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TIL a cracked sheave can cause a real bad day
Last week on a site in Phoenix, I was lifting a 5-ton concrete panel and heard a grinding noise from the boom. The inspection three months ago missed a hairline crack in the main hoist sheave, which finally gave way under load. Has anyone else had a sheave fail, and how often do you guys check yours now?
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skylerrobinson3d agoMost Upvoted
Man, that grinding sound is the worst. Had a similar scare with a cable guide sheave on a smaller rig. What saved our butts was adding a bright paint pen mark across the sheave and hub during checks. If the mark cracks or misaligns, you know it's moving when it shouldn't. We look for that every single Friday now, no excuses. It's a stupid simple trick but it catches problems before they turn into a real show.
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the_eric3d ago
Oh man, that paint trick is genius! I read about a crew that does the same thing with a chalk line on big drum brakes. It's one of those cheap visual checks that just works, no fancy tools needed. More people should know about simple fixes like that.
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