I got a set of stack ladders from a guy that retired and they’re dated from 1991
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This is one of the most awesome threads on this Forum. Chris I remember when Gary first produced that tool. It worked great for me. Except when I tried to close out. I remember talking to him about how he discovered polypropylene because it had memory. Can’t believe you actually have one. Put that on your wall!
I think we all should make it a habit to bring our retro tools with us when we meet. If you make it to the 84 Diner Meet please bring Garys old Scooter along!
Henry
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One more little idea. We should have an auction for retro tools here on the Forum. Call it the Retro Tool Online Auction.
Henry
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After taking a 17 year or so break from cleaning windows it’s amazing to me how far the industry has come. I see there is still the debate about FD. Hey, if you can feel the ‘tink’ then you know the glass has something on it that isn’t from regular dirt deposits. If microfines don’t adhere to the glass then it’s due to ridges in the micro fractures and raised ridges they create, imho. As I understand it tempered glass is actually fractured along microscopic lines, hence it breaks into small pieces. The fracturing creates ridges that get broken off with a razor. Broken glass scratches glass and rides along a razor when conditions are favorable. The tempering procedure and the side determines whether the glass will be bad or not, imho. So far I haven’t seen anyone suggest that the glass itself becomes a harsher environment for a razor due to surface irregularities but if micro fines don’t adhere to the glass during tempering them what else could be the source of surface glass irregularities?
This is our DIY swivel scrubber just tool Ettore handle off.
Then put a swivel piece on the bar.
That’s all I use still going strong.
This is the same one we are using now.
Take note the video was done 2013.
That is a fascinating theory on the topic, Matthew.
@Henry, have you heard anything along these lines before?
Alex and Matt,
My understanding has always been that the tempering process “compresses” a thin layer of the surface. This is what gives it strength. This is also the reason why it breaks into very small pieces instead of the large shards of annealed glass. Are you talking about microscopic lines of “fracture”? If so, and tempered glass has lines of fracture, then it would be defective internally also. Not just on the surface. My guess has always been to look at the glass before it is tempered. I believe the surface problems happened before the glass was tempered. I also believe stuff can happen to the surface for a number of different reasons. We know the sound of the defective surface can be very different from one window to the next. So the cause should also be different. I also do completely believe in the Glass Committee science lead by Paul West. He has taken us very close to truly understanding this problem. And has revealed much along the way. Especially how sensitive glass surfaces are to extreme humidity. This fact alone tells me there is much more to learn. I will however say this one thing. These glass lines run 24/7/30/365. Yet they must be stopped for cleaning. Why. Because bad things can happen if not. What bad things? Also we know why the manufacturers wait so long to stop the lines for cleaning. Money. Lots of it. It is also true that there are technologies out there for cleaning the glass ribbon using electrostatic force. Cleaning it of “various” particulate debris. This technology sells for big bux. Why would anyone buy this cleaning technology unless there was a real need for it? Does anyone know what would happen if the glass ribbon were NOT properly cleaned? Probably. Then what is that? Just some questions to ponder.
Bottom line here however. This problem isn’t going to go away quickly. In the mean time we have to deal with it. How are we going to do that? Further there are millions of square feet of defective glass out there that we are going to have to maintain for a long time to come. How are we going to deal with that? This is what we also need to pay attention to.
Henry
But lets get back to the Retro thread. WindowCharles. I was thinking around 25 bux. Let the bidding begin.
Henry
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