1982: FRED DIBNAH shows HOW to erect a CHIMNEY SCAFFOLD at 200 feet! | Fred | 1980s | BBC Archive
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2023
- "If that bloody rope breaks, you're dead."
Legendary steeplejack Fred Dibnah demonstrates the art of installing a chimney scaffold at 200ft while trying to avoid "half a day out with the undertaker".
"When I've done it, when I've got all the gear up, to me it's a bloody magnificent achievement. You've really got the world at your feet."
Clip taken from Fred: The World at Your Feet, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 9 September, 1982.
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What really fascinates me is that this is 1982.
On one hand you got "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Terminator" showing at the cinema down the street, at the same time you got men like Fred Dibnah single handedly taking down a factory chimney with a hammer and absolutely no safety gear.
And an assistant wearing flared trousers!
I know exactly what you mean but those two were released at the cinema in 1984. E.T & Poltergeist would apply though 😁
I'd like to see the cost comparison - Fred and his rope vs dozens of today's specialists.
While smoking his pipe…
Blade Runner!
Take a moment to appreciate the brick layers who built the chimneys in the first place. Incredible!
Fred himself used to lament taking these chimneys down in memory of the effort and ingenuity in getting them up in the first place.
In another video Fred explains that the brick stacks were built from the inside and in early days scant thought was paid to future maintenance.
He states that it's a lot more difficult and dangerous to repair the brickwork from the outside.
The fact that he can balance and position the heavy timber planks from such a precarious position, in such a high wind is a mind boggling testament to his skill, strength and confidence.
You can get used to the height a brick at a time.
The brickies can only do it due to the Scaffs!....
They had it easy, everyone knows they built it from the top down
Fair play to the person with the camera who managed to get an 80s TV camera up there and take those shots in a heavy wind...
16mm film camera.
and before shouting 'action' he told Fred we're doing this in one take - ok
Nah he carried them up using drones
@@breadtoasted2269Flying on the wings of Angels, just for Fred.😉
The cameraman was apparently shitting himself while up there. 😂
There will never be another like Mr Dibnah. 🫡
So true. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.
What a man
When I was a lad working on construction sites most of the men were like Fred loved the work they carried out, they were hard working people with a great positive attitude
There was many just like dibnah back then and still some around today but they are few and far between now. I am not like dibnah but wish I was
Being Australian I hadn’t heard of this bloke until a year ago. What a champion, I can see why he’s a well loved fella.
His documentaries were brilliant back in the day, I would’ve been 10 when this came out in 1982. I met him at a steam rally in Devon in the 90s. He was stone deaf by then but he signed a photo - his handwriting was extraordinary. A font all of its own all curled letters and italics. A man who was the product of a lost age.
His handwriting was certainly beautiful. Met him in similar circumstances
That was known as ‘Copperplate’ writing, my old dad wrote the same way. A largely lost art now.
He wasn't stone deaf I met him in 2003 and he was fine
@@RonD84 ah ok I was just going on what his wife/partner told us all when we were queuing to meet him.
@@OlafProt probably just pretends to be death at home mate , Different scenario when he's out at work or in the boozer 😂
It makes me sad seeing this knowing all the old’uns have passed. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s you’d see people like Fred on a daily basis. They didn’t have much but they were content and took pride in their jobs, houses, gardens, cars etc. Simple but innocent times. I would go back in a heartbeat.
Salt of the earth, best of British people.
It makes me sad seeing this knowing all the old’uns have passed.
The wheel turns ....
He should have been a millionaire for that sort of work
I totally agree, I’d much rather have the lower wages of those days along with the much lower prices and cost of living. Money seemed to go much further back then
@@johnmcdonnell5175people literally rationed phonecalls, only the better off actually had one still, heating was only the main room and some folks had pay per view timers on their tv.
I'll stay where i am thanks, ive lived through ice inside the widows and only three people in the street owning a car.
