Sunday 6 January 2013

Make Your Own Slate Rip

This was something I was meaning to post ages ago but forgot! I was stripping a section of roof before Christmas to add a new back gutter to a chimney when I realised I had forgotten my slate rip.
I managed to make a temporary one out of an old disposable hand saw. Cutting the to the side of the hanging hole on the saw to make a notch.
It's then just a case of slipping the "rip" between the slates and over the nail, hitting the handle downwards to pull the nail out (or snap the head off).
This doesn't last for too many slates, as the plastic on the handle can only take so many hits, but it meant that I could carry on working and strip an area big enough to carry on.
Anyone else made a temporary tool lately?

4 comments:

  1. Smart solution Kev, could you actually pull the nails with it?
    This is what we use on this side of the pond for that sort of job.
    http://roofgenius.com/images/shingleremover2.jpg
    Though we seldom deal with slate any more. It is very uncommon to see it on any residential buildings over here. As for improvised tools the last one I made was this one: http://isserfiq.blogspot.com/2012/12/back-to-infernal-combusted-engine.html

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    1. Yeah the one in the link is the normal tool I use (I've no idea why I took it out of the van in the first place!). The nail were pretty soft in this roof, they were pretty old and had started to corrode, but even so the saw worked well until I smashed the handle but by then I'd taken enough off the roof to work downwards anyway.
      Slate over here is still used and in some areas its a planning constraint.
      I like your tool in your post, sometimes only what you make will do the job!

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  2. I think it all depends what type of work you are doing over here. I work on a lot slate covered roofs in historic restoration and never leave home with my ripper if I can help it. My ripper is my tool of many uses. Love your temp solution!

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    1. Yeah over here it's mainly slate or tile. I have to amdmit to only wokring on slate roofs in the last few years. It's very dependant on the area your working in the UK

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