AHHH Cable Wrapping!
- Thread starterCURLS
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David Ashton
Well-Known Member
My specialty is an over and under wrap, then pulling out of the wrong end and achieving 20 half hitches in the cable.
When all the volunteers are helping to pack out rolling cables over their arms, my advice is, don't worry about the cable looking pretty but do not under any circumstances stress the cables.
When all the volunteers are helping to pack out rolling cables over their arms, my advice is, don't worry about the cable looking pretty but do not under any circumstances stress the cables.
When it comes to coiling cable. I'm good and I'm fast. Recently my wife was watching as I was coiling a 50' TRS speaker line. Perfectly even loops, the connectors ended up right next to each other, and I wasn't even looking. She was amazed and commented about how she couldn't believe that I could do that without looking. Feeling pretty good and showing off for my lady I said watch this, held one connector with my fingers and through the rest of the coil across the floor (carpeted mind you)... It uncoiled into a perfect straight line without a single kink.
(Go Quagmire) "OH YEAH... All Right!"
I'm such a nerd.
(Go Quagmire) "OH YEAH... All Right!"
I'm such a nerd.
.
On the other hand, the best and fastest way to make up a bunch of say 18" tie line for hanging drops with is palm of the hand and under the arm. Grab the top after coiled and cut them all.
Now who knows how to hang and pull from that wad of tie line on a pipe, ring or barso you can easily pull out one strand of it without tangling the rest of them? Very important storage technique for storing tie line neatly and straight.
On the topic, I do over/under but still listen to the cable in over riding that goal. It wants two overs and not an under, that is what you give it - the larger or more stiff the cable the more this becomes necessary.
photo is the cable I mentioned origionally in the reply. The 20 pair snake coiled, the 16 pair snake didn't, nor did the 8/5 SOW. All loomed together in one 400' snake.
On the other hand, the wire rope knot was caused by improper coiling and a not so observant rigger. Could have cost someone's life.
New question, what causes this cable popping out of the cable?
Now who knows how to hang and pull from that wad of tie line on a pipe, ring or barso you can easily pull out one strand of it without tangling the rest of them? Very important storage technique for storing tie line neatly and straight.
On the topic, I do over/under but still listen to the cable in over riding that goal. It wants two overs and not an under, that is what you give it - the larger or more stiff the cable the more this becomes necessary.
photo is the cable I mentioned origionally in the reply. The 20 pair snake coiled, the 16 pair snake didn't, nor did the 8/5 SOW. All loomed together in one 400' snake.
On the other hand, the wire rope knot was caused by improper coiling and a not so observant rigger. Could have cost someone's life.
New question, what causes this cable popping out of the cable?
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I have never seen a cable pop through a jacket but was this caused by using a cable wrapping machine? The twisted cables inside the outer jacket got straightened out from being coiled time after time and the tension was too much and it poped through.
The surrounding area doesn't have the tale tail 'bungy' look but I figured it was worth a shot.
The surrounding area doesn't have the tale tail 'bungy' look but I figured it was worth a shot.
CynicWhisper
Member
Quick question though. Most everyone I've worked for likes the under over. However, the audio production company just won't allow it. HIs reasoning is that with over under, you get the million little knots in the cable if one end even slips the wrong way which cancels out any possible benefits of it. Are we just totally untalented? What's up with this? Normally my coils don't give me any trouble, but just one 200 foot cable with 50 little knots is enough to make me want to hang myself with it.
My best friend used to have a scenic company whose slogan/tagline was Specializing in "Make-It-Work" Theatre. (He has designed and built many complete sets, most recently Cabaret, for under $500. The "professional" company didn't budget to rent any MLs, so I wouldn't get involved). Sort of kills two birds with one stone, no? Currently, he's "...two hours of pushin' broom, buys an eight by twelve four-bit room" for CDS, and recently bought a classic Jaguar!
The rest of the world gets to catch on how we wrap cables: That's Not How You Use That: Coiling a Cable | Gadget Lab | Wired.com
techieman33
Well-Known Member
Hopefully they'll actually use it after reading about it. It took me a few tries to convince my dad and brother to over/under cables, even after I showed them how much nicer they were to work with.
My wife still rolls her eyes at me saying "That's not how my father did it."
I over under everything. Makes those Apple cords last forever.
A friend of mine had this wisdom in the forward to his book, (shameless plug "Killer Camera Rigs" by Dan Selakovich).
A man was home when his wife was getting a roast ready to put in the oven, he noticed that she trimmed the ends off the roast before putting it in the pan. He asked her why she was doing that. Her reply, that's how my mother did it. He called the mother in law and asked her. Same reply. So he called the grandmother. She replied, We couldn't afford a new roasting pan and I had to trim the ends to get it to fit.
I over under many things, straight wrap others. There are more than one way to do anything, it drives me nuts when I hear people say there is is only one way to do whatever it is you are doing. I work with a production company where the lead sound guy has a fit if you over under anything, the lead lighting tech insists on it. That's in the same company.
bishopthomas
Well-Known Member
Yeah, me too. Including the garden hose.
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