Wire Rope: Never Saddle a Dead Horse
If you’re into building large projects, you’ll eventually find yourself looking at wire rope. Multistrand steel wire used as antenna guy wires, bridge supports, and plenty of other uses. The [HowNot2] team tested an old rule of thumb for wire rope. “Never saddle a dead horse”.
Click through the break for more:
The old saying refers to the clips used on wire rope. These clips have a saddle, and u shaped bolt. As the diagram shows, the saddle side of hte bolt should always go on the live (loaded) end of the cable, not the dead (cut) end. This is because the saddle has teeth to grip the cable, and protects it from crimping and damage over time.
[HowNot2] tests a number of different wire rope clamps – including improper installation. The best clamps are hydraulically crimped connectors. These require some expensive tooling — which is worth if when your life depends on the connection.
When testing got to the u-clips, saddling the live side went fine. When saddling the “dead horse”, the pull test failed sooner, after emitting some sounds that would but fear in the heart of anyone who’s been around heavy equipment or cranes. The adage turns out to be true – never saddle a dead horse.
If you really want to know more about wire rope rigging, the US Navy has you covered.
youtube.com/embed/4VM7wYb45eE?…