He was hard working and brave. I can't get my head round how he did that scaffold - even though he showed us. It is an exceptional feat. He was an incredible man.
Ye me too 😂😂
there is a very thin line between bravery and stupidity
Primitive does not mean stupid.
@@mattwilliams3504 but is mean more deaths at Work, Lot of countries outsite of Europe stil have this conditions and there are lots of accidents.
I'm an advanced scaffolder, and love my job, but Jesus fred is a true legend not just balls, brains and knowledge, a true one off
U tosser
I spoke to him in a book shop in bolton in early 80.s.
I asked him fred why a steeple jack he said i like the view from top
He said every chimney is different they have their own character.
I said to him your saving history with yiur shows
I.said you were born in the wrong century
We shook hands
Great man
Hey im from bolton . I live 5 minutes from freds house . Just wondering where abouts in bolton was the book shop ? @@indiana146
@@indiana146 but he destroyed History, all the chimneys taken down but the place is used for new buildings thats good.
Fred is a testimony to the many many men that did jobs like this that made the world we live in. It’s wonderful to have such records.
At least as a proof of the self exploitation that Lady Thatcher used to name freedom. Which, retrospectively regarded, led to Brexit and the current situation in the UK.
What are you talking about? Those men were monsters who when they weren't busy destroying their bodies to provide for infrastructure and money for their wives and children, were simultaneously oppressing and abusing women!
And they did it while also oppressing women. Quite remarkable 😂
@@Coneman3fckin hell dude.. be a bit less obvious with the bait would ya, ahaha
@@MokuTomI was being sarcastic
Whoever at the BBC thought , lets make a series out of this man, was the real genuis.
Before the BBC was totally hijacked by left wing liberal elites.
Agreed!
Unfortunately the BBC is only interested in soy boys these days.
Something they would never do today. Too busy chasing the ratings, scraping the bottom of the barrel with reality, so called talent shows, endless cookery programmes and woke dramas.
He just seemed to have a knack of communicating and seem to be relatable.
As a 64 year old retired Plumber , I climbed many 60 ft 3 Part Ladders in my time , and went down 60ft Roofs at the end of a Rope to clean out the Gutters , but this is a different League altogether . RIP Fred , you were a Legend ✌.
Same 'League' different job outcome!. Hats off to you both!. I couldn't have done either job, would have had to have one hand holding me on! 🤣 Nuff said
Not really you die falling 60' the same way you would falling 200'. Hell the worst injury I have seen in person due to a fall was when 2 people fell through a rotary breaker's screens and land on the inside of it. Both guys were horrifically injured cause 20' onto ribbed steel. Took them a long time to recover and they were lucky that their first point of contact was their knee's and hips.
For some reason we mentally think ahh 10' up I don't need to tie off, but the truth is 10' is where you feel safe but you're really not, the fall might not kill you but it might hurt you so bad that you wish it did.
Much respect for you, Alan... you still did a skilled job - that should be applauded. We seem to be losing it in the UK, unfortunately.
@@robleary3353 there are so many more Dangerous jobs who dont look spectacular, working with acid or flambable gases and fluids or with heavy Machines, in a accident they are lots of deaths
@@borntoclimb7116 Yes, but they all come with all the associated 'Health and safety Wombles!'. He relied on his wits and skills.... A by gone era!.
Fred - an engineering genius with huge strength, stamina and balls of steel. A brilliant product of a bygone age.
Thankfully we now have Government controlled Health and Safety with laws to prevent idiots from doing things like this. If there's one thing Covid showed us it's that rules can never be too extreme when it comes to Health and Safety.
@@Wooarghjog on you wet fart
@@Wooarghfound the kool-aid drinker
@@WooarghBollocks 🤡🤡🤡
@@joeswarson4580 I agree... he (it) seems the anti-British type, a woke who hates British history. I have left him (it) a nice comment below, haha.
