New Choking Crane Sling Stays on Hook

Yes Mick, exactly.

Show me a crane anywhere that doesn't have any clevises on board?

Weight and sleekness are your friends spooling down through lotsa branches n stuff IME.

Straight n narrow yu know?

Jomo
 
I still like that there is nothing to drop or lose and the whole thing is soft. Lack of trust in its reliability might be perpetuated by lack of field experience with this particular sling. Many things look daft until you try them.
 
ahhh, disingenous. i totally read dangerous.
all it is is a sling with a clevis, its just a soft clevis. i do see the weight of a clevis being handy. to me this looks faster than working with clevises.
 
Those were good links, kevin.



I'd like to see what one looks like under load.
 
Take a 3-4 ton pick with it before determining how much faster than a standard clevis n choker it is Kev.

Your own links state one of the cons is getting them undone after lifting a serious load.

Jomo
 
Nah I think you are right now. I was thinking about it and deleted my sentence about it not being like a clevis.

Ftr, I prefer and use steel chokers and a clevis. One thing about steel, there will never be any issues with abrasion and I would think that could be an issue with slings like these. Ive used nylon slings a few times and they seemed crazy strong of course but also easily dinged/cut up.
 
You n me both Cory.

I do like synthetics, but only as an insulator for the crane anywhere near power lines.

Jomo
 
ill say if its good enough for scotty olson, its good enough for me. He is the crane operator for heartwood in charlotte. they do some serious work. his opinion matters to me more than most. ive never tried them so my opinion is as worthless as yours. lol
 
Are there lots of big trees in Charlotte? Never struck me as that sort of place.

Never heard of Scotty Olson either. Is he well known in those parts?

How long has he been testing it for, years or months. If it's the latter, and is now or soon to be available to purchase....sold for the purpose of lifting 5 ton logs over people and structures ect. For how long ? When should it be retired? How will it hold up to abrasion, the elements, hydraulic oil ? Who knows. More questions than answers. All for a sling that actually solves nothing. As a worker, climber, business owner, you couldn't give me one....there's too much to lose and not enough to gain. I'd feel irresponsible. In Nicks shoes, I just don't think it'll sell. Nor is the risk worth the reward. The crane ops here and that I've known in the past sure wouldn't accept it....at least, not as the primary choker. Maybe a balancer, but that's it. Maybe standards are different elsewhere.

Go ahead and keep saying how great it is, but Im gonna pass on it.
 
Im not saying how great it is. Im just saying it looks great to me. I haven't used one. Charlotte has bigger trees than Detroit, and I am guessing bigger canopies than the Pacific North west. Scotty runs a crane all day everyday. I only run a crane once every few months and one of my crane guys makes me use his shitty slings (with no clevises).

If done correctly those shackles are stronger than the rope itself is. It is far superior than a knot. There is, from what I understand centuries of use behind this configuration in situations with pretty serious consequences if there is failure. So I think there is a lot of historical knowledge on this technique that we have to work with. Both of us should be pretty good at inspecting and monitoring the health of rope. Yes maybe there might be abrasion issues, but people do chock slings without clevises all the time. But maybe like JOMO said they are hard for grounds to undo or they will get tangled up in the canopy. They also won't smack you in the teeth. Are you worried that the piece would fall out? That it wouldn't choke or the knot would pass throughout the eye? It seems equally likely that someone doesn't tighten the clevis screw properly as set the knot properly. Both require a bit of focus and awareness.
 
I don't know much else about the subjects of the thread, but this I do know Reg. Charlotte has big heavy trees.
 
"ill say if its good enough for scotty olson, its good enough for me."

See how far that'll get ya in front of a judge. How long has Scotty been working for ASTM?
 
i rarely do crane work. and i use my COs slings although this to me looks like it would be fun to play around with in my double whip tackle set up off my floating block. I have loved soft links for a long time. I am always excited when someone finds a good use for them. I think they would go well with the rigging rings as well. that is more my interest in this thread. If i never do another crane job in my life i would be perfectly fine with it.
 
