Forearm Forklift Lifting Straps

I had a few e-mails from people who asked what the orange straps were that we used to lift the mattress. It is a Forearm Forklift, which is sold in packs of two. We first spotted them on the U-Haul site, with a rental fee of $25.00. Instead, we bought our own set for less than twenty bucks. They were a godsend, and really do work. In essence, each person holds one end of a strap, looping it around the forearm. The straps crisscross beneath the item, so that each person holds a strap with the same forearm, i.e., if I'm holding one with my right arm, Ted has that same strap looped on his right arm.

Here's a photo from the box. Note, we did not look this cool carrying heavy stuff. What's with the shades? But you really can lift heavy, awkward items and save a lot of strain on your back. We moved mattresses, box springs, and large wood cabinets with a lot less effort than it would normally take.
According to the package--I didn't verify this myself--the forearm forklift is the first and only OSHA accepted moving tool ever to reduce potential injuries due to heavy and repetitive lifting. Here are the rest of the benefits and claims:

Benefits:

• Reduces weight of item being carried by 66%
• Creates handles on any hard-to-handle pieces
• Great for going up and down most stairs or truck ramps
• Tight turning radius (excellent for 90 degree turns in hallways and switchbacks in staircases)
• Will never scratch wood floors, break tile, stain carpets or rip vinyl (linoleum)

The Forearm Forklift was awarded "Best New Product of the Year 1999" by the Industrial Equipment News whose constituents are solely top professionals in the business.

Specification:

• Adjustability: up to 48 inches
• Weight Capacity: 600 pounds per pair (tested at 2,720 pounds)
• Material: super strength webbing, bonded thread at each joint and padding in each insert
• Padding: felt for comfort in any adjusted length
• Color: improved/changed to safety orange
• Dimensions: 9 feet 4 inches long
• Weight: 1 pound per pair
• Package Dimensions: 8 inches wide by 9 inches tall by 2.5 inches deep
• Package Contents: 2 straps

All in all, the Forearm Forklift is definitely a product I'd recommend. I only wish we discovered them when we began this moving process six months ago, when we rented a storage unit.

They even make awesome dog toys, for pups who like to steal things and play keep away!

Merry Christmas to Me

I made my first purchase for the Box House today: A Silent Paint Remover, a.k.a Speedheater. If it's as good as the promo literature and reviews say it is, I'll be able to quickly and easily strip paint and varnish from my wood trim and doors--and with 22 or so wood doors, including the ones in the basement and the garage, it just may be worth the hefty price tag. Now if only Santa would bring me the nifty little scrapers that go with it...

The guy I bought the Silent Paint Remover from is restoring his own Victorian house in West Chicago. We went to his place to pick it up. When we walked into the living room, I was delighted to see that he had recently stripped off all the paint on the wood trim and all that needed to be done was to restain it. "You've been busy," I said, "this looks great."

And then I found out he had used good old-fashioned paint stripper to soften and remove the paint. He had spent about ten minutes with the Silent Paint Remover before deciding he didn't care for it, as it "didn't do as good a job." I hope that's because he wasn't using heavy duty scrappers, as recommended, and was using simple putty knives.

I guess if it doesn't work, I can always sell it on eBay.

Here are the tool specs:

• No chemicals
• No heat gun
• No shaving or sanding
• Tool does not create dust
• Very low energy consumption
• Efficient and labor saving
• Does not cause lead to be released in the form of plumbic gases from the paint when operated properly
• Easy cleanup
• Reduces the risk of painters' burnout
• IR tube life length - 5000 hours
• Gentle on wood
• Significantly lower risk of fire compared to a heat-gun
• Scraping tools stay sharp significantly longer with this tool
• Low setup cost, no blade changing, no clogging, and no vibrations
• Environmentally friendly
• Softens paint and putty simultaneously
• Paint immediately after paint removal
• Ideal for window restoration
• Ideal for removal of thick varnish on wooden boats
• Creates a dry and disposable waste
• Exterior and interior applications
• Tool has no moving parts and is easily maintained
• Tool heats the mass and not only the surface
• Removes moisture in the wood during the process
• Neutralizes mildew and fungus
• The paint resin is drawn out to the surface creating a porous substrate and a tooth for the primer to grip on to. Result: very long lasting painted surfaces

I'd be interested in hearing about other people's experiences with the Silent Paint Remover...did it meet your expectations? Has anyone tried using it on brick? A long-term project I have in mind is to strip the paint off the brick wall in an (unheated) enclosed back porch. It's currently an ugly steel-gray color.