Although these ladders are not uncommon, to make one was harder than envisioned. For this project, Mr Chia from Scorpio Engineering was roped in for help. You can see the ladder below already
A metal smith's tools above. Measuring tape, wood, welding tools and mask
Here you see Mr Chia who has already measured and cut out the rebars. The rebars was chosen instead of normal flat surfaced metal pieces because they had grooves in it, which allowed the work boots the workers wear to get better traction. Safety is a big concern
The ladder was welded together, although it looks simple enough, welding 2 pieces of rod to 2 pieces of angle bars. It is definitely not as easy as it seems. Getting the angles right, the 4 pieces of metal to fit perfectly takes more than proper measurement. You sometimes have to pound the metal into submission and it's correct shape. Here, Mr Chia is using a heavy sledgehammer to pound the angle sides into the steps after a welding session
He latter attached the ladder onto the truck. Here we can see he used a lot of arc welding to melt the electrodes to attach the small but heavy ladder onto the the truck frame
Here we see the end product. A metal ladder around 4-5 kg attach to the frame of the truck bed, supporting my weight while I climb up. The ladder had to be slim because there were space constraints as well as fears that a ladder too big and heavy would not be feasible, but the end product is both functional and safe to use.
