Once, when we had lots of pallets at work that needed banding and strapping,
I invented a wonderful labour-saving device that enabled the bander/strapper to pass the end of the band underneath the pallet in a very confined space. It was a long bit of wood with notches sawed into the end - you threaded the end of the band into one of the notches, played out the band from its reel and hey presto, no more back-breaking acrobatics like trying to bend down in a tiny gap and retrieve the end of the band when it invariably ends up poking out of the sides instead of the other end.

Since most of you have probably spent your entire working life in offices and have never even gone near a warehouse, never mind worked in one, I've provided a nice explanatory diagram.

Step 1.                  Step 2.                          Step 3.                  Step 4.
  Unravel band.            Thread band into notch.          Push bit of wood         Retrieve wood, with attached band,
                                                            under pallet.            and carry on banding the pallet.
                            wood + notches---   __                                    ___
                                             | /  \                                  /   \ <- head literally expanding with joy
   +---------+ <- wrapped	+---------+  | \__/           +---------+            \___/      +---------+
   |         |    pallet        |         |  |  /\            |         |              |        |         |
   |         |                  |         |  v /  \           |         |             /|\       |         |
   |         |     reel         |         |   /    \          |         |            / | \      |         |
   |         |       |          |         |  #      \         |         |           /  |  \#-   |         |
   |         | band  v          |         |  #      /\        |         |             / \  # \  |         |
   +---------+   |   _          +---------+  #    _/  \       +---------+       _    /   \ #  \ +---------+      _
   | | | | | |   v  / \         | | | | | |  #   / \   \      | |#|#|#|#|#-    / \  /     \#   -|-|-|-|-|-|-    / \
   +---------+   ___\_/         +---------+  #___\_/    \     +----------  \___\_/ /       #    +---------+ \___\_/
                               

( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:35, 10 replies)

it's good
but it's not a techno-hack
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:43, closed)

Eh, it's a hack.
Sort of.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 17:01, closed)

well if rob can get away with the ones he mentioned
then we'll have to give you this
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 17:11, closed)

Are you suggesting....
...that, apart from yourself, people who have worked in warehouses are too stupid to be on b3ta?

Have a click anyway, I wish I'd have thought of that back in my picking and packing days.
( The Pollitt chooses to listen to Enya on, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:43, closed)

Not at all.
Just that from my experience on these boards, the vast majority of users seem to be white-collar workers.
( The Mock TurtIe ™ --- Thinks you are a cunt, on, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 17:02, closed)

BTDT
Or the alternative is it take a long piece of wood and tape a banding clip to the end, With a little practive you can flick the wood through and under the pallet like a big dart.
(Gru being trolled since 1998, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 16:45, closed)

this is commonly done in warehouses
the stick with a notch in the end is known as a 'mouse' for some unfathomable reason

nice drawing though!
(Lionel Tiger, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 18:29, closed)

I'm borrowing this
if I ever get another job in a warehouse.
(stapleface, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 19:10, closed)

My good God!
I never had you down as a manual labourer.
( girlinthehole, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 19:53, closed)

this is good
Better than my technique of dropping a roll of shrink-wrap onto a broom to create a giant dispenser, that lets you dash around and wrap unitainers in seconds; without taking a layer of skin off your hands from the rotating cardboard tube (Gloves? Taking your time? Don't be silly, they cost money).
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Thu 20 Aug 2009, 21:50, closed)