Crane slings

[Mitch Hoy]

I recently bought a set of Quantum X slings to replace my few year old Amsteel II set from Wesspur. When I purchase again, I will go back to the Amsteel II. I much prefer the jacket, and the small diameter is easy to work with pulling slack through midline cow hitches all day. This is also the second set I have had the bridal ring on, which is great for picks where you really have to crank out the angle of your slings. This is useful for situations where you really have to maximize the amount of cable to the boom for lift height, or maximize sling length. For trees in my area (upper Midwest) I would add 5’ to the dimension of each sling. We have a lot of big Silvers and Basswoods with aggressively leaning structure that the stocked lengths seem to always be a little short on for a nice balanced tie without leaving a stubby extra pick.

 

[allmark]

Is it better to use longer chokes for big limbs? When using 12' chokers on the end and 20' chokers toward the bottom, the limb is balanced but still swings out toward the 12' choker

Can you clarify what you are considering "Chokers" I understand this is a common term that comes from the manner in which a sling is attached but what slings are you using? Thank you.

 

[allmark]

So I guess we are talking about two different things then?

Because the AmSteel Blue ( https://wesspur.com/rope/amsteel-blue.html ) specifically says "Please note that AmSteel-Blue behaves differently than normal rope and maintains the most strength when used with a spliced termination. Tied knots may severely reduce the breaking strength of AmSteel-Blue."

Where as the Amsteel crane slings ( https://wesspur.com/slings/crane-slings.html ) appear to be specifically what you are using them for "Samson Amsteel II Plus is a class II double braid with super-strong high modulus core protected with a tightly-braided, firm cover that is coated for additional abrasion resistance and visibility."

Tied Knots reduce the breaking strength of any rope. I made 1/2 inch slings from am steel Blue and broke test them (with no lock stitching on the splice. The rope broke at the knot just above 15,000# much less than the breaking strength. but with a 5 to 1 safety factor I rated them at 3,000# They hold knots well.