My Dad was a Steeplejack. He would often ask me if I wanted to go to work with him, during the school holidays, but I always declined. One of my Dad's main jobs was painting the chimneys at power stations.
The term legend is used far too loosely these days....but Fred was an absolute legend of a Boltonian national treasure! R.I.P. great man!
It's a real tragedy that his legacy has pretty much been wiped from existence. His steam engines and museum, all sold off. Gone. These videos the only things that show what an amazing guy he was. It's quite sad.
How and why were they sold off, by who?
I'm currently 300 metres away from his house that still got alot of stuff from his days.
@@antonylonsdale5156 , tsk say yards and make Fred proud, men of his generation were raised on God's measurements, not the bastardised continental system which the EU forced us to adopt.
@@SagaciousFrank
Well said!
Shame that - they should open a museum of his life and and show the stuff that he did and created and show the old stuff........
Whenever im having a real tough day mentally struggling with the stress and worry of everyday life i always put on a Fred video and pretty much instantly a weight gets lifted. Ive been watching Freds videos for years what a wonderful man. R.I.P Mr Dibnah.
I do the same he is great RIP Fred
I've done the same and the only trade off is my sweaty palms and slightly increased heart rate 😀
Me too pal😊
Funny that, because when Fred had a real tough day, he used to go home and beat his wife up.
Nice post I am the same. Another man who totally calms me down is the late great Bob Ross.
Dear BBC Archive, please release all the Fred Dibnah videos you have!
you need to hire a lawyer and file a suit against bbc under the freedom of information act😂😂
@@fidelcatsro6948paid the BBC licence for decades and yet they withhold all the classic footage that we’ve paid to create in the first place!
A DVD was released a few years back got a few of his programmes on it
Proper fearless bloke who also has the knowledge of a genius....... one of the greatest Englishmen that ever lived
A lot of people say he's fearless, i don't think so. If he was fearless he'd probably be reckless, but when you watch him, everything is lashed together properly, attached to the chimney as well. I think rather than fearless he was well averse to the situation he was in and also fully aware of his own skills and limitations. Oh and brave. I watched that video sat on the floor to feel extra safe.
Professionally he was superb no doubt. On a personal level, he was a troubled guy, and it being a different time isn't enough to explain it away. Complicated as most people are.
@@chimpana A lot of super smart people have troubled personal lives, it sort of goes with the territory it seems. He was highly intelligent and I can quite imagine he had some kind of undiagnosed psychiatric condition, because many, many people did back then.
I can not believe that one man and some ropes can actually build a scaffolding platform to work from at that height!!!
It’s truly remarkable what a human being is capable of
What a guy....watched this in 82 and 2023....RIP
“You can work quite comfortably as though you’re on the ground” 😂😂😂😂
Watching these documentaries and hearing how confidently and nonchalantly he talks about dicing with death as if it's just like working in the comfort of an office always makes me laugh.
I can't comfortably watch it
You can though think about how Iron workers erect skyscrapers. When you were a kid you'd balance on the edge of a curb and walk all the way down the road without thought or fear of it. Well the width of the curb is the same width as a 6" H (or I) beam. Once you are comfortable and the experience becomes normal you have no issue with doing it.
Just to be helpful, the word is "kerb".@@BType13X2
Anyone can with a good scaffold.
Respect. Fred was worth a whole House of Commons of mp.s plus all the lords.
he's the type of bloke that no matter what trade he would have learned he would have been brilliant at it,
He's very positive aswell.
That makes my toes curl just watching. Fred dropped the chimney at the factory where I worked when I left school and one day I jokingly asked Fred if I could climb up the ladders to the top of the chimney. Expecting him to say bugger off you young sod, he just said help yourself. Needless to say I didn’t climb. He was a star chap, so brave and very likeable.
Been watching documentaries about Fred for years. Never fails to amaze me how he had the nerve (or lack of it) to do such things.
b vitamins from nutritional yeast and marlboro cigarettes😁
I"m surprised the chimney could support the enormous weight of his balls.
