Stop treating the load line like a level on every pick

I keep seeing guys on my site in Houston using the load line to eyeball level before they even lift. That cable sags and swings, it is not a straight reference. I ran a 50-ton Grove for 12 years and learned the hard way after a 4-foot shift on a steel beam. Have any of you actually checked your line against a real level on a calm day? I did and it showed a 2-degree difference.

3 comments

3 Comments

allen.ivan2d ago

Over a degree off is nothing. Wind makes the cable dance more than that anyway. You guys act like 30 seconds is a big deal but it's thirty seconds.

faith6844d ago

Took me a while to come around on this but you're absolutely right. Used to think the load line was close enough for a quick check, then I actually put a digital level on a static line and saw over a degree of sag I was ignoring. Makes me wonder how many close calls I had back then just because I trusted that cable instead of taking the extra 30 seconds.

lewis.troy3d ago

Blew my mind the first time I checked too. Ngl I used to think my eyeball was good enough until I put a digital level on a static line and saw a full 1.5 degrees of sag. Honestly that was a wake up call. I probably had a dozen close calls over the years just trusting that cable instead of pulling out the level. Made me feel pretty stupid after the fact but now I check every single time. It is such a small thing that makes a huge difference.