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The steeple-jack's instructor

Chapter 13: SQUARE KNOT
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About This Book

A practical manual that teaches the trade of steeple-jacking, offering step-by-step methods for rigging, climbing, and repairing tall structures such as smokestacks, towers, standpipes, water tanks, church spires, flagstaffs, and poles. It explains how to enter the trade, emphasizes safety and professional conduct, and details rigging techniques both with and without gimblet wires, reguying, tripping, handling decayed or lined stacks, and installing ladders and self-supporting fittings. A substantial section catalogs knots, hitches, bends and their uses. Practical advice on pricing, workmanship, and time management rounds out the handbook as a tradesman’s guide to maintaining and inspecting lofty structures.

SQUARE KNOT

As I said before, slippery knots are bothersome in many cases. When you use the slip knot the only way to get it out is to cut the line; then you are disfiguring the line or shortening it.

The square knot and the bow-line knot are the ones most commonly used.

In tying a square knot take the ends of the rope, passing the left end over and under the right, and then take the right end and pass it over and under the left.

In trying to make the square knot there often forms what is known to line men as “the granny,” which is useless for any hazardous purpose. Follow the instructions of right over and left over and you can’t go wrong in making the best-liked knot of all—the SQUARE KNOT.

In using the square knot while working in the chair, make two half hitches in each end of the line. This is used to insure double safety.

When using the square knot for the purpose of adding more line to the riggings, tie both ends of the lines (as illustrated on page 61).

Square Knot

Granny Knot

Square Knot Sized at Both Ends