An old timer in Tacoma showed me his trick for spotting a bad sheave groove

We were on a dock job three years back, and he pointed at the main hoist line. He told me to watch for a 'flat spot' in the wire rope's twist, not just wear on the outside. He said, 'If the rope looks like it's been ironed flat for an inch, that sheave is eating your cable from the inside.' I check for that flat spot during every pre-op now. Has anyone else found a simple visual check that caught a bigger problem?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole54917d ago

My foreman in Galveston taught me to listen for a hum from the bearing block. Heard that high whine last month and found a seized roller about to blow.

reesej2716d ago

Man, that's so true. I mean it's wild how much you can figure out just by paying attention to the little stuff. Like my old car would make this specific clicking noise when the turn signal was about to go out, or how the fridge sounds different right before the ice maker acts up. It's all about learning the normal hum so you hear when it goes wrong. Saves you from a huge headache later.

nguyen.blake17d ago

My buddy's crane almost dropped a load from a cracked weld he spotted because the paint looked wrong.