I finally saw what years of improper rigging does to a boom tip

I was swapping out a tired old Grove RT530E for a brand new Liebherr last month at a job site in Cleveland. The boom tip on that old Grove had grooves worn into the sheaves that were a good quarter inch deep from sloppy cable angles. After talking to the retiring operator, he admitted he rarely centered his loads. I had no idea how fast that damage builds up. Has anyone else seen hidden wear like that from bad rigging habits over the years?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseyl1812d ago

Whoa, actually grooves that deep usually come from neglected sheave bearings not just cable angles.

brian_coleman12d ago

Yeah exactly. Once those bearings start going bad the sheave starts wobbling even a tiny bit and that will chew through a cable way faster than any angle issue. Ive seen elevators where the bearings were so far gone the sheave had a visible side to side shake when it turned. The groove looked like someone took a grinder to it. Usually you catch it early by feeling for heat on the sheave guard or listening for that grinding noise on a slow run. By the time you see a deep groove the bearings are already shot and you are just counting down to a snapped cable.