Fishing Trick

mdshunk

I know that most of you guys use a string and weight for fishing down walls. Often, you're in the basement, with a hole drilled up through the bottom plate, with a piece of hooked wire trying to fish out your string. While this certainly works fine, I stumbled upon a trick. I was in a basement a month or so ago, and I forgot to bring a piece of wire down with me to fish out my string that was inside the wall. I noticed one of those long, slender "refrigerator brushes" laying on the homeowner's dryer. I shoved it up the 3/4" hole, and pulled it back out. Viola... the string was caught in the bristles, and it pulled right out. Since then, I bought one for my truck, and have had success in using it. It certainly is quicker. I wouldn't necessarily carry it into the home for evey such fish, but I certainly would have it in the basement of a job in which much or all of the home is being rewired. Just thought I'd pass that along.

Glasshousebltr

kickin Md

Thanks for the trick.

Bob

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Bob

ABLE1

You know MD all these tricks of the trade that you have up your sleeve that if placed in a book could bring in some royalties................. Well maybe not.

Nice trick on this one. Wife just happens to have (had) one of those brushes in the laundry. Hee Hee.

Personally I have used a small 1/16" dia. ball chain and a what is called "wet noodle" bendable rod with a magnet on the end. Works great in those small 3/8" holes that I am pulling wire thru.


Thanks for the alternative method for bigger holes.

Les

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ABLE1

mdshunk

I had a 'wet noodle' tool. It lasted about a week before it broke. Often, my string gets caught hard and I need to abandon it. This is what happened to the wet noodle. I'm often fishing at 8' or 16' intervals anyhow. I find a roll of mason line with a lead solder weight just as good as anything.

mdshunk

Here's a link to a thread from several years back, in which I detail making a string weight from lead solder.

http://www.selfhelpforums.com/showth...ighlight=mouse

mdshunk

By the way, my preferred vendor for fishing gadgets and other telecom goodies is http://www.sandman.com/

Glasshousebltr

The last time I used my wet noodle I damn near ripped the ball right off the chain. It eventually led to 18 years of child support as well.

Bob

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Bob

ABLE1

Yes I have the catalog. Very good reading. A+++++. Which reminds me I need some stuff...............

I also have ordered from here as well. Good stuff. http://www.lsdinc.com/content/main

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ABLE1

macmikeman

I also use the wet noodle set, but I use a sturdier metal chain I get from the hardware store. Pretty hard to break that one. The bendable magnet stick is what I really needed in the package. Those are great.

Brendakeen

That is a good one! I will pass it along to my Northern Ca buddies.

Eric K

Do you guys mean to tell me you dont use gerbils or hamsters anymore?

mdshunk

Most of the SanFrancisco area sparkies still use them. I've never used them.

GregS

All my stuff is LV, but here's what I do for behind the wall stuff:

If just going from a first floor down to an unfinished basement, use a flexibit. Cut a box-sized hole in the wall, put your bit in, bend it enough so it hits the middle of the bottom plate, and drill. Pops out the bottom and then you can easily fish up.

For second floors I drill down from attics a lot, in this case, drop the wire down, and tone and trace to the second floor wall.

Or if traversing floors, ball-chain and magnet.

Handy in all cases is fish-sticks. In many cases I have had to stick a piece of cat3 through the end and poke it into the spot I think I need it to go. Then tone the cat3 and trace it to where I want to cut a hole.

I saw a tip in Finehomebuilding a while back where I guy put a stuck a dowel into a drill and put a string on the end of it. Stuck it through the hole and ran the drill and the string snagged his fish line so he could pull it back down.

I've got my eye on one of those fibre optic cameras.. but that will have to wait a while.

I never use string anymore. Had too many problems with it getting
wedged between wood joints and breaking.

Teetorbilt

A tip from the marine industry; outboard control cable. The inner core is about 1/16" SS wire and the outer sheath is about 1/4" reinforced high carbon cable but flexible. You can use one or the other or both in conjunction. Good for getting through insulated walls.

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robertc65

I to have not used string in quite a while. I tend to get real frustrated after it gets stuck a few times. Fish Stix have been serving me quite well lately especially when I'm trying to stay on the inside of insulation on exterior walls.

Rob