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Control cable snapped on a 50 ton Link-Belt last Tuesday. Halfway through a pick too.
Lucky the load was only 4 tons and sitting on cribbing. Cable let go with a bang. Sounded like a gunshot. Everyone stopped and stared. Had to hand crank the hoist drum to get the hook down. Took me and the oiler 20 minutes. Shop foreman blamed the cable age. Said it was due for swap next month anyway. Anyone else had a cable fail on them mid lift?
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claire8721mo ago
Shop foreman blamed the cable age" yeah but who actually checked the sheave grooves lately? Had a 60 ton grove snap a cable on us back in 2019. Turned out the sheave had a flat spot worn into it from years of running with a misaligned fleet angle. That flat spot was pinching the cable every time it went through, eventually weakened it enough to snap. Load was only 3 tons too. Took us forever to find it cause nobody ever thinks to look at the sheaves.
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the_paul1mo ago
Sheave grooves are one of those things nobody checks until it's too late, right? I've seen more than one rig where the grooves had worn into a V shape instead of staying rounded, and that alone can chew through a cable in no time flat.
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