Reliable DIY power ascender

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread
I decided not to modify it because I do not have the equipment and don't want to fuck it up. The device is awesome. I have extensively tested it with an electric power drill.
I made 50 accents and descents using the device and it works perfectly. When you use a power drill you can unplug it and still come down. You can manage the prussic and descend slowly almost like the device is a rope wrench itself. (The bend the wrench makes is just so you can manage the prussik) However, if the prussic fully engages you will stop and need to turn the drill on to ascend and release the prussic.
I love the this device and hope it will last for a while. I hate the rope and will eventually modify mine. If the gears break do you think the breaks would work?
 
The gears are hardened steel, not likely to ever break. The weakness of the device is the bearings. They are some sort of teflon sleeve, instead of ball bearings lie we would expect on a device intended for constant use. Mine are holding up OK after three years of semi-regular use. We will see. These RollGliss devices are an emergency escape device and not really meant to be used everyday. But they are nevertheless rather well built.
 
I did manage to get thread some dragon fly into the device but I thought it would damage rope and did not use it to ascend.

My main climb line is 11.7 silver ivy rope. I did not attempt to use it in the unmodified device. I think it would damage the rope. I also think it would kill the drill faster. However, I have not tested it.

The kmIII 3/8 rope is easily damaged, I am extremely careful using this rope after it the covering was torn twice by moving the rope to quick through the sheave and it derailed. I feel this rope is the weak point in the system. Of course being able to remove the device and use the rope is why I will eventually modify it ,but it works great as is and I appreciate that you and sasquatch suggested using it the way you do. This is a really cool and easy way to get high!
 
conk said:
the covering was torn twice by moving the rope to quick through the sheave and it derailed
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That's really strange, my rope has not been damaged once from regular use. Have you checked for burrs and made sure the sheave was running straight? I'd find the source of that rope damage before putting 100% of your safety on the device. If your running a second rope at the same time, then at least you'd have a safety if there was a catastrophic failure.
 
Has your rope ever gone out the side because the drill was spinning the sheave to fast in order to move the rope? When this happened it caused the device to flip spin and it damaged the rope. This is what happened. There is nothing wrong with the sheave. I have looked at it carefully and removed it several times when I was considering ways to modify the device.

Do you like the 3/8 KM III rope?
 
conk said:
Has your rope ever gone out the side because the drill was spinning the sheave to fast
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No, it's a very tight fit with how the aluminum is molded around the sheave.


conk said:
Do you like the 3/8 KM III rope?
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It serves its purpose. I don't consider my ascender, or the KM III, life support so I also occasionally use that long rope for longer speedlines. All of my rigging lines are 120-150' so it's nice to have a 400+' lightweight rope when you need it.

Of course you have to be on a life support rope in addition to the provided rope when ascending, if you (ab)use :D your rope this way.
 
I wonder if you could make a exact copy of the sheave in stainless steel. Any experts in the area? Aluminum sucks for ascenders and decenders because it turns the rope color and gets all over your hands. I wonder what reason they have for making them out of aluminum. Maybe cost?
 
conk said:
I wonder if you could make a exact copy of the sheave in stainless steel. Any experts in the area? Aluminum sucks for ascenders and decenders because it turns the rope color and gets all over your hands. I wonder what reason they have for making them out of aluminum. Maybe cost?
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Probably weight, to keep the device as light as possible. Cost too. SS is a LOT more expensive to cast and/or machine that aluminium. I guess I am something of your expert you asked for, since I own a machine shop and foundry (I am just a rec climber, not an arborist). You are certainly having some issues that I have never experienced with either of my r500's. I have a lot of hours on them now and never had any discoulouration of my six ropes or any damage to them at all.
 
You do not use the stock rope which is white and easy to see. If you use this sheave a lot your ropes will change color since it is aluminum. It actually surprises me you have not noticed it. I have a lot of experience with descending on stainless and aluminum.

I have repelled a lot using brake racks and fisk to clean high-rise windows. The fisk(stainless steel) does not change the color of the rope, but the brake racks change the color and make your hands dirty. The fisk is an incredible invention not just because it is stainless steel but the control of descent and ability to move it across surface without knocking a bar out out of the rack when going over an edge. Anyone with experience will verify what I am talking about. Ropes get very dirty with aluminum brake racks.


