I thought you were just arguing with me.
(mistaken identity, I thought you were someone else for a second)
There are different types of sleeves.
That round one looks more like a stop than a sleeve though.
http://www.usrigging.com/sleeves.html
Yep, we all have chips on our shoulders - often best to think twice.
There is three types of
nicopress oval sleeve mostly used. First is home owner / home center grade aluminum - one should never use one in our industrybut very dangerous. Problems with stress cracks and stuff like that that are hard to detect in use. My photo on the Left shows one, possibly the second photo shown later also has them. Next is either copper or zinc coated copper oval sleeves which are proper to use. Zinc coated copper while cheaper is more difficult to use if untrained to tell the difference between it in shinyness and dull aluminum.
These in general are proper to use as long as either professionally produced - that liability paperwork thing of who you bought them from responsible if they fail, or if home made these as with all
Nicopress crimps need to be tested with the Go/No-Go
gauge provided with each
crimp tool. Test the first one and after like 20x of them every time you use the tool. If your
crimp does not pass this test,
send it back for re-calibration.
Manual says every year the
crimp tool is to be re-calibrated but most don't use the tools enough. Testing the crimps each time they are done is more the reasonable goal. Re-Calibration by either factory authorized service center or the factory is required. My own bench tool is in for this currently.
Manuals on
crimping these
Nicopress sleeves (
Swag Tool, National Telephone #64-CGMP,
Wire Rope Crimp Tool 1/16" to 3/16" Oval) normally used do normally say three crimps per sleeve at 1/8". I have read in some places however a two
crimp per sleeve statement thus some confusion in the industry.
This two
crimp safety cable has been produced by some company unknown for resale and they are all over the market, (constantly show up in even my inventory though not painted gold.) Normally they don't have such a tight
crimp around the
snap hook also. Keep an eye out for them - two crimps is not what most manuals specify or what is general practice.
The third
crimp type which is often factory best is a single piece
crimp. Someone with a tool that does one
crimp along the entire length of the
crimp sleeve. Good stuff, not much chance of a tool out of adjustment. Such
crimp sleeves are absolute perminant and proper.
So first we have an aluminum sleeve on the left end of the
safety cable, second we have two crimps on the right end and also the
wire rope too tight around the
snap hook. Common mistake for an amature would be to make such a thing tight in not recognizing minimum bending radiai of
wire rope. Fourth we have the results of minimum bending of
wire rope. This
wire rope is deformed due to folding/bending and also no longer safe.
In the future and most Euro
safety cables have thimbles of either the smaller 'AN' style or normal size
thimble. Normally the AN size which are minimal size in bending radiai for a
wire rope of this size. They also have better
snap hooks used than ours. - but not perfect ones yet. This is what will come as given a
safety cable 1/8" galvanized 7x19
wire rope has a minimum bending radiai, is it really safe to use something under
shock load that would break if bent too sharply? This granted that such
safety cables that have thimbles will no longer fit
thru a 1/2" hole on most fixtures such as the S-4
Safety cable ring. That's a re-design problem for them in compliance with what will hopefully at some
point become a new standard. In fact, the QOTD
safety cable that shows the damaged sharply bent loop is no doubt from bending to fit into 1/2" holes. Once the
wire rope is no longer round in how it lays, it is trash.
For now in addition to these details of inspection, one also wants to inspect the
snap hook itself. IF it don't close properly or gets hung up, one can oil it but after that if it does not test correctly by itself, that
safety cable is also trash.
Points I was attempting to
point out with the
safety cable presented were as follows:
Two crimps on the right
Too tight around the
snap hook
Damaged loop on the left end
Aluminum Oval Sleeve