Cheese butties and Guinness powered this legend!
When men were men. The good old days..
@@alibobsmarland9572 agreed! todays men are more like cats..
One of the most impressive things in this video is Fred's ability to draw a perfectly straight line free hand. Many artists can't do that.
He started out as a draughtsmen if I remember rightly and then done joinery. Some of his drawings are superb
The physical strength and stamina needed to assemble that construction and climb that vertical ladder would have been off the scale
Yes, ,moving the boards across the span of the chimney took some strength.
Amazing feat given the large pair of steel watermelons he was also carrying 😂
Fred must have had a strength that belied his build. Try hammering in hundreds of " dogs " with a lump hammer at head height and your hands and shoulders would probably give in - that's after swinging around on ladders all day taking most of his weight with just one hand at a time. I would have been honoured to shake one of those hands that Fred trusted his life with
Thank goodness we have robots and jet-packs to do this work now...
This chimney is still in use. It's at Raikes Lane in Bolton, part of the waste incineration plant there.
Fred wasn't a young man when this was filmed. He'd climb to the top without a safety harness & sit on the edge of the chimney admiring the view. He'd then drink his bottle of beer with a cheese sandwich. Some man!
There is no way on God's green earth you would get me doing that. Guy has huge balls
Too right, I’ll be operating the pulley on the ground!
I'd be making tea lol
@@gmo4250same, even then I'd get light-headed just looking up at him. 😅
My thoughts exactly. Now, with a harness and pelican hooks etc etc, yes ...
@@gmo4250Gin wheel :-)
The irony of Fred saying that extra corner planking would make it safer, even when there’s a triangular gap is part of his extremely wry, gritty humour. Like the skyscraper builders, with Mr Dinah there’s a sensory component the majority of viewers don’t have and the remainder of their senses scream whoa! It takes a lot of effort to scale such a height and then he starts to free climb between fully exposed, open levels. Courage and mettle forged by a bygone age, FD showed how humble he was and the sophistication of that rigging demonstrated his grasp of the complex in both senses.
This guy is made of different material, I’m a scaffolder myself and I thought I’ve been in some dodgy situations but then I look at a guy like Fred and in comparison I feel like a child 🤣😂
What a bloke 💪😎
Fred was one of Britains finest men, A man who could talk all day and never bore you, Brave and as strong as they come, If your ever lost for something to watch just sit and watch all the episodes of his show on here, From his marriage breakup and how he recovered to carry on steeplejacking
He's brave and so is the cameraman
I felt OK watching until he put the corner board on and casually just walked on it. What a man.
Ha ha yes, I thought he meant 4 boards at each corner but it was 4 in total. The gaps were still pretty big. A bygone era of men.
A bosun's chair 200 foot up, frightening. Total admiration.
Just casually smoking a cig with no harness wrapping rope around a board, meanwhile I'm sat on the sofa having my heart re-started from the fright
My sentiments exactly !!
Lest us forget the Bricklayers that built it. RIP Fred.
Society doesn’t appreciate a man like this.
Maybe you just need to find a better class of people.
He was commissioned to present several TV programmes, got an MBE, an honorary degree from Robert Gordon University, an honorary PhD from The University of Birmingham, a statue in Bolton, a blue plaque outside his house, tourists go and stand outside his house and thousands all show their appreciation and admiration for him. So I think your wrong.
You only need to look at any comment on this video to show that is incorrect.
That's projection. You're saying it because society doesn't appreciate a man like you, and you'd rather blame society than do something worth appreciating.
A truly remarkable man. Every time l look at these recordings l simply marvel at Fred's skill, attitude, obvious dedication to his craft and his sheer stamina. I don't think one can really appreciate just how unique he was. The recordings at least endorse what might easily sound like a fairy tale.
"Half a day out with the undertaker" has to be the greatest quote in history.
