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Honestly thought the whole 'lube the wire rope' thing was a myth until I snapped a line last month
Yeah, I used to be one of those guys who figured if it moves it's fine. But after 3 years running a Terex in a Houston scrap yard, I finally had a 7/8 cable let go on me. No one was hurt but it cost me a full day and a $700 replacement. Now I hit every inch with wire rope lube before the morning lift. Anyone else have a close call that changed how you do the basics?
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jordang3216d ago
Wait, a 5/8 let go on a crane? How did your buddy @gibson.elizabeth not end up with a hospital bill on top of that repair? That's the kind of wake-up call that would make me lube every cable twice just to be safe.
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gibson.elizabeth16d ago
Watching that cable whip back is the kind of thing that sticks with you forever. A buddy had a 5/8 snap on a crane years ago and it taught me to treat lubrication like a safety step, not just maintenance.
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valh3216d ago
Treat lubrication like a safety step, not just maintenance" - man, that line hit me hard. I had a cable snap on a small hoist I was using in the garage a few years back, nothing as big as a crane, but that whip sound still gives me chills. I was lucky it was a light load and the cable just frayed instead of full-on snapping, but it was enough to scare me straight. Now I'm that annoying person who checks and lubes every cable on anything before I even think about using it. It's crazy how one bad moment can totally rewire how you look at something you used to rush through.
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