First-Of-Its-Kind Tipod Ladder

First-Of-Its-Kind Tipod Ladder FARM HOME Miscellaneous 17-4-12 One day while working on a stepladder in an uneven flowerbed alongside his house, inventor W.H. Baker of Long Beach, Miss., looked down at the wobbly frame of the ladder and said to himself, "There has to be a better way." He says the tri-pod ladder he went on to design may be the ladder of the future. Instead of parallel legs on either side, the "Stabiladder" has conventional ladder steps in front with two angled legs on back that give the ladder a wide base. Baker came up with an innovative sliding mechanism that makes it easy to extend the legs with one hand, eliminating the conventional spreader bars that can pinch your fmger. You can quickly and easy set up the ladder while standing in front of it with no need to step around to the side. A lock engages when legs are fully extended. Mother patented feature on the new lad-der is a recessed tool tray on top of the ladder. Baker says the top step isn't used anyway so he turned it into a useful tool holder that he says works a lot better than conventional flip down paint can holders on ladders because tools can't roll off the tray. Because the legs spread out to the side, they let you get closer to buildings or walls when you set the ladder up flat against the house than conventional designs, although you can't get as close when you set the ladder up sideways to a house or wall. Baker, who has worked on the new ladder for nearly 7 years, is talking with a major ladder producer and hopes to have it on the market later this year. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, W.H. Baker, Baker Research Co., Inc., P.O. Box 482, Long Beach, Miss. 39560 (ph 601864-5040).

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