of people looking to do any kind of work. I'm 82 and have arthritis. Last week I decided to address the small leak from the kitchen sink drain line to the main drain. I called 2 plumbers that advertise in my local phone book. I described the problem and what I thought had to be done to fix it. I did not receive any return calls. I next went to 2 websites and posted my problem. Again, no return follow up from either. If you have a big money job people will be interested. There seems to be no interest in small jobs.
The Millman and Cabinetmakers Union, of which I was a member for a while, seems to have died out here in Seattle. The last time I tried to find out what the journeyman wage was I couldn't find it on the internet, and the pension fund is in some sort of "red alert" condition. Luckily I don't depend on it.
I don't regret going into a trade but the sort of career I expected, which was to find a position with a good company and stick with it, didn't happen. After a year of training at a community college I worked in a series of start-up shops, then got on at a union shop. Each time there was a recession I would be laid off and over the years most of the large established shops closed. Eventually I was hired by a good general contractor with an in-house cabinet shop. After the internet bubble burst in 2001 I started over at a small shop and then got on with a custom furniture company, which folded after the financial crash of 2008. At 60 I was unemployed and wondered if I'd ever work in my field again. I found an entry-level job and then was rehired by the general contractor with good pay and full benefits. By working till I was 70 I've been able to retire with reasonable security and the sort of lifestyle I've always wanted, which is fairly frugal by most standards.
Of all the people I trained with and worked with over the years, I think I'm the one who lasted the longest. Many of them left the field for greener pastures.
I'm glad other union jobs offer more security and would like to see the trades be a good choice for young people entering the workforce. We need workers skilled in many fields, not just IT or whatever else is well paid at the moment.