"What is ATSM"

It's ASTM, American Society for Testing and Materials.

"Why would I be talking to a judge?"

That's who is going to decide who to give everything you own and your dreams and who you're going to work for the rest of your life if your insurance doesn't cover the settlement in a liability lawsuit. If none of this clicks with you maybe you're best suited for a job in a cubicle.
 
i rarely do crane work. and i use my COs slings although this to me looks like it would be fun to play around with in my double whip tackle set up off my floating block. I have loved soft links for a long time. I am always excited when someone finds a good use for them. I think they would go well with the rigging rings as well. that is more my interest in this thread. If i never do another crane job in my life i would be perfectly fine with it.
 
kevin bingham said:
Im not saying how great it is. Im just saying it looks great to me. I haven't used one. Charlotte has bigger trees than Detroit, and I am guessing bigger canopies than the Pacific North west. Scotty runs a crane all day everyday. I only run a crane once every few months and one of my crane guys makes me use his shitty slings (with no clevises).

If done correctly those shackles are stronger than the rope itself is. It is far superior than a knot. There is, from what I understand centuries of use behind this configuration in situations with pretty serious consequences if there is failure. So I think there is a lot of historical knowledge on this technique that we have to work with. Both of us should be pretty good at inspecting and monitoring the health of rope. Yes maybe there might be abrasion issues, but people do chock slings without clevises all the time. But maybe like JOMO said they are hard for grounds to undo or they will get tangled up in the canopy. They also won't smack you in the teeth. Are you worried that the piece would fall out? That it wouldn't choke or the knot would pass throughout the eye? It seems equally likely that someone doesn't tighten the clevis screw properly as set the knot properly. Both require a bit of focus and awareness.
Click to expand...

Above all else, Im going to try my best not to get into an argument :) Ive been doing crane work since I was 20. Im 44 now. Never had anything fail, never dropped a clevis or been struck by one. I might be a little rusty at the moment, but Id still bet my craning skills against anyone out there. Not to sound boastful, but I'm just confident about my abilities in that particular field.

So, I made some points earlier, but Id just like to give you a quick example. The job in the pics happened maybe 6-7 years ago. I took down that tree with 4 cuts, and good slinging....especially the first 2. We had to stop 4 lanes of traffic to the first 2 cuts....the second lift needed to be especially precise, because it partly hung down below the wires. Couldn't afford any rolling or twisting. Lot of activity on the ground as you can imagine, but as I recall the whole thing was pretty seamless, and we were away before lunch or there abouts. That Blue sling has a 6 T WLL, the clevis is similar or more from memory. So, as well as adding an unknown quantity into the equation, invalidating our insurance, contravening the safety standards for crane lifts....what, if anything would we have gained by the inclusion of that sling we discussing ? Nothing, is the answer.
Perhaps if we took the tree, or a tree down one branch at a time, we might make some gains. But as is, I see nothing remotely tempting me to use one.
DSC00113.JPG DSC00116.JPG DSC00149.JPG DSC00145.JPG DSC00198.JPG DSC00226 - Copy.JPG DSC00273.JPG
 
And, Kevin. Theres some huge canopies out here, with height too. Dont be fooled in thinking all we have is conifers.

DSC02591.JPG DSC_0572.JPG DSC_0633.JPG DSC03323.JPG DSC03909.JPG
 
big wood thats for sure. clevises are nice, they obviously work well. your opinion on these slings is still as worthess as mine. neither of us has held one, used one, other than look at the same video. I never really take much stock in reviews like that. thats just me. i havent heard a good reason other than not beig able to lower them through branches. there is a fear that they would fail. but is that a founded fear? i wish i could do four pick crane jobs. i dont have the ground support to handle big picks. nor the landing zone. I do see room for improvement in effeciency at least as far as my operation goes.
 
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