Wooden Step Ladder Wide Feet / Shoes

Wooden Step Ladder Wide Feet/Shoes

These are custom wide feet or shoes for wooden step ladders. They are intended to protect the wood while stabilizing the ladder on soft wet ground. They have a drain hole in each foot in case water gets into the foot. I found that there can be slight variations in the sizes of the ladder feet. This may be due to inconsistent cuts, wood drying, or wood expanding from being wet. Because of the size variations, the feet/shoes are designed to have a pressure fit within a 2-3mm size difference of each foot. Each foot has a 1.5mm pressure strip on each side that will put light pressure on a looser fitting ladder leg or it will flex the foot/shoe outward a little for tighter fitting legs. My 2 ladders had dimensions ranging between (41.5mm - 43.5mm) x (19mm - 20.5mm) on the smaller legs and  (67.5.5mm - 69mm) x (19mm - 20.5mm) on the larger legs. They were wet and may have expanded. The feet are designed for a maximum of 44mm x 21mm for the small leg and 69.5mm x 21mm for the larger legs not including the pressure strips. As mentioned, the pressure strips should create a pressure fit up to 3mm less than maximum size on each leg. Anything smaller would probably slide off. Consider scaling the model if your ladder legs fall outside of these dimensions.

The reason I designed these feet was because I have been using 2 wooden step ladders inside my barn. It has a dirt/clay floor that can become significantly saturated during the spring thaw or after heavy rainfall. I realize that wooden ladders aren't the best choice for a barn, but I didn't want to buy new ladders when I already had these. After a couple years of use in the barn, I've run into occasions where the legs can sink right into the ground. I usually have to put blocks under the legs to keep them from sinking. I've also noticed the legs have been swelling and starting to rot from being in contact with the ground. I decided that a good solution would be some custom wide feet to keep the wood dry and keep the legs from sinking. I decided on a 5 wall thickness and PETG for a little extra flexibility. I have only just started using them, so I can't speak to durability yet. 

Here is the damage to the wood by not protecting the wood on my ladder: