TheTreeSpyder
Branched out member
- Location
- Florida>>> USA
Swiggin\'
Swigging is the olde term for what Brion Toss has called Sweating In.
This is a very powerful friend; to be aware of and constantly use/ not let it use you in rope work. Sir Toss tells of swashbuckling mens at the mercy of the sea for months at a time, before electricity, radio or gasoline engines; going back for many millenniums. Sometimes the capstan handle would get lost or broken; and lives depended on hoisting a sail or to be lost at sea. So, instead of pulling inline with a wench or pulley/compression jig to take purchase of more line on your side/ less on the other(so line tightens and/or lifts load); they would use perpendicular force input to leverage the line; then capture the purchase behind the frictions of the capstan. So, these strategies where real raw power, for real work; at the peak of need; just like ours!
In rigging many times the amount of line tension is the ballast to float the load. Pre-tightening the line before loading; puts more on your side and perhaps helps in steering too. As we allow more and more frictions from the support redirect or successive pulleys combining their inefficiencies; pulling inline for line tension to the load becomes less and less a powerful strategy. But, for a certain range between can and can't input distance modifier; but past the efficiency of the system to apply inline tension strategy, Swigging or Sweating in works great.
The Attatchment(that replaces the troublesome link) shows both mechancial advantage systems side by side(on the bottom and Swiggin' in the book i originally found it in on top). The inline multiple pulls of pulleys; preceded by the leveraged angle of non-inline multiplier of perpendicular (most powerful leveraging angle).
i have tried to de-scribe this angular power of leveraging in ropes many times; and use it many ways. It seems counter-intuitive; because a wrench inline gives no advantage; but resists bending so can be used at leveraged angles. But; a rope is flexible; so the idea of it resuisting bending; so it can leverage like a wrench seems absurd. But, if we tension the line first; then it resists bending, then we bend it. Thus, we bend that which resists bending and get a power multiplier of our efforts.
There is one thing though; the bend must be less than 120deg. At 120deg. bend; the pull at the bend is equal to the tension at the ends. Flatter than 120deg.; you'd rather input force at the bend and take multiplied output at the end(s). Sharper than 120deg. bend; you'd rather input force at 1 end, and take multiplied output at the bend. This is going towards a 2/1. But, rope leveraging with swigging/ sweating is usually much higher.
So, the less the bend; the higher the multiplier in the greater than 120 range of leveraging; but less than 120, more bend gives more power. So; if we can tighten line more linearilily and bend with 50#; then remove the pull of the bend and tighten line even more inline; then bend with the same 50#, the line won't bend it as far as before. Therefore; the 50# will be leveraged with a higher multiplier/ more tension at the ends.
Whenever rope can be used with more than the nominal 2 points of pull(can't have just 1 point of pull!); these forces are standing for or against you; if they aren't being wasted/ held neutral. These forces can be good friends once you are fluent with them; especially as friction increases and normal inline force multiplying strategies start to lose their stuff; and the friction can be used as a buffer to trap the purchased line from swiggin'/sweatin'.
Older drawing on how i've used this concept in tree work, even remotely; with a 'remote sweater'
Bent line tension concept applied to tiedowns
Swigging is the olde term for what Brion Toss has called Sweating In.
This is a very powerful friend; to be aware of and constantly use/ not let it use you in rope work. Sir Toss tells of swashbuckling mens at the mercy of the sea for months at a time, before electricity, radio or gasoline engines; going back for many millenniums. Sometimes the capstan handle would get lost or broken; and lives depended on hoisting a sail or to be lost at sea. So, instead of pulling inline with a wench or pulley/compression jig to take purchase of more line on your side/ less on the other(so line tightens and/or lifts load); they would use perpendicular force input to leverage the line; then capture the purchase behind the frictions of the capstan. So, these strategies where real raw power, for real work; at the peak of need; just like ours!
In rigging many times the amount of line tension is the ballast to float the load. Pre-tightening the line before loading; puts more on your side and perhaps helps in steering too. As we allow more and more frictions from the support redirect or successive pulleys combining their inefficiencies; pulling inline for line tension to the load becomes less and less a powerful strategy. But, for a certain range between can and can't input distance modifier; but past the efficiency of the system to apply inline tension strategy, Swigging or Sweating in works great.
The Attatchment(that replaces the troublesome link) shows both mechancial advantage systems side by side(on the bottom and Swiggin' in the book i originally found it in on top). The inline multiple pulls of pulleys; preceded by the leveraged angle of non-inline multiplier of perpendicular (most powerful leveraging angle).
i have tried to de-scribe this angular power of leveraging in ropes many times; and use it many ways. It seems counter-intuitive; because a wrench inline gives no advantage; but resists bending so can be used at leveraged angles. But; a rope is flexible; so the idea of it resuisting bending; so it can leverage like a wrench seems absurd. But, if we tension the line first; then it resists bending, then we bend it. Thus, we bend that which resists bending and get a power multiplier of our efforts.
There is one thing though; the bend must be less than 120deg. At 120deg. bend; the pull at the bend is equal to the tension at the ends. Flatter than 120deg.; you'd rather input force at the bend and take multiplied output at the end(s). Sharper than 120deg. bend; you'd rather input force at 1 end, and take multiplied output at the bend. This is going towards a 2/1. But, rope leveraging with swigging/ sweating is usually much higher.
So, the less the bend; the higher the multiplier in the greater than 120 range of leveraging; but less than 120, more bend gives more power. So; if we can tighten line more linearilily and bend with 50#; then remove the pull of the bend and tighten line even more inline; then bend with the same 50#, the line won't bend it as far as before. Therefore; the 50# will be leveraged with a higher multiplier/ more tension at the ends.
Whenever rope can be used with more than the nominal 2 points of pull(can't have just 1 point of pull!); these forces are standing for or against you; if they aren't being wasted/ held neutral. These forces can be good friends once you are fluent with them; especially as friction increases and normal inline force multiplying strategies start to lose their stuff; and the friction can be used as a buffer to trap the purchased line from swiggin'/sweatin'.
Older drawing on how i've used this concept in tree work, even remotely; with a 'remote sweater'
Bent line tension concept applied to tiedowns