‘Wind is a steeplejacks worst enemy’…Fred spent 0 time worrying about his other worst enemy, that of gravity 😮
What an incredible man he was...fearless with a heart of a lion...RIP fred.
He would walk around at the top on that two plank wide platform all day without a guardrail in high winds.
Fred was a superstar, but was still down to earth.
He was world class at what he did.
He is very much missed, will never be another person like him.
He was way ahead of his time & a true genius in his trade.
Love to his family ❤️😻❤️
Still amazes me that Fred didn't even have a safety harness on to stop himself falling backwards off the ladder. I had a man come and mend a telephone line a few years ago and he had to fix a 15 foot ladder to my house with anchor points and put a special harness on to fix himself to the ladder.
No edge protection whatsoever and a relatively tiny platform to walk on. Astonishing really. One of a kind as they say.
Watching him climb sends shudders down my spine...
If one man has big balls it’s Fred !!
imagine the cameraman up there struggling to take all these quality video footage with bulky old videocam powered by heavy batteries long before camera drones were invented...
Well said
The rope is there for the camera man too. For him and All his gear.
It looks to have been shot on film, probably 16mm, but still no less of an accomplishment!
The cameraman was on a huge crane!
@@mwspireite5713 Don't think he was, You might be in cage but wind will sway it. Like he said wind is the enemy. Cameraman probably used security lines to be and feel safe.
Deep respect for any man doing any job that makes our world.
One of the most amazing men I have ever seen,builder,engineer,artist and a raconteur.Definitely one of a kind.
The risks those guys took just to get scaffold up to fix a couple of bricks were crazy. So much work for such a small job. I know a modern scaffolder who fell and shattered his shoulder, and that's with modern health and safety rules, so those guys back then took a lot of risks for not much pay.
Nowadays they'd likely harness up and use a large JLG to do small repairs or to at least get themselves that much further up the chimney before they need ladders and subsequent platforms further up.
Whoever the cameraman was up there with Fred, you've got some balls.
I have watched all these and I never thought about who was holding the camera.
I thought the same thing- no drones in those days
I believe they used a crane for the cameraman, I read it on another video.
@rl6783 it was a cameraman up there.... somewhere on TH-cam there's an old interview with him- if you can find it, it's well worth a watch!!! The stories he tells!!!
Never forget the cameraman also had balls of steel.
I loved watching him . What ever he was paid for repairing chimneys it wasn’t enough
Fred was a big part of growing up, as my father enjoyed his eccentricity and, shall we say, balls. I always come back to watching him with utter amazement. Fred's own style of 'health and safety' is indeed anachronistic, but no less safe than today's, he simply knew what he was doing.
Fred would never agree with my sentimental rhetoric, but he was a bloody hero.
Fred was an engineering genius.
I wish there was more we watch about Fred Dibnah and good old england
Amaze at Fred ever since I saw him as a UK kid. To think he regularly had 4-5 pints of beer at lunchtime before he went up there too. And he never fell off!
An amazingly talented individual and a national treasure.
Hardly. A demolition man. Basic stuff.
@@heraldeventsandfilms5970 Don't be ridiculous. Do your research on this man before making petty comments.
@@Treguard1987there’s always one in the comments isn’t there ,,🤦♂️
He seems to be idolised by simpletons. A demolition man and no great contributor to anything other than light entertainment.@@Treguard1987
@@heraldeventsandfilms5970He was a skilled engineer too jackass
The palms of my hands are sweating as I watch this video, Fred was absolutely fearless, he must have had tremendous self belief and confidence. He was a truly extraordinary man.
Mine too!
At least he doesn't have a fear of heights, that`s for sure.
We used to love watching Fred on the telly. He climbed up that ladder like he was going for a walk in the park. Very brave man. LEGEND.👍👍👍
Thumbs up to the lads who built the chimney! Fred a legend.
Every time I watch Fred’s videos I lose weight through severe sweating
It remember watching this with my dad many years ago. The guy had nerves beyond anything but give to credit to the camera operator with him.