Regarding the device, I am realizing I do no have problems with rope damage except what I spoke about when the rope spun out the side because I was trying to reposition the device and was spinning the sheave to fast which is something you probably never do since you made yours bad ass and can simply remove the rope like a civilized climber/rider LOL

I going to eventually do what you did I think that is so cool. I love the thing. I defiantly recommend a cord drill when experimenting just so you can spend a lot of time and become very comfortable without worrying about charging a battery. Thanks for all your comments.

How much would you charge to make a sheave exactly like the one in the device in stainless steel? Or would this require a special machine. Sorry I am completely ignorant on casting metals or cutting them. I was also wondering if cutting the metal channel to close would make the shackle tie in point weaker?
 
To make a one-off sheave like that in SS would be many hundreds of dollars. It would involve quite a few separate operations on a lathe and a milling machine, and the cost of a chunk of SS round stock that size would be pricey to start with. Just not worth considering. At any rate, I am mostly retired now and would not want to attempt such a project.
 
Burrapeg said:
The gears are hardened steel, not likely to ever break. The weakness of the device is the bearings
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Burrapeg your dead wrong they are very likely to break.

Everyone should be aware the gears are the weak point.
The harden steel will break. These gears will not last.

I am out of 350 bucks plus a drill. It was so cool and I am sad I can't use it anymore. I think one could and should develop a device like this, but I do not recommend anyone use or waste there money on the rollgliss device for ascending unless you can modify the gears. I think they are too small/thin a thicker harden steel may work. I do not know. Anyone using it should be aware it can fail quite easily after repeated use. I only used the device to ascend and weigh 175 pounds.

One tooth of the little gear fractured. I do have the other shaft (550 has two) which has teeth but it they are too short and would probably break also. If you ascend very slowly it may last longer if you already have one. Nothing dangerous will happen if a tooth breaks but is really the end of all the fun. Of course I did use a prussik hitch above the device anyway not for safety but it allows you to stop, change ropes etc. I am pretty sad about this I was just beginning an accent when it happened. It was at room temperature. I actually thought the drill broke at first until I took it apart.

If anyone has extra gear shaft or modified one I would buy it from you and see if I can break another. The thing is so fun. broke gear.jpg
 
conk said:
Burrapeg your dead wrong they are very likely to break.

Everyone should be aware the gears are the weak point.
The harden steel will break. These gears will not last.

I am out of 350 bucks plus a drill. It was so cool and I am sad I can't use it anymore. I think one could and should develop a device like this, but I do not recommend anyone use or waste there money on the rollgliss device for ascending unless you can modify the gears. I think they are too small/thin a thicker harden steel may work. I do not know. Anyone using it should be aware it can fail quite easily after repeated use. I only used the device to ascend and weigh 175 pounds.

One tooth of the little gear fractured. I do have the other shaft (550 has two) which has teeth but it they are too short and would probably break also. If you ascend very slowly it may last longer if you already have one. Nothing dangerous will happen if a tooth breaks but is really the end of all the fun. Of course I did use a prussik hitch above the device anyway not for safety but it allows you to stop, change ropes etc. I am pretty sad about this I was just beginning an accent when it happened. It was at room temperature. I actually thought the drill broke at first until I took it apart.

If anyone has extra gear shaft or modified one I would buy it from you and see if I can break another. The thing is so fun. View attachment 74369
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I think either you have gotten a lemon, or maybe the 550 doesn't work as well as the 500 even though it is purpose built for the drill chuck (if I'm remember correctly)? Between the repeated rope damage and now the gears...


I don't use mine often anymore, but I weigh 260 and haven't had any failures.
 
I broke mine! But I was trying to upright the mini.

If you do the modifications I did you can use the short shaft.

I removed the brake and cut the cover plate so that it can fit inside. You also have to grind down the d shape fitting (that stops the shaft from coming out) to the size of a washer and drill and tap the cover plate to lock it in place.

I bought a double short shaft 550 so I had to do that.
 
The mini skidsteer was tipped over on its side. It weighs about 3000lbs

There was damage to the shaft and to the gear cog.

My sloppy modification may have contributed in that it may have allowed the shaft to slide out and not engage fully.

I did use the rollgliss to pull a tree, in pieces, out of a ravine prior to that with no known damage.

I'm surprised yours broke.
 
This is the second shaft it isn't damaged even though I used it to climb with, a few times, after the gear cog lost a tooth.

It isn't pretty but this modification worked for me.
 

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