Wire rope stuff

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  • #4
They call them different things, gatorflex is another brand, etc. They are basically cable laid slings made from small diameter wire, so they are super flexible. In wire there's a tradeoff of abrasion resistance and flexibility, so compared to a normal sling they will wear faster, but they won't kink up nearly as bad.
 
Alex and I will probably be working later this summer on some experimental logging with a mini-excavator. I'll either use chain to choke/snake logs off a dam (between the pond and a canal) or get a laid cable sling like you showed. They are some pretty old and some big pines at our farm. Access is poor for a logging outfit. We are discussing dropping them ourselves and harvesting them before they eventually just fall into the pond or canal and go to waste. I'll start a thread about such...it has several elements that I could use y'all's input about.
 
I have quite a number of what they called "soft chockers " .If they would get the slightest defect they got tossed and I just dumpster dived for them .Fact I don't think of the all the chockers and nylon slings if I ever bought one .
 
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  • #8
I think Al's point was if you work construction you will likely end up with a pile of chokers and other rigging, Lord knows i have :lol: Splicing them isn't that hard either.
 
They call them different things, gatorflex is another brand, etc. They are basically cable laid slings made from small diameter wire, so they are super flexible. In wire there's a tradeoff of abrasion resistance and flexibility, so compared to a normal sling they will wear faster, but they won't kink up nearly as bad.
Just saw this. Interesting vid, thx.

Yes I mentioned flexible slings to my crane guy, he said what you said above, plus they are probably more $.

Going with cloth slings for the next while.
 
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  • #10
They are definitely going to be more money, but since kinking is killing your slings before they are used up, it might not be that bad, especially if you oil them on occasion. Have you tried the ones with the sliding choker hitch? The logging bell and nubbin ones aren't rated for overhead lifting, but the hook ones are and aren't that much more. I saw the other day they do make a sliding choker hook for chain too, so if you really wanted to go chain they have stuff for that application, rather than side loading a normal hook and mouse or God forbid a self closing one.
 
I haven't tried those.

What's this about oiling? Does it make a significant difference?
 
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  • #12
For longevity absolutely, for kinking probably some but not as much as the bending radius. Honestly it's not often done in construction (we're talking slings here, not winch line which is almost constantly oiled), they just get new slings a bunch more than they need to. Wire rope is a moving machine, when loading and bending all the wires are rubbing on themselves all the time. Oil is needed to lubricate it, which is why you still see natural fiber core rope, since it holds more oil. Slings are usually made from natural fiber core rope, and will hold oil well.

I'll get a pic of the ones I'm talking about, they hold up pretty well.


Wire core one, you can get them locally too and with a fiber core so they're more flexible. They come in several varieties, but the sliding hook thing is the big difference, since it gives a better bending radius than a shackle. I have several of this type, and preferred to use a pair when moving pipe bundles in a fab shop setting, since you never have to unhook them from the crane (speeds everything up since you are moving stuff as fast as possible). In a pipe shop they were abused to the nth degree, often pulled out from under the load against other pipes when loading stantions, choking small diameter pipes, pulling bundles together which makes it slide the on the sling under load, etc. Over time and likely from choking smaller stuff they would develop a slight memory and be permanently hooked, but never bad enough to bother me, and we used them all day everyday, often where one guy simply ran the crane all day long flying bundles and completed spools around to the different work stations and loading semi flat beds from the staging areas. The ditch crews used them a ton too, in fact they turned us on to them, and they abused them even worse than we ever could lol. If you had some built in 36 strand rather than the standard 6x19 they would work even better, and i would think they would be amazing in a cable laid type like the first video.

Also what diameter wire rope slings are you using? If you are using a much larger diameter than is needed they will actually kink more than one sized for the load, because the bigger the diameter the bigger the required radius.
 
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Natural fiber core rope inside a steel sling?
 
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  • #15
Yup, fiber core rope, more flexible than wire core but slightly less strength and less crushing resistance (important on winch line). And no, my son apparently snuck in bed then decided to start wiggling, the cat is trying to snuggle my head, i forgot to put my work clothes in the dryer, and now I'm up for a bit typing on here :lol: ever since this whole cancer bullshit sleep isn't my strong suit anymore.

Edit: the other one just came to needing to be tucked in again :lol:
 
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I can splice eyes in wire .It's not that difficult .Fact you can serve the ends with tie wire if you don't have the sleeves or just use a Crosby clamp .
 
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  • #17
Making some grommets, first try ever. 3 done so far, while watching the kids run around and try to get in everything so I'm not fully focused :lol: took a min to figure out how to roll the strands to the center to form the core, and sometimes the 6th wrap has to be run in, but other than that better than i expected. Not perfect yet but they will do just fine. I still need to go back and serve where the strands meet in the core, so they aren't finished yet, and most will also get a thimble seized in too for wear. I'll be using them for my trailer gin pole thing, these will be how the guylines and blocks will be hung.


Ready to start tucking the core

20210530_131830.jpg


The crossover


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Pushing the strand to form the core

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Rolling in the core strands.
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Viola, 1st attempt, the others are more fair

20210530_134016.jpg

The materials, this one has a fiber core made from natural fiber rope. You roll out one strand from the rope (these I'm making are about 10 inch diameter, so around 22 foot long to start), and the whole grommet is made from the 1 strand

20210530_134352.jpg
 
Looks good!

When I was at the consignment shop, I saw a couple spud wrenches for sale. Almost got one for splicing, but decided to hold off til I was really serious about giving it a go.
 
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  • #21
Lol good catch Sean, autocorrect on a phone plus beer equals that.

They are very similar to the grommets on a tarp or sail, in fact they were spliced the same but with 3 strand rope. And basically they are a ring for attachment, I'll have a shackle to attach lines to or the block. On traditionally rigged sailing vessels, grommets are used everywhere, and even in modern industrial rigging are a common sling construction, basically an endless sling but with wire rope and are made exactly the same, and they call them grommet slings. They have similar long splice slings, but they are rated for less.

Spud wrenches, or pin wrenches as they call them here, are about the handiest configuration of a Cresent wrench you can get. Get some, you will use them. I use mainly the little scratch awl as suggested by Brian Toss, and have switched to a screwdriver for my second tool this afternoon and it's working well.

Lol thx Gary, but it's not voodoo at all. Honestly after doing a few double braid is more complicated.
 
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  • #23
Just figured out the crossover pictured above is backwards, if you flip the 2 strands they lie in better because they don't cross. Since I've had to do them multiple times on each one because i keep messing up i think i fixed it in real life lol

Edit: ignore that, it's supposed to be tucked through. Oh well, the ones I've done so far will be saved for less stressed connections, and i learned. I honestly doubt that makes that big of difference, and that's the beautiful thing about this kinda crap, nothing worthwhile comes easy and quick
 
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  • #25
Do you have a trick for doing thimbles without a splicing vise? That'll be the next step, was even considering making one or something.
 
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