Never mind the courage, but the physical prowess and finesse is to be commended all its own. How the hell did he ever do all this? I'm watching it but still can't comprehend where he gets the leverage and follow through to do all this. Unbelievable.
I have lost count of how many times I've watched this wonderful series.
When I have a concern , I can not sleep or have a problem to solve, Dibnah is a great solace.
There will never be another Fred Dibnah that’s for sure !… what a legend
Incredible this guy got balls of steel.
Can't believe Fred has been gone 20 years next year really enjoyed everything he done a working class hard working man
Watching this makes me anxious, i cant imagine doing it.
Me too 😂
My gosh, I really miss Fred!
Fred is the most incredible man I’ve ever seen! How in hell is he doing all that alone and so high up! RIP Fred D.
Its the way he casually tells us about how to do the scaffold ommitting the detail of how he casually strolls up the verticle ladder, this man was made of different stuff
How did he never fall off!? Imagine doing this now, PPE, temporary works calculations, working at height regs, edge protection, harnesses.....this is a totally different era, albeit, not that long ago really. RIP.
Untethered in parts.. I can't even get on the garage roof without shouting "Mum!!!" and I'm 49!
A fatality occured in Bolton 2007 when scafolding gave way when being dismantled. Firm got done for not using strong enough anchor fittings and failing to test those fittings. The man who fell was not wearing his safety harness. A second worker survived by clinging to a ladder.
To hear Fred say he preferred the old way of working was testiment to his skills and the fact he never wore a safety harness always churns my stomach when I watch these clips, even though I know he never fell.
no matter how many times I've seen this, I still watch open mouthed in awe and with respect..
"A beautiful sense of security" says Fred, with death being only a small margin of error away unsecured at that height. What a guy, funny without even meaning to be.
Its all about the mind, you can climb ladders without gear pretty safe If you dont play stupid games and keep the respect of that Job.
What amazes me is that it's superbly made of brick
I think I'd have nightmares if I had that job.
An Englishman, a proud and hardy breed…it’s why Hitler feared us.
We may need that again,soon.
What amazes me is how he manages to climb all the way to the top AND do a day's work whilst carrying around an enormous pair of balls.
Everyone talking about Fred's bravery and balls of steel, which is well deserved! But I want to point out and appreciate that brave cameraman up with Fred at 10:00 who was in all fairness likely far less comfortable than Fred but still up there anyway getting those shots for us to enjoy!
The cameraman never dies !!!
Remember, he put the ladder up on his own as well 😂 I’ve seen him do that before. Thats probably even more dangerous
I've watched this many times and it still amazes and scares me in equal measure
That was a most peculiar man, an awesome man
When smoking was the least of your problems 😂
Fred had nerves of steel to do that with only rope and ladders
Fred's a beast and utterly fearless thats just a given, but can we take a minute to appreciate the balls on the cameraman that hauled a big assed 80's film camera up there and took the footage of fred lobbing those boards around at the end...
I am getting vertigo just watching this.
This man was truly a rarity in terms of bravery
The bravest genius I've ever seen.
I'm watching this on the sofa and my legs are going funny. How the hell did he do it??
Fred must have had so much confidnce in what he was doing. I would continually worry that those bolts would not hold for all manner of reasons. A very courageous man.
He most have had tremendous self confidence in himself and his methods
He was smart as hell guy he built his own design steam engine for fun from the ground up.
"I give my seatboard a little bounce..." 😬😬😬
What immense courageous balls this man had. Imagine getting up every morning knowing full well soon you'll be working 200ft in the air. This man is an absolute legend. Always enjoyed watching documentaries about this man. A very fascinating interesting character
It was the size of his balls that made the chimney sway back n forth. Fred is an absolute legend.
Anybody else's stomach churning watching him 10:08
I would struggle doing this work on the floor, let alone up there.