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catkicker

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Mar 19, 2009
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Catkickastan
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Crane Operator
So were on a job and a crane rental outfit brings 4 crawlers in and builds them for us. Our company crane tech and I start doing inspections on the crane and this is how they put one crane together.:jawdrop
 

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lantraxco

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Elsewhen
I think he was joking (I hope, lol) I'm guessing it was a temporary working arrangement and they hit quitting time before they finished the job.... hope so anyway!
 

catkicker

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Catkickastan
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Crane Operator
That is how they set the crane up. The pin in the beckett was to big to connect to the dead end.
The crane was not put in service till the crane rental company sent us the proper beckett.
 

Lashlander

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Kodiak Ak.
Actually I was only half joking about the bolt shackles. I would prefer to use bolt shackles in this application but wouldn't hesitate to use pin shackles. They have them moused so they won't unscrew. I'm not sure why they used two unless they just wanted to keep the wedge socket inline with the boom or had other clearance issues. As long as their rated at or better than the line pull of the crane there wouldn't be an issue. There are many different reasons the wedge socket pin won't fit the dead end hole. I've seen two Crosby wedge sockets for the same size wire have different size pins. I've also upped the wire size on cranes so the socket wouldn't fit. A lot of times load cells have pin size issues. There are thousands of certified cranes out there with a shackle on the dead end.
 

GrainBinMan

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South Central PA
I started reading this forum, because I was interested in getting my own crane, but I know I need to learn a lot.

So, I'm going to be a real idiot and ask what is going on here? I've been watching this thread and think I've figured it out, but maybe not? I'm sure the picture makes sense to those of you who run a crane everyday, but the picture is a little small (too close) for me. Obviously we are looking at the tip end of the boom. I'm guessing that there are several 'sheaves' (I think I'm using the right word) to the block, but you need a place to hook the end of the cable. And that dead end is to be hooked directly to the end of the boom, not with two shackles? Is that right?

Crane Question.jpg
 

Nige

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Jun 22, 2011
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G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
You are 100% correct. What happened in this case was that the crane rental company sent out a hoist rope anchor (lower arrow) whose pin was too large to fit into the anchor in the crane boom point (upper arrow). As the photo shows the guys assembling the crane thought that because the pin wouldn't fit into the hole and thus the anchor could not be installed the correct way that it was OK to join them up using 2 shackles - it's not ...............
 

Lashlander

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Kodiak Ak.
I can't tell by the picture if that socket is the correct size for the wire on the crane It looks like it's seated close to the correct depth. If it's not then there would be a problem with it.
Here's a picture of my current set up. The load cell pins were to big to fit either holes at the dead ends. This crane was certified in Seattle about two months ago by a retired Naval Architect that spent his entire career designing and retrofitting cranes for the U.S. Navy. He is the most knowledgeable inspector I've ever seen. He actually put his hands on the pin on the pill and spun it to make sure the swivel was smooth. Then he checked the capacity of both shackles and the rated line pull for the crane. We then proceeded to do the Quad weight test. We took a weight over all four corners of the crane out to 110% of the chart. If you bought a brand new American Crane before Terex bought them out and you had a 92H boom with an offset tip it came from the factory with two shackles on the tip to attach the wedge sockets to. Apparently in G..G..G..Granville...........!!, Catkickastan, and possibly Coos Bay Oregon this is not acceptable. I've never been there so I can't speak for those areas, but in the many places I have been in my career it is.011-1.jpg
 

old-iron-habit

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Moose Lake, MN
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I can't tell by the picture if that socket is the correct size for the wire on the crane It looks like it's seated close to the correct depth. If it's not then there would be a problem with it.
Here's a picture of my current set up. The load cell pins were to big to fit either holes at the dead ends. This crane was certified in Seattle about two months ago by a retired Naval Architect that spent his entire career designing and retrofitting cranes for the U.S. Navy. He is the most knowledgeable inspector I've ever seen. He actually put his hands on the pin on the pill and spun it to make sure the swivel was smooth. Then he checked the capacity of both shackles and the rated line pull for the crane. We then proceeded to do the Quad weight test. We took a weight over all four corners of the crane out to 110% of the chart. If you bought a brand new American Crane before Terex bought them out and you had a 92H boom with an offset tip it came from the factory with two shackles on the tip to attach the wedge sockets to. Apparently in G..G..G..Granville...........!!, Catkickastan, and possibly Coos Bay Oregon this is not acceptable. I've never been there so I can't speak for those areas, but in the many places I have been in my career it is.View attachment 138119

I have been educated many times over the years by different ideas, safety rules and area practice from one part of the country to another. Years ago it was quite common on a single line heavy pick to take the swivel out and use a hook with no swivel to keep the cable from unraveling and to reduce stretch. I wonder if that is still an acceptable practice, or maybe it never was and we just did it that way. I think your connection looks good although I am surprised that they did not want threaded pins with nuts instead of just a cotter key holding them from spreading. I'm sure they are designed for the weight and then some but the crane instectors get fussy about that around here.
 
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catkicker

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Mar 19, 2009
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75
Location
Catkickastan
Occupation
Crane Operator
Lashlander, I don't mind your sarcasm or ego. were talking to different situations your pictures show a setup that has been approved or even engineered for the a certain application or came from the manufacturer setup that way. There is no issue with operating a crane with engineered and approved rigging setups. In the situation I originally posted about is about what inexperienced crane assemblers did when they ran in to a problem with the Becket not being the proper one to fit .
This was not a engineered setup it was not a setup from the manufacturer (Linkbelt) approved.
After we contacted the crane rental outfit they ordered the proper Becket and we installed it.
My personnel take on this is I always consider what my answers would be on the witness stand should something terrible happen. I would not want to answer questions about 2 shackles connected together holding a Becket on to the boom.
 
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