The Bucksqueeze

[Buzz Lightyear]

Been Using a Bucksqueeze for some time now! use it almost daily.
company Mandated it for most folks, the most Senior Guys can still Free Climb until they either have an Accident or can't re-qualify and must be retrained on it!Granted i work for the Telco, and thus I dont have too many obstacles i have to climb over like most of you would have too.

However, As a safety tool I must say that if you cut out or in CA. where we have Earth Quakes!! YOU WONT FALL!!

I agree though that Free Climbing should be taught anyways as a back up for such instances as Pole top rescue! i cant see that as being as possible
with some newbie doing it with a bucksqueeze!

as for linemen who dont free Climb or who use a bucksqueeze being pussies
or any less of a man:do we call marines who wear a Battle helmet on the Front lines as opposed to Marines that wear only Boonie hats while in the Field Pussies or being any less of a man or marine for that matter ?!

Just my 2 Cents

[Trbl639]

Been free climbing for close to 38 years myself.........Free climbed my last pole on Company property on April 1........right before they trained us and certified us on the BuckSqueeze........climbed several that day......and haven't used it since, mainly cause I had hand surgery on April 2!!!!!!!


Go back to work in another couple of weeks, and then I'll have to get used to it..but being a Trblmn, I won't use it that much...then I plan on retiring the end of the year, and I can go back to Free climbing............

Nobody with our outfit wanted to use it..was forced on us by upper management, mainly after a young kid in our Boot Camp took a nasty fall, and got broke up pretty good........he's gonna be ok, but it busted him up !!!! He had been climbing maybe 6-8 weeks!!! Our Transmission hands had been forced to hitch-hike for months even before this guy fell..they got the BuckSqueeze a few months before we did!!!

[Trbl639]

Yup.

Just the "Mandated' thing man.

The "Bullet Proofin" of Linework. Pretty soon, Anybody can do it!!

Next,
Linework won't be a "Skilled Trade" anymore.
We'll be like....
well, no...I won't say that...

Cause, nowdays....That's a "skilled trade" too.

BUT...once ya "RUBBER UP" a "Linemean" enough....
shit...they can do anything...No "Skill" needed. Just call em a "Lineman", and "RUBBER em up"

When we are told by the company that .........They can find LINEMAN on any street corner in any town, anytime.......we always say Yeah Right!!!!

Well.......before long THEY won't be Lying to us!!!!!

The old timers/Real Lineman like us and the ones we came up under... are becoming more and more.............

A RARE AND DYING BREED

[mainline]

No offense to you old timers, but the new guys can't do line work sh&* wears thin after a while. I've only been in the trade for eleven years, but from what I have seen there are good and bad lineman in all groups. I have seen great 20 year old and sh*(ty 30 year guys. It has nothing to do with the age of the guy, it has to do with desire. I don't care who you are, in order to do hot work well you have to be good at your job. Cover up does not take care of stupidity it just puts off the inevitable...death. So next time we get back to the, back in the old days crap, remember the old days weren't that great, and there were still dipsh&ts back then. I know I have met some of them, and heard about more. Still I am in agreement about the bucksqueeze, I don't want one.

[Trbl639]

No offense to you old timers, but the new guys can't do line work sh&* wears thin after a while. I've only been in the trade for eleven years, but from what I have seen there are good and bad lineman in all groups. I have seen great 20 year old and sh*(ty 30 year guys. It has nothing to do with the age of the guy, it has to do with desire. I don't care who you are, in order to do hot work well you have to be good at your job. Cover up does not take care of stupidity it just puts off the inevitable...death. So next time we get back to the, back in the old days crap, remember the old days weren't that great, and there were still dipsh&ts back then. I know I have met some of them, and heard about more. Still I am in agreement about the bucksqueeze, I don't want one.

I gotta agree!! I work with a few guys that have 20+ yrs and are sorry...work with some that have the desire, and know their Sh!T....would just as soon work without some of the slackers, that are there for the paycheck, and think all a trblmn has to do is find it, and let a crew fix t...and that ain't the way it's done!!!!!!!
Also work with some young new hands that just topped out, and are gonna be some great hands, even a few apprentices that have it in their heart as well.........
as far as cover-up it's made to use, yet some guys don't want to use it right......me, I was brought up old school and I use the pee out of it !!! But because of an accident last year where we had a guy (about 10 yrs experience) get burned pretty bad ...he is ok now...because of lack of cover-up.....all out jmen/sr lineman/trblmn have to go to a 1 day cover-up school..but the good thing is, the company is buying us a crapload of new cover-up, things we've tried to get before, but the budget wasn't big enough, if ya know what I mean

and if ya get caught not using it, it's time off for a few days or gone for good!!!!

[albmm05]

the bucksqueeze may be a pain but in Canada we have a peice of sh_t call a jelco 3 or jelco 4. It does not allow you to free climb at all, ZERO. Even with my full float bashlin I can only move the amount that the belts itself allows me. We were required to turn in our regular straps for these abortions. So far I have shorted one jelco 4 with the ice picks and caught my jelco 3 on the telephone and cable more times than I can count. If this is safety it was thought up by some monkey in a suit who has never climbed let alone worked in the trade. This thing is dangerous.

[Koga]

have declared its comming and we will get trained to use it. But that still wont teach em to climb or what to do once they get up there. I watched a few of our so called 2nd and 3rd class guys climb the other day! All I can say is it was a damn shame. Some folks just aren't cut out to be linemen.
Koga

[freshjive]

we had to learn how to freeclimb, but most of our time was spent in the bucksqueeze..there are examples when freeclimbing is still allowed (when there are far too many obstructions on the pole and you cannot get to it with a bucket)...I will admit i'm alot better with the buckqueese, but that's what i used for 7 weeks....If i freeclimbed for 7 weeks i'd probably suck at using the bucksqueeze......I don't mind it, (since that's kinda how you have to do it these days if you want a job LOL) but with all the obstructions on poles these days, by the time you get to wherevever you need to go on the pole, you are sweating and exhausted from all of the double-belting.........

[TresAmigos]

All of our new apps. have to belt climb. Been a Co rule for about 3 years. I agree, that guys should learn how to free climb before even thinking about a buck squeeze or second rope safety, gain respect for it. When I was in climbing school, we didn't even get to wear our belts for the first week, just gaffs and gauntlets. Im by any means no old timer, but I have to say that all these impractical rules being mandated by some upper managment washout are a slap to the face of the line trade and every lineman that made this the great trade that it is. And also gives the guys who wouldnt take three steps up a pole when we had to free climb, another chance, when they have no business being there in the first place.

[old lineman]

the bucksqueeze may be a pain but in Canada we have a peice of sh_t call a jelco 3 or jelco 4. It does not allow you to free climb at all, ZERO. Even with my full float bashlin I can only move the amount that the belts itself allows me. We were required to turn in our regular straps for these abortions. So far I have shorted one jelco 4 with the ice picks and caught my jelco 3 on the telephone and cable more times than I can count. If this is safety it was thought up by some monkey in a suit who has never climbed let alone worked in the trade. This thing is dangerous.

Nice to see your so happy with the Pole Chocker 4. Nobody said it was going to feel like free climbing does. It's obvious to a five year old kid that there is a huge difference.
It's also obvious that you don't know sh*t about how it was developed.
It's amusing how some jerk can criticize something and never even offer an alternative. Right from the get go seasoned linemen were involved, that's why it's fourth generation.
OK Smart ass put a better idea on the table.
The Old Lineman